Denmark captain Simon Kjaer attending to his teammate Christian Eriksen during a UEFA Euro 2020 match against Finland. (AP)
Former Denmark football team captain Simon Kjaer who is best remembered for rushing to teammate Christian Eriksen’s aid when the midfielder collapsed in a Euro 2020 match, retired from football on Monday. This was despite the player getting offered a chance to play after leaving AC Milan as a free agent last year.
In a Euro 2020 match against Finland, Kjaer led his teammates in shielding Eriksen from view on the field after the star playmaker collapsed because of cardiac arrest. Kjaer also consoled Eriksen’s partner on the field.
After Eriksen was stabilized, the Kjaer-captained Denmark reached the semi-finals of the European Championships after a long, arduous wait of 29 years.
Although the Red and Whites finally ran out of steam in the ongoing tournament during their 2-1 defeat to England, their ascension from the depths of tragedy touched the hearts of millions. After failing to qualify in the previous edition five years back, Denmark entered the tournament as “dark horses”, boasting an amicable and ambitious head coach and a multi-faceted squad of lionhearts.
Kjaer, along with the Denmark team and medical staff, later won the FIFA Fair Play Award for their actions in Copenhagen.
Eriksen resumed his career, with Denmark and now Manchester United, and only his record 140 appearances is ahead of Kjaer’s 132 in national-team history.
The 35-year-old Kjaer told Danish broadcaster TV2 he had the chance to sign for Champions League clubs but did not get the “once-in-a-lifetime” offer to continue his career.
A tough central defender, Kjaer started with Danish club Midtjylland and later played in Italy, Spain, Germany, France and Turkey. He won a Serie A title with Milan in 2022.
(With agency inputs)
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