The midfielder was quickly clear about his goal: a place in the World Cup squad.
The cardiac arrest in the European Championship opener against Finland at Parken in Copenhagen on June 12 last year would not stop his love for or the opportunity to practice the sport.
Christian Eriksen succeeded.
He came back to football.
And now he is one of Denmark’s most important players in the team chasing success in the World Cup in Qatar.
“Fantastic”
“Before the EC, before everything happened to Christian, I said he was the heart, the heartbeat of the team,” says national team captain Kasper Hjulmand.
— When he plays, he has a fantastic way of determining the rhythm of the matches, controlling it with his matches, intelligence, vision and work ability. It was great to have him back.
Hjulmand not only likes what Eriksen does in the international matches, he appreciates how he is outside the stadiums and the big matches.
— He is a fantastic player but an even better person. He gives us so much, on and off the pitch, he says.
— It is a joy to work with him. In training we took it easy, it was a slow pace but Christian drove on and we had to tear him off the field. He just loves to play, he loves football.
In the Danes’ first match of the 2020 European Championship playoffs, which was moved to 2021 due to the current pandemic, turned into shocking scenes at the Park in Copenhagen.
Shortly before the break, he fell limply to the grass. Teammates and opponents quickly realized that something serious had happened and immediately screamed for medical personnel.
Christian Eriksen received cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the pitch.
The match was paused.
The midfielder was taken to Rigshospitalet and only after a few hours came the positive news: the situation had stabilized.
He had a defibrillator, defibrillator, implanted, which meant that playing at his then Serie A club Inter was no longer an option.
Denmark’s players rallied around Christian Eriksen who went into cardiac arrest at Parken in Copenhagen on June 12, 2021. File photo “One of the best I’ve ever seen”
Instead, there was a move to the Premier League team Brentford and now he is a teammate of the Swedish national team players Anthony Elanga and Victor Nilsson Lindelöf at Manchester United.
Since March, Christian Eriksen – who scored in the comeback in red and white – is back in the national team.
In Qatar, he is supposed to lead the Danes to a successful and successful championship.
— His qualities say it all. We’re all glad he’s here, after what’s happened. As a soccer player, he is probably one of the best I have ever seen, says team captain Simon Kjær.
— We love having him by our side and for every minute he plays.
Denmark begins the World Cup play-offs on Tuesday. At 14.00 Swedish time, it is time for the WC premiere against Tunisia.