Christian Eriksen’s smile flashes through again and again. In a black, thick jacket, the 30-year-old stood in front of the camera on Saturday evening and said he felt “like a footballer again”. 287 days after suffering cardiac arrest at the European Championship, the Danish star made a wonderful comeback in his old home of Amsterdam. It couldn’t have been better, Eriksen told Dutch TV broadcaster NOS after his goal in the 4-2 friendly against the Netherlands. “I was really looking forward to it.”
Eriksen only made his competitive comeback a month ago. The midfielder is now employed by Brentford FC in the English Premier League. At his ex-club Inter Milan, he was no longer allowed to play with the defibrillator he had installed. This should prevent the dramatic scenes from the EM summer from repeating themselves. The tragic game with his collapse on the lawn on June 12, 2021 was his last in the Danish jersey until this Saturday.
National coach Kasper Hjulmand replaced Eriksen in the second half in front of 50,000 spectators – the fans were already celebrating there. The now 110-time national player had played for Ajax Amsterdam for a long time during his career, he gave the TV interview in Dutch. “It’s a pleasure to see him play football,” said Hjulmand, who also said he gave his protégé one thing above all else: “Enjoy it – and welcome back.”
Just two minutes later, Eriksen scored with a solid shot to make it 2:3 (47th). “I’ve had good years here and I still know where the goal is,” he said. And Eriksen also inspired his opponents. “I had goosebumps,” said Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt. “It’s great that he’s back – the way he scored shows his class.” Eriksen later hit the post from 20 meters (74th). “It was the perfect game for the fans,” said De Ligt.
Brentford FC tweeted: “A perfect story.”
Eriksen’s comeback in red and white almost failed due to a corona infection, but the crowd’s favorite reported fit in time. “Wonderful to see Christian Eriksen score for Denmark 287 days after we feared the worst. Fantastic,” wrote former England international turned TV pundit Gary Lineker on Twitter. Brentford FC tweeted: “A perfect story.”
The end result seemed secondary. The Elftal, the next German opponents again in Amsterdam on Tuesday, won with goals from the two England pros Steven Bergwijn (16th/71st minute) and Nathan Aké (29th) and a foul penalty from Memphis Depay (38th). Jannik Vestergaard equalized for the Danes to make it 1-1 (20′). Both teams have qualified for the World Cup in Qatar at the end of the year.