Christian Eriksen's Comeback Has A New Chapter
In his first two games back with Denmark, Eriksen has scored two goals.
A few weeks ago, we shared the story of Christian Eriksen’s inspiring return to soccer following cardiac arrest. At the time, Eriksen had just made his first appearance for Brentford in the Premier League, but his real focus was elsewhere, back in his home country of Denmark. He wanted to represent the Danes again, help them prepare for and eventually win the World Cup this fall. “It’s a goal, a dream,” said Eriksen then about playing with the national team.
We usually don’t run updates on stories, but this one is so special that I couldn’t help myself. Last week, Eriksen was added to the Danish roster during the latest international break. On March 26, Eriksen subbed on during a game in Amsterdam against the Netherlands. He had been on the field for less than two minutes when the ball found his foot, and he buried a goal into the top corner. He pumped his fist, roared, and smiled. It was the first time he touched a ball while playing for Denmark since the cardiac arrest. “To start the comeback in international football like this was a perfect way,” he said afterwards.
The rest of the week brought new challenges. The Danes travelled back to Copenhagen, where they were scheduled to play Serbia in Parken, the same stadium where Eriksen had collapsed. He hadn’t stepped foot there since that day. The afternoon before the game, the Danish team took the field and ran through their practice. Eriksen reached the spot of his accident, paused for a moment, and started to clap. The whole team looked at him. Eriksen just clapped and clapped, louder and more intense each time. Then he stopped. He didn’t say a word. He kept doing the drills. And that was that.
He wore the captain’s armband for the game, and when the team left the locker room, they paused in the tunnel, allowing Eriksen to take the field first and salute the fans. It had been only 290 days since that horrible afternoon when this return felt like a fantasy. The crowd cheered wildly, unfurling banners that read “Welcome home, Christian.” It was the most attended soccer friendly in Denmark in the last 17 years.
And then it happened again. In the 56th minute, Eriksen received the ball at the top of the box. He ran to his right and unleashed a bending ball that headed straight to the back of the net. It was a miraculous goal even without the circumstances, and the crowd jumped out and down in delight. His teammates hugged him. Eriksen’s coach couldn’t wipe the smile off his face.
The scenes in Copenhagen last year will always follow Eriksen, but he has taken that awful moment and turned it into a spectacular triumph. Eriksen described this week’s games as the end of one chapter of his life and the beginning of another. He is playing as if he never missed any time at all. He’s full of energy—and more importantly, he’s full of life. Copenhagen is the land of fairy tales, but even Hans Christian Anderson couldn’t have written one like this.
It's just wonderful. Who knows? I might be writing another post like this later in the year after Eriksen adds another chapter to the story during the World Cup. I sure hope so.
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