Where Christian Eriksen is concerned, events have already gone from the life-threatening to the life-affirming once in the last year. It is to be hoped they do again.
Eriksen’s June collapse on the Parken Stadium pitch, with the cardiac arrest he suffered in the first half against Finland, was the trauma that almost resulted in tragedy. If his team-mates, led by captain Simon Kjaer, showed their humanity in the immediate aftermath, their spirited surge to the semi-finals, courtesy of inspired attacking by a team with a cause, turned a tournament into a stirring triumph.
Now it may be time for a more personal comeback. Seven months after his life almost ended, his career could resume. Eriksen’s talks with Brentford may bring a return to action. And while it is natural to be worried, it should also be celebrated. If Eriksen and the doctors are right and he can safely play again, it would be glorious. The cliché is that he has been given a second chance at life, but for many of us, football gives much of it meaning; second time around, his aims seem the same.
His release by Inter Milan, because the implantable cardioverter-defibrillator he was fitted with is not permitted in Italy, makes him a free agent. A player defined in part by his country even before last summer, and who was on course to become Denmark’s most capped player and perhaps their record scorer, has voiced an ambition to play in the World Cup. An ambition could take on the feel of a crusade, taking him from the hospital to the game’s grandest stage, giving him the opportunity to leave his stamp on a tournament as playmaker and goalscorer in a way he was denied at Euro 2020.
If his club return is a means to an end, that is understandable. If it is Brentford, he would make an incongruous sight at a club who had gone 74 years without top-flight football until this season. In that time, he reached the Champions League final with Tottenham and won Serie A with Inter. Whatever his current fitness, and he has trained with Odense, he should retain his class and his vision.
Brentford’s large Danish contingent could ease his reintroduction to football, making them a Scandinavian bus stop in Hounslow. Their situation, comfortably clear of the relegation zone, could reduce the pressure on Eriksen. Thomas Frank’s 3-5-2 formation may suit him, with Brentford perhaps requiring more invention and Eriksen potentially dovetailing with two more defensive presences in the centre of the pitch. His quality is such that he would benefit many another team, however. Should the next few months go well, it is easy to imagine him pulling the strings for a better team next season.
And, while the human element obviously dominated the discourse, Eriksen felt the least deserving of players to be struck down so randomly and suddenly. He came across as an admirable figure, down to earth and likeable, the everyman with the lovely touch. He was a brilliant player, the artist who decorated and decided games by being so consistently creative. In a nine-season spell for Ajax and Tottenham, he finished in the top 10 for assists eight times. In a 23-game spell for Denmark, he scored 19 times; he was their greatest player since the golden generation of the Laudrups and Peter Schmeichel. Age Hareide argued he belonged in the world’s top 10 players. Perhaps the focus on Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Son Heung-min, coupled with Eriksen’s understated manner, denied him some of the credit for Tottenham’s excellence under Mauricio Pochettino but it is ever more apparent they have never properly replaced him.
None of which was the major issue seven months ago. Whereas his heart stopped, it would be a heart-warming sight to see him out on the pitch, doing what he does best, and subject to footballing considerations again. It would be a welcome return to normality, as he used to know it.
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