Just over nine months – 287 days – after world football held its breath hoping it would find its own, Denmark’s Christian Eriksen pulled off a remarkable comeback despite losing to the Netherlands (4-2) in friendly match, Saturday evening at the Johan-Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam. Entering the game in the second half, the Brentford attacking midfielder did not even wait two minutes to score, from his second touch of the ball, a superb goal with a powerful strike in the top corner, signing his 37th goal in the process in 110 selections.
A sympathetic nod to his inevitably atypical destiny, Eriksen was able to make this sensational comeback on the ground of his professional debut, that of Ajax, where he had shone for four seasons between 2009 and 2013. An attentive spectator from the bench from the sidelines at kick-off, Eriksen, as expected by Danish coach Kasper Hjulmand, entered the game after the break. Much applauded by the Dutch public and by the coach of the Oranje, Louis van Gaal, when he entered the lawn, Eriksen raised his hands to the sky in thanks.
Implantation of a defibrillator
Sharp and author of some exceptional technical gestures, he also hit the Dutch post with a splendid long shot. Obviously, he savored this return to “normal”, he who had been close to death on this disastrous June 12, 2021. That day, Eriksen had collapsed in the 42nd minute of the match which opposed Denmark to Copenhagen to Finland in the group stage of the Euro, and remained unconscious for almost 5 minutes.
After having had a defibrillator implanted, Eriksen had resumed training at Odense, his training club, then with the Ajax reserve team, keeping the hope of resuming the course of a devastated career in full force. ‘age. Deprived of this opportunity in Italy, Eriksen was released from his contract at Inter Milan and finally signed a contract until the end of the season with promoted Brentford, with whom he has already played three Premier League games since the end of the season. end of February.