Eriksen: Playing in the World Cup stays with you forever

 


Christian Eriksen revealed Erik ten Hag's brand of football was a major factor behind his desire to join Manchester United as he targets FIFA World Cup™ duty with Denmark.

Eriksen arrived at United on a three-year deal this month, having impressed during a short-term spell at Brentford as he made his comeback from suffering a cardiac arrest at the UEFA EURO last year. Several sides expressed an interest in the midfielder – including his old club Tottenham – but Eriksen decided to link up with another former Ajax favourite in Ten Hag.

United have impressed in pre-season as Ten Hag bids to implement a more proactive style of play at Old Trafford, and the playmaker is relishing the prospect of turning out for the Dutchman's new-look team. Asked how influential Ten Hag was in his decision to join United, Eriksen told the club's website: "Very.

“I want to come here to play football, I didn't come just for the logo itself. To speak with the manager, and hear his ideas and have conversations with him on football terms, was great for me to get the decision of coming to Manchester United.

“I think, with the idea of the manager coming in and the ideas he had, and also with my conversations with him, I could see myself playing football in Manchester. I think my style of play hopefully fits in his ideas, and it's hopefully something that will connect in a good and positive way. So of course, this style of football, I think it suits me.

“At the same time, it's a very, very big club – if not the biggest. It has a big history, and it's a nice feeling to be part of something that is that big in history. The only aim is to go as high as possible and see where it takes us, the aim is definitely to win something.”

Happy in Italy

Eriksen scored one goal and added four assists in 11 Premier League appearances for Brentford, creating 30 chances after making his Bees debut in March, a tally bettered only by Martin Odegaard (38) and Kevin De Bruyne (42) throughout the division. Meanwhile, since Eriksen made his Premier League bow for Tottenham in September 2013, only De Bruyne (85) has racked up more than his 66 assists in the competition – despite the Dane spending 18 months at Inter and a further half-season out of the game.

Having left Spurs for the Serie A giants in January 2020, Eriksen doubted whether he would return to the Premier League, but he remains grateful for Brentford's role in his comeback.

“I think from my career path, before my incident in the EUROs, I wasn't planning to go back to the UK at all,” he said. “To sit here is definitely something I didn't expect.

“Back then, I wanted to try something new and left Spurs after more than seven years. I went to Italy and it started off tough but ended up being a very, very good place.”

Asked about his time with Thomas Frank's Bees, Eriksen added: “I'm forever grateful for what they did. They showed they cared from day one, for wanting me back and being able to give me the stage to perform.”

Qatar dream

Eriksen also made an emotional return to international football in March, scoring with his first touch in Denmark's defeat to the Netherlands. With Kasper Hjulmand's team preparing for Qatar 2022, Eriksen says featuring at the tournament for a third time remains an ambition.

“From when I did my rehab last year, that was the aim,” he said. “The dream was obviously to be back and in condition to go to the World Cup if I could.

“It's something I think we all dream about: playing in the World Cup. It's something that you keep with you forever.”

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Russia Expelled From World Cup, Clubs Banned From International Competitions

Russia has been expelled from the World Cup after being suspended from all international competitions "until further notice", FIFA and UEFA announced in a joint statement on Monday, while European football's governing body also ended its partnership with Russian energy giant Gazprom. The men's team had been due to play in qualifying play-offs in March for the World Cup in Qatar later this year, while its women's side had qualified for the European Championship in England, to be held in July. The announcement also affects Russian clubs involved in European competitions. "FIFA and UEFA have today decided together that all Russian teams, whether national representative teams or club teams, shall be suspended from participation in both FIFA and UEFA competitions until further notice," read the joint statement from the governing bodies of world and European football. FIFA/UEFA suspend Russian clubs and national teams from all competitions The Russian men'...
Read more

Group G: All Injured or Doubted player for World Cup 2022

Brazil are breathing a little easier. It seems that the World Cup is not in danger for Richarlison (he had a terrible scare with Tottenham) nor for Paqueta. One player who is out is Diego Carlos, who has had a very unlucky start to his time in the Premier League. Meanwhile, Arthur, who is out through injury until January, would unlikely have been on the plane even if he was healthy. As for the rest of the squads, watch out for Sommer...the legendary Swiss goalkeeper raised the alarm bell for his team with an ankle problem. Brazil : Gleison Bremer (Juventus - Doubt, flexor injury), Richarlison (Tottenham - Doubt, calf injury), Diego Carlos (Aston Villa - OUT, Achilles tendon), Lucas Paqueta (West Ham - Doubt, shoulder injury), Arthur Melo (Liverpool - OUT, muscle problem). Serbia : Erhan Masovic (Bochum - Doubt, adductor injury), Ivan Ilic (Hellas Verona - Doubt, muscle problems), Darko Lazovic (Hellas Verona - Doubt, muscle problems),Andrija Zivkovic (PAOK - Doubt, finger injury), Dusa...
Read more

Semi-automated offside technology to be used at FIFA World Cup 2022

Image
FIFA has announced that semi-automated offside technology will be used at the FIFA World Cup 2022™ in Qatar starting on 21 November, offering a support tool for the video match officials and the on-field officials to help them make faster, more accurate and more reproducible offside decisions on the biggest stage of all. Following the successful use of VAR technology at the 2018 FIFA World Cup™ in Russia, FIFA President Gianni Infantino declared in The Vision 2020-23 that FIFA would strive to harness the full potential of technology in football and further enhance VAR. In the ensuing three years, FIFA has indeed continued to be at the cutting edge of technology in the game. By working with adidas and various partners, and especially with the Working Group for Innovation Excellence and technology providers, FIFA has spent the last few years further improving the VAR system, including the use of semi-automated offside technology. The new technology uses 12 dedicated tracking cameras m...
Read more