Football fans across the globe send best wishes to Eriksen

With the EURO 2020 tournament in full swing, a single footballer is hogging the attention of the entire circles of European football. His name is Christian Eriksen, a 29-year-old Danish midfielder from Inter Milan, who suffered a cardiac arrest during the match between Denmark and Finland on Sunday.

Fortunately, Eriksen is reported to have shirked the worst scenario and currently recovering. “His condition is stable, and we have spoken to Eriksen, who has sent his greetings to his teammates. We would like to thank everyone for the heartfelt greetings to Christian Eriksen,” read a statement issued by the Danish Football Association on Monday.

The entire world of football is sending messages of get well wishes for the Danish player. At the Wembley stadium where players and fans gathered for the first match of Group D between England and Croatia, a young fan was seen waving a placard reading “Get well soon, Eriksen.” Get well messages were also seen at other stadiums for Eriksen.

Reportedly, Eriksen was briefly dead before getting his CPR. In an interview with BBC, Denmark team doctor Morten Boesen said Eriksen was gone after suffering a cardiac arrest but was able to be resuscitated after one use of the defibrillator.

La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Italian daily dedicated to various sports, reported the message that the Danish midfielder sent from the hospital bed through his manager, where he said, “Thank you. I won’t give up. I feel better now, but I want to understand what has happened.”


Jae-Yeong Yoo elegant@donga.com