Christian Eriksen’s comeback has achieved the seemingly impossible – uniting the football community behind a Manchester United player.
Anybody who tuned in for Denmark against Finland last summer will never forget what they witnessed; there’s no need to recount the story of Eriksen’s cardiac arrest other than to restate how traumatic it was to witness on live television.
Eriksen was not permitted to play in Serie A due to the presence of an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator he had implanted in the aftermath, leading to his release by Internazionale.
His half-season at Brentford was the most uplifting storyline of the season. Not only did Eriksen help the Premier League underdogs finish mid-table but every single performance was filled with a compelling joie de vivre.
Forget goals, assists and Premier League points, Eriksen was alive. There’s nothing like a near-death experience to make you realise that it’s always later than you think.
A summer move to Old Trafford, rather than endangering his popularity, has reminded everybody that Eriksen is still a world-class footballer and not just a recovering invalid.
The 30-year-old has been featured in Erik Ten Hag’s system as a deep-lying playmaker, suited to taking the ball off the defence and immediately looking for space and opportunities in front of him.
It feels that United have longed for a midfielder to do something as simple as that for years, which makes it even sweeter for the fans to see it in action now.
Team-mate Raphael Varane hailed the impact Eriksen has made, telling reporters: “He managed to integrate quickly into the squad, he has a lot of qualities.
“We are very happy to see him at this level after what he has been through. He brings experience. Playing against Christian is a player that I appreciate.”
But we can’t help thinking that Varane was less appreciative after Eriksen donned his Pied Pier outfit and led the France defence on a merry dance during their Nations League victory in Copenhagen.
One moment of tongue-wagging quality stood above all others as the central exhibit in his improvised collection. Receiving the ball in his own half, the Danish magician set himself before pinging a delicious pass into the path of Andreas Skov Olsen.
Nobody present seemed to mind that Olsen was denied by Alphonse Areola – and that he was also flagged offside – as they were still awe-struck by Eriksen’s vision and technique.
Perhaps his deep-lying position is more…
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