‘Chris, I love you’
Heung-min Son dedicated his match-winning goal for South Korea to his close friend and former teammate Christian Eriksen, who suffered a cardiac arrest while playing against Finland on Saturday afternoon.
Eriksen started Denmark’s first group game, but collapsed to the turf towards the end of the first half. The heroic actions of his captain, Simon Kjær, who put him into the recovery position and applied CPR, and the medics, who used a defibrillator, saved the 29-year-old’s life.
UEFA and the Danish FA have since confirmed that the midfielder is stabilised in hospital, where he will continue to undergo tests and recover.
Every corner of the footballing world has sent its well wishes to the Dane, hoping for a full and fast recovery. Romelu Lukaku was the first to send a message to his Inter Milan teammate after he opened the scoring for Belgium against Russia on Saturday night.
And Eriksen’s former teammate at Spurs, Heung-min Son, has now done the same.
🇰🇷 2-1 🇱🇧
🔄 Son Heung-min scores from the spot to complete the turnaround in Goyang.
🇩🇰🙏 The captain then gave a message into the camera for his former @SpursOfficial teammate Christian Eriksen.#AsianQualifiers | #대한민국 | @theKFA pic.twitter.com/xDXaeWdq2M
— K League (@kleague) June 13, 2021
Son was celebrating scoring a penalty that secured three points for South Korea against Lebanon, and ran towards the TV camera holding up two fingers one one hand and three on the other–a nod to Eriksen’s squad number at Spurs, 23.
The South Korea captain then looked down the lens and told Eriksen: “I love you.”
2️⃣3️⃣ Son Heung-Min dedicates his goal to former #THFC teammate Christian Eriksen.
❤️ “I love you.”
— Jason (Hanshin) Lee (@Jasons_JaysHub) June 13, 2021
Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Denmark’s doctor Morten Boesen said: “He was gone. How close were we? I don’t know.”
“His condition is stable and he continues to be hospitalised for further examination,” said a statement from the Danish FA.
Within the same press conference, messages sent by Eriksen to his Danish teammates were discussed.
They show the dry wit and sharp sense of humour of the former Spurs man.
Eriksen is said to have remarked: “How are you, lads? I think you feel worse than I do.
“I feel like I could put on the boots and go to practice right now.”
