Ex-Celtic starlet '˜could've retired' after playing against '˜hero' Steven Gerrard

Former Celtic youngster Liam Henderson has revealed that one of his happiest days in football was getting the chance to play against Steven Gerrard.

While still trying to find his feet in the Parkhead first-team, Henderson was included in a squad to face Liverpool in a 2013 friendly at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

The match finished 1-0 to Neil Lennon’s reigning Scottish champions with Amido Balde grabbing the only goal of the game against the Reds - who were managed by current Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers.

Henderson was an 84th minute substitute for the goalscorer, which gave him the chance to face the current Rangers manager, who played the full 90 minutes that day.

Liam Henderson came through the ranks at Celtic before moving to Italy earlier this

Speaking to David Tanner for BT Sport’s Scottish Football Extra programme, the 22-year-old, now playing for Hellas Verona, was asked to name his heroes.

He said: “I had a lot of heroes. Obviously your first hero is your dad. He played in Scotland for Falkirk, Partick, Hamilton... he was my hero.

“After that you obviously develop other heroes and Steven Gerrard, he was genuinely one of my idols.

“I managed to play against him in a pre-season friendly for ten minutes in Dublin. For me, I could have retired then after that match.”