Christian Eriksen: a year after his heart attack, still fragile state of health?

ERIKSEN. Victim of a heart attack during the Euro, Christian Eriksen begins a new international competition with his team from Denmark.

[Mis à jour le 22 novembre 2022 à 13h00] A little over a year ago, Christian Eriksen could have died on the pitch following a heart attack during a match against Finland. Miraculously, the Dane got away with it and is even present at the World Cup with his national team. Asked at a press conference about his feelings a year later, the player relishes. “This accident “made me appreciate even more the fact of being alive and being with my family. I think everything else has been put aside”, admitted the player on Saturday, three days before his entry into the running in Qatar. “My first objective has always been to be a good husband, finally a good spouse, and a good father,” he continued.

I think one of the first conversations I had with the doctors in Amsterdam (…) was about my goal of playing in the World Cup if all goes well. It was my dream at the time. I played again in March (2022) and I was able to play a certain number of matches. I really didn’t expect that. It’s just awesome.

The image has gone around the world: Sabrina Kvist Jensen tearful at the edge of the field, during the match between Denmark and Finland, Saturday June 12, a few minutes after the discomfort of her companion Christian Eriksen, just before mid- time of this Euro 2021 football match. Upset, the young woman believed in fact to witness the death of the father of her two children, as told by Peter Schmeichel, the father of Kasper, goalkeeper of the national team and who was on the lawn at the time of the tragedy. “Christian’s wife would have seen him fall before coming to the field, he said. You can see it from the reaction of my son Kasper, who rushed towards her. I obviously spoke to him and he went to tell her that Christian was breathing. She thought he was dead”

Back to the facts. On the second day of European competition, and while the third match of the tournament, which opposed Denmark to Finland, had started for almost 45 minutes, Christian Eriksen collapsed on the ground, victim of a serious illness. The 29-year-old Danish attacking midfielder, who plays the rest of the year at Inter Milan, collapsed while standing alone, not far from the sideline. Quickly, healers and doctors rushed to the scene. Among the players, paralyzed glances were exchanged. It seems that a heart massage was given on the lawn to Christian Eriksen, who had visibly lost consciousness. In the evening, several reassuring messages concerning his state of health were published, both by UEFA, which referred to “a stabilized situation”, as by his club Inter Milan or by the Danish Football Federation. The Denmark-Finland match eventually resumed without him, seeing the Finns win 1-0.

At the time of the discomfort, L’Équipe reported seeing tears running down the face of Thomas Delaney and several of his teammates. The strong image remains that of the Danish players framing the rescuers and Christian Eriksen to protect a semblance of privacy in midfield. Martin Braithwaite, who notably passed through Toulouse, even seemed to pray on the pitch. The match was in any case interrupted around 7 p.m. While the players were invited to return to the locker room, Christian Eriksen was finally evacuated by the emergency services. However, the player seemed to have regained consciousness. Evidenced by a photo released by AFP.

Around 7:30 p.m., UEFA said in a tweet that the player had been transferred to hospital and was now in a “stabilized condition”. For its part, the Danish Federation clarified that Christian Eriksen was awake. Asked about Sky Sports, Giuseppe Marotta, sports director of Inter Milan where Christian Eriksen plays, spoke of “cautious optimism”, adding according to the Italian channel Rai: “Christian Eriksen just messaged Inter’s WhatsApp group a few minutes ago. We are optimistic about his condition, the Danish staff have told us the situation is under control.”

Born on February 14, 1992 in Middelfart, Denmark, Christian Dannemann Eriksen, by his full name, began his career in 2010 at Ajax Amsterdam. During his years with the club, he won three Dutch league titles. After joining Tottenham Hotspur in 2013, a club in which he will make a memorable journey until the final of the Champions League in 2019, where the club will unfortunately lose against Liverpool, Christian Eriksen had joined since 2020 Inter Milan, club with which won the 2021 Italian championship. On the side of his international career, Christian Eriksen joined the ranks of the Danish team since 2010, thus participating in the 2010 World Cup, Euro 2012, the 2018 World Cup and therefore Euro 2021. Again, he has good statistics, with no less than 36 goals, making him the seventh top scorer in the history of the Danish selection.

Behind the scenes, Christian Eriksen has been in a relationship for almost 10 years with Sabrina Kvist Jensen. Their relationship would have started in August 2012. Since then, Christian and Sabrina have become parents of two children: Alfred Eriksen, born shortly before the 2018 World Cup, and a little girl, whose first name is unknown, born in December 2020. Present in the stands at the time of her discomfort, the companion of Christian Eriksen quickly ran to the lawn, in tears, as evidenced by these images: