Christian Eriksen collapses and is close to death recently. The bad situation that overshadowed the end of the first round of the 2020 European Cup duel, Denmark versus Finland. Fortunately, quick treatment saved his life. According to the Danish national team doctor, Morten Boesen, Eriksen is really critical.
“He had ‘passed away’. We did cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and it worked. How nearly did we lose him? I do not know. However, we did get (heart rate) back after one defibrillation, so it was pretty fast,” Boesen said. CPR or cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is indeed first aid for people who suddenly lose consciousness like Eriksen. The practice of heart massage that can increase the potential for survival is around 17-44%.
The rapid movement of the Danish medical team assisted by the cooperative attitude of Simon Kjaer, cs. saved Eriksen’s life. While surrounded by his team-mates and covered in a large Finnish flag, Eriksen was carried outside the Parken Stadium. Coach Kasper Hjulmand appreciates all of their responses to the sky. Eriksen is being treated at the Rigshospitalet Hospital not far from the stadium. When he fully regained consciousness, Eriksen admitted he didn’t really know what was going on. As of Sunday morning, his condition is slowly stabilizing and has been in communication with the team.
“Christian is a big hearted person. He feels he can play because he is happiest on the pitch. He said on Sunday morning that we felt worse than him because he wanted to be on the pitch again. We have to come together to perform for Eriksen,” said Hjulmand. Criticism points to UEFA providing only two options: Matches continue on Saturday night or Sunday afternoon. Boesen, Hjulmand and many like Peter Schmeichel also questioned the choice.
In the end, Denmark decided to appear after knowing Eriksen had woken up. Unfortunately, they failed to present a win for the star after conceding a single goal from Joel Pohjanpalo. For Hjulmand, the moment that night was not just about football. “We are all reminded of what is most important in life and the need to have valuable relationships with others. I have a group of players that I can’t praise enough. It’s no more proud to see them helping each other when their friends are suffering,” added Hjulmand.
Eriksen is not the first person to suddenly collapse on the pitch. Cameroon and Manchester City legend Marc Vivien-Foe collapsed during the 2003 Confederations Cup semi-final against Colombia. According to his wife, Foe actually showed symptoms of illness a few days before the match. His coach, Winfried Schafer also wanted to pull Foe a minute before he lost consciousness. Foe was reluctant, because he wanted to continue to strengthen his home country in the city he lived in, Lyon. Unfortunately, his life could not be saved.
Sevilla defender Antonio Puerta also fell on the pitch with a heart problem. God took the life of Puerta, who was 22 years old, three days after the incident he collapsed against Getafe in La Liga 2007-08. His figure is the main reason Sergio Ramos has consistently worn the national team’s number 15 jersey since 2008-09. When Ramos missed Euro 2020, all the players were reluctant to wear it.
Young Hungarian talent, Miklos Feher also collapsed when he helped Benfica win over Vitoria Guimares in the 2004-05 Portuguese League match. He who contributed to Benfica’s only goal, slowly fell unconscious after the referee gave a yellow card in added time. All three received respect from their respective clubs. Symbolically, their jersey numbers are retired. Obviously there are many similar stories.
Fabrice Muamba also experienced such a fate when strengthening Bolton Wanderers against Tottenham Hotspur in the 2011-12 FA Cup. Fortunately, Muamba’s life was saved even though he had to withdraw from the football world. One of the best talents of Ajax Amsterdam, Abdelhak Nouri suffered the same pain when playing in a pre-season match against Werder Bremen in 2017. His potential career was not saved, having just woken up from a coma almost three years later.
Other Ajax players are busy wearing the number 34 shirt after moving teams out of respect for Nouri’s figure. The club also presented their 34th trophy specially for him. 2021 is actually slowly going so well for Eriksen. Inter CEO, Beppe Marotta previously rambled solely about the possibility of Eriksen moving clubs. Marotta was disappointed, Eriksen, who had joined the team for a year, had not performed well in Italy.
Luckily, in the second round of Serie A, Eriksen finally got the momentum to help Inter win the Scudetto. The three goals he scored always came in crucial moments. His goal contribution at Napoli, helped La Beneamata steal a point and keep their distance from their rivals. Eriksen’s shot found the goal Crotone helped them relax to ensure the title before facing Juventus and Roma. Finally, he helped enliven the party in the 5-1 massacre of Udinese.
Not surprisingly, his comrades in blue-black uniforms sent sympathetic messages in a flash. Like Romelu Lukaku and Achraf Hakimi who competed with the national team not long after the sad incident of their colleagues. Many people pray for the health of Eriksen, a five-time winner of the Danish Footballer of the Year status.
Eriksen’s role at Euro 2020 may be over. From the treatment room, he hopes his colleagues can rise against Belgium (17/6) and Russia (22/6). Regarding the mentality of revival, Denmark has a reputation for surprising explosive power since 1992. Changing the status of not qualifying to become European champions in just two weeks.
Eriksen’s career as a footballer may also have ended. Looking at the stories of the players who were hit by heart attacks, it seems possible that his football career will come to an end. It’s hard to swallow that fact if it’s true. Even if he is not a player who defends the favorite team, we know how tokcer the 29-year-old’s creative power is in attack.
Then we can only repeat this scene in our heads: Joakim Maehle throws in and Eriksen receives the ball. There was a death line that was almost missed, until it was finally compensated by the right response so quickly. Gratefully, Eriksen’s life was saved.
ASL
