After his cardiac arrest at the European Football Championship, it was unclear whether Danish footballer Christian Eriksen could continue to play professionally. He now plays for Premier League club Brentford. In his first interview with the club, he revealed that he’s really looking forward to playing football.
It came as a great shock to many when Danish international Christian Eriksen suddenly suffered a cardiac arrest in the middle of the pitch during the Denmark-Finland match at the European Football Championship last summer. He was resuscitated on the spot and luckily he was able to recover. But for a long time there was the question of whether Eriksen could ever be a professional footballer again. He now plays for Premier League club Brentford in England.
At the start of his new club, the 29-year-old gave an initial interview to Brentford FC. Here he revealed that he wanted to get out of cardiac arrest and focus on football. In the next four or five months he wants to return to professional level and “show that I’m a footballer again”.
Christian Eriksen: Love for football never disappeared
He has a “good feeling” with his new club. FC is the “best option” for his career. “It’s been a perfect mix so far.” London, where the club is based, is also a good place for his family. Eriksen spoke of a good start for the “Bees”, as the English club is called.
His cardiac arrest has made him an even better family man and father, Eriksen said: “The focus is now more on them than on me.” He spends more time with his family. But they understand that it is very important for him to play football again. Eriksen described this as a “win-win situation”.
The long period in which he was unable to play football was difficult for him, especially in the first few months after the drastic experience. At first he was only able to watch football matches, although he would have liked to have been there. “A few months ago I started again. I touched the ball, I was on the football pitch, I smelled the grass, football boots. That’s when the excitement came back: watching games, being in a stadium, being on a team.” But his love for football never disappeared.
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“I’m happy to show that you can play again after cardiac arrest”
“I feel very good,” assured the Danish professional. But with the training you will see how his condition develops and how his body reacts. “I’ll make sure I’m as fit as possible and in good shape.”
His goal is to be associated not only with his cardiac arrest, but with his professional career as a footballer. He got the green light from his doctors that he could play. “Of course I will always carry that with me and everyone will remember what happened last time. But now it’s time to create new memories and look forward. I look forward to showing that you can with an ICD (implantable defibrillator) and out of cardiac arrest if you do the right tests and everything is okay, you can play again.”
But now it’s about playing again. “It’s been six months of waiting and hard work to get to where I am now.” Eriksen wants to be “as good as possible”. “I will push myself and improve where I can. Let’s see how it goes and what happens.” His focus now is on being fit and playing 90 minutes in a match.
Brentford coach enthusiastic about transfer
The 109-time Danish national player had initially signed a contract with the London first division promoted until the summer. However, the Danish national soccer player will have to wait for his comeback. “It’s hard to say when he’ll be ready,” said coach Thomas Frank of Eriksen’s new club Brentford FC on Thursday in London. He hopes for a few weeks, “but I don’t know,” said the Dane. He could say more when he saw Eriksen in training for the first time. Eriksen completed his first training session on Monday. Eriksen had previously undergone extensive medical examinations at Brentford.
The coach was enthusiastic about the change. “It’s maybe the biggest transfer in history for the club,” he said. “We did it and that’s fantastic.” Frank recalled Eriksen’s outstanding performances at London Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, for whom the midfielder played between 2013 and 2020. “You saw him as one of the best in the Premier League and what happened to him in June was a shock to all of us. The day he returns will be very emotional,” said Frank.
National coach does not want to speculate about Eriksen’s use
The pressure that would have prevailed elsewhere from day one should be lower for the newly promoted Premier League, whatever the expectations. “Here he can find his way back to his old level in peace,” said Danish football expert Mikkel Bischoff from Discovery.
Many other Danes are also under contract with Brentford, including several that Eriksen knows from the national team. That should make it easier to get used to, as does the fact that he played under the Danish Brentford coach Thomas Frank as a youth in the Danish U17s.
What’s more, the Premier League remains the greatest arena in international football – and Eriksen needs that to get closer to an overarching goal. “My goal is to be at the World Cup in Qatar. I want to play,” he told Danish broadcaster DR a few weeks ago in his first interview since the collapse of the EM. It won’t be easy given the level of performance at the European Championship semi-finalist Denmark.
It is still too early for national coach Kasper Hjulmand to speculate about Eriksen’s return. “I’ve always said that Christian can play at his highest level for all teams in Europe and I still mean that,” he was quoted as saying by Danish radio on Monday. Eriksen was not injured, emphasized the former Mainz coach. “That’s why I really believe that he can find his level. And I might even think that Christian can get even better.”