Saturday June 12th 2021
Danes coach explains continuation
“Some were unable to play”
Denmark’s offensive player Christian Eriksen collapses on the pitch, has to be revived, for a long time it is unclear how things are with the 29-year-old. But not even two hours later, the game at the European Football Championship against Finland will kick off again. Now Denmark’s coach has expressed himself.
The Danish national soccer coach Kasper Hjulmand was very concerned after the collapse of Christian Eriksen. “I’m a little emotional,” said the 49-year-old with tears in his eyes: “It does something to you when a friend is suffering. It’s a tough night. He’s one of our best players and an even better person. All our thoughts are with him and his family. “
Eriksen collapsed in the European Championship game between Denmark and Finland (0-1) just before half-time, but according to UEFA and Danish officials, he is now stable and alert. There was no pressure from UEFA, said Hjulmand, but: “We had two options: to continue the game or to play at noon tomorrow. But everyone wanted to continue playing today.” The former Bundesliga coach of Mainz 05 said after the 0-1 win against Finland at the press conference.
“It was better to do it right away”
“The players couldn’t imagine being able to sleep and then get on the bus for a game on Sunday morning. It was better to do it right away,” said Hjulmand. It was also Eriksen’s wish to end the game. But this turned out to be “incredibly difficult”.
“The players wanted to try, but some weren’t able to play,” said Hjulmand. “We tried our best. You can’t play a football game at this level when you have to deal with such a tough subject.” Captain Simon Kjaer, for example, asked for his substitution.
“He was very hurt, they are very good friends. He wanted to try, but it was impossible. The emotions overwhelmed him,” said Hjulmand. It will remain difficult to deal with this situation in the coming days. The coach emphasized that the players would be offered “professional help”.
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