Video | Christian Eriksen, after defeating death, shone on his return to the Euro Cup: he celebrated a key goal

Three years ago, in the debut of Euro 2020, the Danish Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest that shook world football. This Sunday, he closed the cycle of the biggest scare of his career, by scoring Denmark’s goal in a 1-1 draw with Slovenia.

Eriksen commanded Denmark’s midfield and scored the goal that opened the scoring, merits that earned him the Uefa Player of the Match award. That same recognition was given to him three years ago, but for a very different reason.

This was the day Christian Eriksen suffered cardiac arrest

Copenhagen dressed up on June 12, 2021 to welcome a European Championship that had been postponed for a year due to the pandemic. It was one of the 11 host cities for the 2020 edition. At the Parken stadium, the ‘Red Dynamite’ hoped to start the tournament with a victory against Finland.

But in the 43rd minute the alarm went off. Eriksen, then an Inter player, collapsed. Minutes of tension followed, marked by the tears of Danish fans and players and the uncertainty throughout Europe about the condition of the player, who was quickly treated by the stadium’s medical services.

Thanks to cardiac massage and the use of a defibrillator, Eriksen, then 29 years old, survived and regained consciousness, after which he was taken to hospital.

The match was initially suspended and, once reassuring news arrived, there was an agreement to resume it a few hours later, with a final victory for Finland, on a night in which the result was the least important.

This is how Eriksen remembers the mishap that almost ended his life

“On the way to the hospital, I told Sabrina (his wife) that the best thing would be to hang up his boots. But, that idea changed two days later,” declared the Dane in February 2022.

In order to continue on the courts, Eriksen had to use a subcutaneous defibrillator, a device designed to control the heart rate and activate in the event of anomalies. After an intervention to implant this solution, the player left the hospital five days after he fainted.

The Dane even visited his teammates and wished them luck in a tournament in which they reached the semifinals, in which they lost 2-1 against England.

However, the solution they found so that Eriksen could continue playing was not accepted in Italy, which is why he had to leave Inter. After passing through Tottenham, he returned to the Premier League to play for Brentford, with whom he made his debut on February 26, 2022.

A month later he returned to the Denmark National Team and on his return he scored a goal, which showed that he was fully fit to play.

In July of that same year he signed for Manchester United. Based in Old Trafford,

Eriksen has continued his career normally, adding minutes at both club and national team level, and playing in the 2022 World Cup.

“Three years have passed and a lot of things have happened since then, but honestly I don’t think too much about it,” he said on Saturday in the press conference prior to the game against Slovenia.

In front of the back of the Stuttgart Arena occupied by Danish fans, Eriksen chested down a ball in the heart of the area, and powerfully beat Jan Oblak, closing 1,100 days later a circle of improvement and courage that also started on the first day of Eurocup.

SPORTS

With AFP

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