Kjaer, for one, was physically and emotional spent and had to be substituted 27 minutes before the end of the 1-0 defeat to Finland. The past few days have been difficult for everyone in the Denmark camp and, looking back, it seems unreasonable that the team were sent out to resume their match against Finland just two hours after fearing they may have lost a team-mate. When goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg was knocked unconscious after a collision with the Inter Milan defender Lucio in 2011, it was Kjaer who was the first to assist his Roma team-mate, checking his breathing and securing his neck. It is not the first time he has reacted in such fashion either. I think a lot of people in that situation would have been afraid. “That was Simon to a tee – react quickly, take the lead, decide what to do and action it,” the former England manager said. Steve McClaren was watching from home when the events unfolded and could not have been prouder of the player he managed at Wolfsburg in Germany. He has an incredibly sensitive and human side to him.” “It does not surprise me that he did what he did. “I’m incredibly proud to have him as captain,” said Schmeichel. It was Kjaer who rushed to Eriksen’s aid, checking his breathing, clearing his airways and commencing CPR before the medics arrived and then led the Denmark players in forming a protective ring around their stricken team-mate, not least to shield the playmaker’s family in the crowd from the distress of having to watch doctors working to save his life.įew, too, will forget the sight of Eriksen’s distraught partner, Sabrina Kvist Jensen, being comforted on the side of the pitch by Kjaer and Kasper Schmeichel, the Denmark goalkeeper. A round of applause will reverberate around the Parken Stadium in the 10th minute against Belgium in honour of their beloved No 10 but it could just as well be for Kjaer. Leading them out will be the man whose quick-thinking and heroics might have proven the difference between Eriksen being able to watch the game on television from his hospital bed and not.
“He’s a rock in our group, he’s a big figure on and off the pitch, he takes a lot of pressure on his shoulders and we’ve all seen him do that in these last few days.”ĭenmark return to the scene of Saturday’s traumatic events on Thursday when they face Belgium in their pivotal second Group B match. “We’ve always known he’s a big personality but I think a lot more people see that now,” Thomas Delaney, the Denmark midfielder, said of Kjaer. Not that it surprised those who know the unflappable Denmark captain and AC Milan defender. Whatever happens between now and the end of Euro 2020, it seems doubtful that we will see a more striking example of leadership on the field than Simon Kjaer’s actions in those agonising minutes that followed Christian Eriksen’s sudden collapse from a cardiac arrest during Denmark’s game against Finland at the Parken Stadium last weekend. Simon Kjaer: A 'godsend' leading Denmark from the front in hard timesĪfter Christian Eriksen's on-pitch collapse, Kjaer was the first there – team-mates and former managers speak of his strength of character
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