Almost a year ago, on June 12, 2021, the football planet stopped spinning for long minutes, frozen by the images of Christian Eriksen lying on the lawn of the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen. Denmark’s first match at the Euro, against Finland (lost 0-1), still continued, without the midfielder, who had finally survived a cardiac arrest. Once tragedy was averted, the Danish selection appeared transfigured, reaching the semi-finals of the competition.
Friday, June 3, the miracle will tread the lawn of the Stade de France to face the Blues, on the occasion of the first match of the new edition of the League of Nations. Thursday, in the auditorium of the Stade de France, all eyes were on Eriksen. Placed between his captain Kasper Schmeichel and his coach Kasper Hjulmand, he was discreet in the face of journalists.
It was on the field, during the last training, that we saw him leading the group by trotting at the head of the troops, ball at his foot. Sign of Eriksen’s status within this Danish selection. “He is a very high level player. He will lead his team to make a great match“, warned Hugo Lloris at a press conference, he who wore the same colors as him at Tottenham from 2013 to 2020. The captain of the Blues also “wished the best, because he deserves it“.
After the worst, Eriksen experienced the best. In just a few months, Denmark’s number 10 has returned to the top level. The story of a rebirth for a player who was banned from resuming football in Italy and who once again became the manager he was in the selection.
A few months after his cardiac arrest, Eriksen was forced to terminate his contract with Inter Milan, which was to extend until 2024. It must be said that the transalpine authorities had not even issued him with a medical certificate. to work out at the gym. After being fitted with an internal defibrillator, the 30-year-old had to fly to other places to continue his career.
So, Eriksen left to train in the clubs that saw him start, on the side of Ajax Amsterdam, the Dutch club where he started as a professional, and in Odense, the Danish formation which he left at the start. age of 17. It was in the country, in Denmark, that we imagined him making his return to competition. Finally, it was in England, where he achieved the most outstanding performances of his career, for seven years under the colors of Tottenham (2013-2020), that he bounced back.
The bet is tempted by the Brentford club, with which Eriksen engages on January 31. The place is not exotic: coach Thomas Frank is Danish and the English team has become accustomed to recruiting Nordic players, with seven Danes in the workforce. On February 26, Eriksen returns to the field, 259 days after his cardiac arrest. “Beyond the result, I am a happy man. After going through what I’ve been through, to be back is a wonderful feeling“, he confessed after this match ended in a defeat against Newcastle.
The sequel is only more beautiful. Against all odds, Kasper Hjulmand retains Eriksen in March for the Denmark matches. “He is in shape. I followed him closely. I was recently in London to view and review it. I’ve seen him in training and in matches, and physically he’s very, very sharp. (…) I don’t think any of us expected him to play as well as he does today, but there’s no doubt he’s ready for it“, then justified the Danish coach, against the opinion of many observers.
And upon his return to Denmark, Eriksen scored in Amsterdam – quite a symbol – against the Netherlands on March 26. Three days later, he received the ovation of Parken Stadium, in the same stadium where he had been close to death, when he started the match against Serbia as holder and captain. Eriksen scores again.
“A very special moment“, he described, while Kasper Hjulmand did not hide his “pleasure“to see his player”run everywhere“. Returned to his best level, Eriksen is now asking questions about his future: his freelance with Brentford ends at the end of June. Where to bounce back in club? In selection, the Danish midfielder aims high alongside teammates who have reached the last square of the Euro last summer.
Entry into play of Christian Eriksen who celebrates his return to the selection with a GOAL!
Netherlands – Denmark
The game live: https://t.co/SFY8b6XzdH#lequipeFOOT pic.twitter.com/5pC97xoMgO
— the chain L’Équipe (@lachainelequipe) March 26, 2022
Denmark, future opponent of the Blues during this League of Nations and then at the World Cup, has big goals. Thanks to the return of Eriksen, but also, paradoxically, partly thanks to his absence during the Euro. “We came together in the turmoil. We were already very united before, but after such a scare, things took a more concrete turn. (…) We may not be at the level of Brazil, Germany or France, but we have something that the others do not have“, explained Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to FIFA.
In early February, after signing for Brentford, Eriksen projected himself: “For the next four or five months, I really have to get up to speed, show who I am and that I’m a football player again.“The Danish midfielder has proven it in much less time. Having become a key element of Kasper Hjulmand’s team again, Eriksen will be one of the Danes that the Blues will have to watch closely tonight at the Stade de France.