Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen scored a goal at Euro 2024 against Slovenia. It seems like an ordinary event, but in reality it is special, symbolic. It was Eriksen’s first match and first goal in the European Championship since June 12, 2021, when he suffered cardiac arrest on the field during the match against Finland.
The events of that Euro 2020 match come clearly to mind, as if it had happened yesterday or last week, and not three years ago. Eriksen’s fall, a living wall of Danish national team players shielding the unconscious midfielder from the cameras and fans’ eyes, tears and prayers from shocked teammates. Doctors with defibrillators. Christian’s wife sobbing by the field. Eriksen fell out of nowhere in the 44th minute of the match against the Finns, when he received a ball out of reach. Not even the Danish team doctor, Morten Boesen, could explain how they took him from the other world:
“Eriksen was dead. His heart stopped. I don’t understand how we managed to save it. It happened very quickly. “We don’t know what to answer.”
When Christian was taken by ambulance to the hospital, the match between the Denmark and Finland teams continued. But the Danes’ thoughts were obviously not on the field: in the second half they lost and lost 0:1. Eriksen himself later recounted how he survived cardiac arrest:
“I hit the ball, after which I felt a slight cramp in my calf muscle and lost consciousness. When I woke up the first thing I thought was that I had hurt my back. “Can I wiggle my toes?” – these were the first thoughts. Then I heard the doctors’ voices in the distance. I remember everything except those moments when I was in heaven. I remember the fans chanting my name as they took me to the ambulance. Only in the car did I realize that he had died for a few minutes. “I understood it from the conversation of the doctors who accompanied me.”
We remember what happened to Eriksen at Euro 2020
Eriksen was fitted with a pacemaker, allowing him to return to football. It is true that he did not stay at Inter Milan, for which he later played. In Italy it is prohibited to play with a pacemaker, so Christian received free agent status and could choose between different offers. There were quite a few, despite health problems. In December 2021, the midfielder began training with the youth team of Danish Odense (Eriksen studied at the academy of this club from 13 to 17 years old), and in January 2022 he signed a six-month contract with Brentford and left to the Premier League.
After extensive medical examinations by several cardiologists, Christian returned to the field in February 2022. The first for the Dane was the English Championship match against Newcastle, in which he came on as a substitute 40 minutes before the end instead of his compatriot Mathias Jensen. It turned out to be a very symbolic replacement! Jensen gave his place on the field to Eriksen, whom he replaced in that nightmare match against the Finns. Just over a month later, Christian scored his first goal for Brentford in the Premier League against Chelsea, and in just 11 games with the new team he scored 1 + 4.
So Eriksen chose probably the most stressful place to continue his career: in the summer of 2022 he signed a three-year contract with Manchester United as a free agent. Every season the Mancunians are expected to return to the fight for the English title, but year after year they disappoint. Shortly before moving to Manchester United, Christian returned to Copenhagen’s Parken stadium, where he almost suffered a tragedy nine months earlier. In the friendly against Serbia he took the field with the captain’s armband and helped the Danish team to a big 3-0 win. The midfielder scored the third goal for the locals.
CRISTIAN ERIKSEN
Photo: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images
In his first season at Manchester United, Eriksen became the team’s eighth in terms of time played in the Premier League – 2063 minutes. He played 28 games in which he scored one goal and gave eight assists. The Dane and Bruno Fernandes shared first place in the list of Manchester United’s best assistants in the English championship. The Mancunians finished in the top 3 and won the League Cup. But Christian missed the cup final with Newcastle, as well as another two and a half months in the Premier League, due to an ankle injury.
In the 2023/2024 season, Eriksen participated in 22 Premier League matches, scoring one goal and giving two assists. In terms of time spent on the field, he only ranked 16th on the team. It is not the most successful year for the 32-year-old midfielder. And for Manchester United it was simply a failure, since the team took only eighth place in the Championship. The season was only brightened by victory in the FA Cup, but in the final against Manchester City Christian remained on the bench.
Eriksen is unhappy with his playing time at Manchester United and admitted he spoke to manager Erik ten Hag about it. During the winter transfer market it was reported that Galatasaray were interested in the Dane. The midfielder remained at the English club until the summer. Whats Next? is the question.
Now Eriksen is playing for the Danish national team again at the European Championship. In the national team, the prominence of the “ten” is undeniable. Christian played in all three games of the failed 2022 World Cup for the Danes, and in the qualifying round for Euro 2024 he became the best on the team in assists (23) by almost double.
Exactly 1,100 days separated the matches against Finland and Slovenia in the Euro Cup. 3 years 4 days – from tears to smiles. What a great guy Eriksen is for returning to football!
