Last summer, midfielder Christian Eriksen’s heart stopped on the field. The stadium gasped and froze. The celebration of European soccer turned into a tragedy. It lasted five minutes. “And suddenly I woke up. I opened my eyes – people around me, someone pressing on my chest, and I don’t understand what’s happening. Fragments of thoughts are in my head: Have I broken my leg? My back? Later, in the ambulance, I found out I was out of this world for five minutes,” Eriksen said in an interview with the BBC. Doctors brought him back to life and suggested he forget about returning to professional sports.
But just 8 months after his clinical death, Eriksen returned, and not just back, but to the top of club soccer – the English Premier League. He is not stopping and is preparing to play for Denmark at the World Cup in Qatar in November. “By all accounts, I am no different from my former self, and nothing is stopping me from returning to my former level,” Eriksen said.
At Euro 2020 matches, fans and players alike wished Eriksen good health. This is a serious offer. Eriksen is the best Danish soccer player of his generation. He was the backbone of Tottenham Hotspur for several years, started at Ajax and finished his first football career at Inter Milan. From there, he went on to play in the postponed Euro 2020 due to COVID-19. On June 12, 2021, Eriksen’s heart stopped in the very first match of the Danish national team at the home stadium in Copenhagen. The Dane says he didn’t need to recover psychologically: “There was no decline at all here.”
However, the 29-year-old Eriksen has gradually made up for his previous physical form. “Together with the doctors, we developed a clear plan and I moved slowly but steadily towards my goal. At every step I was thoroughly examined. I clearly understood that if anything went wrong, if they noticed any deterioration, I would have to stop.
Doctors pumped Eriksen behind the backs of the Danish national team players. As a result, the Danes reached the semifinals of Euro 2020, where they lost to the English hosts in extra time at Wembley. We explain quickly, simply, and clearly what happened, why it matters, and what happens next. Episodes End of story: Podcast Advertising. Eriksen had a cardioverter defibrillator implanted, which led to his departure from Inter – playing with such implants is banned in Italy. He began training alone at home in Denmark. He returned to London in January.
Eriksen signed for the club “Brentford” – a newcomer and outsider of the Premier League. Both Danish coach Thomas Frank and the fans here are praying for Eriksen. T-shirts bearing his name quickly increased the club’s sales of branded merchandise by a factor of 30. Eriksen is determined to help Brentford avoid relegation from the Premier League. He says he will not save himself and is fully prepared for the physicality and contact that characterize English football. “I have no fear whatsoever. The pacemaker is not felt at all and does not interfere in any way. It is designed to withstand shocks, so I am calm. And if something happens to my heart, it will save me,” says Eriksen. “I am not afraid of difficulties and I am not afraid of aggressive battles on the field, no.
Eriksen has signed a six-month contract with London-based Brentford. “I have no intention of changing my style of play,” he says. “I’ve been training hard for six months and pushing myself to new heights, so I might even be in better shape now than I was before. I just lack match practice. Eriksen was introduced to the fans on Friday and is already training with the team. “I have been running like crazy, going through a lot of tests. My health is fine, but I can only return to football form during a game. It will take a few more weeks. As soon as the coach decides I’m ready, I’ll be ready. He won’t be on the field for the next two games, but the debut of the Danish footballer’s second life is not far off. “I feel like that moment is coming, but I’m willing to wait a little longer,” says a calm and collected Eriksen. “And it will be a special moment in my life. To get back on the field, to play again, after 7-8 months since everything happened – it will be cool”.
The captain of the Danish national soccer team, Christian Eriksen, whose heart stopped on the field during a European Championship match five days ago, will have a pacemaker-defibrillator implanted.