Christian Eriksen

Christian Dannemann Eriksen (born 14 February 1992) is a Danish footballer who plays for VfL Wolfsburg and the Denmark national team as an midfielder. He made his debut for the Denmark national team in March 2010, and was the youngest player of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. 

In 2011, Eriksen was named Danish Football Player of the Year, Dutch Football Talent of the Year, Ajax Talent of the Year (Marco van Basten Award), and made the UEFA Euro U-21 Team of the Tournament. He won the Eredivisie with Ajax in 2010–11, 2011–12, and in 2012–13 before signing with Tottenham Hotspur in August 2013. He won the Tottenham Hotspur Player of the Year award for the 2013–14 season and in 2015, he won the Danish Football Player of the Year award for the second year in a row.

Club career

Early career in Middelfart and Odense
Eriksen started playing football in his hometown Middelfart before his third birthday. In 2005 he switched to Odense Boldklub, who competed in the Danish youth championships. His team lost the semi-final against Brøndby IF, but afterwards he was named "Best Technical Player" of the tournament. The following year OB won the tournament, when Eriksen scored the only goal in the final. After some good performances for OB's U-16 team and later on U-19 team and the Danish U-17 team, major European football clubs including Chelsea and Barcelona began to take notice. The player had trials with Barcelona, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Milan, but finally decided to move to Ajax, stating "My first step should not be too big. I knew that playing in the Netherlands would be very good for my development. Then Ajax arrived and that was a fantastic option".

AFC Ajax

Youth & entrance in the first squad
On 17 October 2008 it was announced that Eriksen had signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Amsterdam-based Ajax. The transfer fee received by OB was estimated at €1 million (£847,199). He worked his way through the youth teams, and was promoted to the first team squad in January 2010, where he was given the number 51 shirt. Within the month, he made his first team debut for the Dutch team in the Eredivisie on 17 January 2010 against NAC Breda. Ajax manager Martin Jol compared him to the likes of Ajax youth products Wesley Sneijder and Rafael van der Vaart and described him as a good reader of the game in the traditional "number 10" role like the two Dutch internationals and Danish legend Michael Laudrup, who also played for Ajax.

On 25 March 2010 he scored his first goal for Ajax in a 6–0 win against opponent Go Ahead Eagles in the Dutch Cup. On 10 April 2010, Eriksen extended his contract with Ajax until the summer of 2014, stating "I can still learn a lot here, I'm not finished yet and I hope I can mean a lot for the club." On 6 May 2010, Eriksen played in the second match of the final of the 2009–10 Dutch Cup as Ajax beat Feyenoord 1–4, with 1–6 on aggregate. At the end of his first professional season at Ajax, Eriksen had played 21 competitive matches, scoring one goal, and had made his international debut for Denmark. For his second season in the first team of Ajax, Eriksen was given the number 8 shirt.

Breakthrough season
Eriksen started the 2010–11 season well, scoring his first Ajax league goal on 29 August 2010 in an away victory over De Graafschap. On 11 November 2010, Eriksen scored his first goal at the Amsterdam ArenA a 3–0 Cup victory over BV Veendam. In December, Eriksen was named Danish "Talent of the Year". Several days after receiving this award, Eriksen once again proved his value to Ajax by scoring the only goal in a 0–1 away league victory over Vitesse. On 17 February 2011, Eriksen scored his first goal in a European tournament, the Ajax goal to 2–0, when Ajax beat Anderlecht 3–0 in the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League. On 13 March 2011, Eriksen scored a solo goal, running from the half way line to finish it off with a strike to secure a 3–1 win over Willem II.

During the rest of the season, Eriksen became more and more important for Ajax, due to his growing capabilities as the team's playmaker, providing many assists. After a good season during which he developed himself into an undisputed starter in the side that won the 2010–11 Eredivisie (Ajax's first Eredivisie title in seven years), he was named Ajax's Talent of the Year. On 23 May 2011 he was named Dutch Football Talent of the Year, the second Danish player to win the award since Jon Dahl Tomasson in 1996. He was elected by a jury under command of Holland's all-time best player Johan Cruyff. "He's a player I really like with all my heart," Cruyff praised Eriksen. "This prize is just the beginning, a stimulus to get the maximum out of his career. The talent is there, the recognition also; now it is up to the player himself. He is a typical product of the Danish school. You can compare him with Brian and Michael Laudrup. Only time will tell if Eriksen can reach the same level as them.".

Rising influence in the squad
On 18 October 2011, Eriksen scored his first goal in the UEFA Champions League when Ajax beat Dinamo Zagreb 2–0 in the group stage, making him the 2nd youngest player to score in the 2011–12 season. In the second match versus Dinamo Zagreb on 2 November he provided assists to Gregory van der Wiel and Siem de Jong as well as being involved with the third goal, as Ajax cruised to a 4–0 victory. He was named Danish Football Player of the Year on 7 November after helping Ajax win the Eredivisie the previous year and guiding the national team to a successful Euro 2012 qualification campaign, after receiving the award Eriksen said, "I am extremely honoured to be standing here tonight. I did not expect it, it really means a lot to me. I would like to thank my team-mates in the national team as well as my team-mates at Ajax". Following the success of Eriksen's third consecutive Eredivisie title in the 2012–13 season, he opted not to renew his contract with Ajax, and with one year still remaining on his current contract he was permitted to search for a new club. Having come to terms with Tottenham Hotspur in England, Eriksen left Ajax having appeared in 113 league matches, scoring 25 goals and 41 assists. He played in 16 matches for the KNVB Cup, scoring four goals and making four assists. He made 30 appearances on the continental stage for Ajax, scoring three goals, and making 9 assists all together. Having also competed in the Johan Cruijff Shield three years in a row.

Tottenham Hotspur

2013–14 season

On 30 August 2013, Tottenham Hotspur announced that they had completed the transfer of Eriksen from Ajax, in a deal believed to be worth £11 million (€13.5 million), after Eriksen passed a medical at the club. Eriksen joined the club on the same day as Erik Lamela, who joined from Roma, and Vlad Chiricheș, who joined from Steaua București, and took the club's total spending for the 2013 summer transfer window to £109.5 million.

On 14 September 2013, he made his Premier League debut against Norwich City, providing an assist for Gylfi Sigurðsson. Spurs manager André Villas-Boas commented: "It was a great debut for Christian, he is a pure number 10, a creative player and his individual quality made all the difference."

On 19 September 2013, Eriksen "clipped a wonderful dipping shot" over the goalkeeper to score his first Tottenham goal and complete a 3–0 win over Tromsø IL in the Europa League. He added to his Tottenham goal tally with a goal from a free kick in a 1–1 draw against West Bromwich Albion on Boxing Day 2013, and the second goal in Spurs 2–1 win against Manchester United on 1 January 2014. On 23 March, after goals from Jay Rodriguez and Adam Lallana had given Southampton a 2–0 lead against Tottenham at White Hart Lane, Eriksen scored twice to level the score and assisted Gylfi Sigurðsson to score the winning goal."Tottenham Hotspur 3–2 Southampton" BBC Sport. 23 March 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2014.

On 12 April 2014, he scored a stoppage-time equalizer as Spurs came from 3–0 down to draw 3–3 at West Bromwich Albion. By the end of the season, Eriksen had scored 7 goals in the Premier League.

2014–15 season

Throughout the 2014–15 campaign, Eriksen played an integral part in many Spurs victories. The Danish international had a habit of scoring late winners, most notably against Swansea City, Sunderland, Hull City and many others.

On 10 January 2015, Eriksen was voted Danish Football Player of the Year twice in a row, making him the first player to do so since William Kvist.Hotspur’s Christian Eriksen wins prestigious award in Denmark, Accessed 20 January 2015

On 28 January 2015, Eriksen completed his greatest performance of the campaign in the Capital One Cup semi-final second leg against Sheffield United to send Tottenham into the League Cup Final. His first goal, a 30-yard curling free kick, was plauded by the likes of Michael Owen and Gary Neville among others on Twitter. Despite a late threat from the Blades, Eriksen then scored a second late-on to send Spurs to Wembley.

Eriksen completed the 2014–15 campaign having featured in every Premier League game for Mauricio Pochettino. The Dane became the third Spurs player to reach double figures in the league, alongside Nacer Chadli and Harry Kane, scoring 10 goals.

On 9 June 2015, Eriksen confirmed to Danish media whilst on international duty that he would stay at Tottenham for the foreseeable future. Eriksen was quoted as saying: "I feel right at home at Tottenham and I haven't thought about leaving yet."

International career

Youth squads
Eriksen was called up to the Denmark national under-17 football team in July 2007, and impressed in his debut for the team on 31 July. In 2008, he scored 9 goals in 16 games for the U-17s, and was named Danish U-17 Talent of the Year by the Danish FA. He was also one of four nominees for the 2008 Danish Talent of the Year award, which was won by Mathias Jørgensen. He played 27 games for the under-17 team until February 2009. He played a total of 8 games for the Denmark U-18 and Denmark U-19 teams during 2009. Eriksen was also called up for the Danish U-21 squad to the European championship in Denmark in 2011, the Danish team only participated in the group stage and Eriksen scored a goal against Belarus.

Senior squad
He received his first senior Denmark call-up in February 2010, making his debut in Denmark's friendly match against Austria in March, to become Denmark's fourth youngest full international, being the youngest debutant since Michael Laudrup.

On 28 May 2010, Denmark coach Morten Olsen announced that Eriksen would be part of the final squad of 23 participating in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. He was the youngest player participating in the tournament. At the World Cup, Eriksen played two matches, against the Netherlands and Japan, but Denmark were unable to progress beyond the group stage.

On 9 February 2011, in a 1–2 friendly loss at home against England, Eriksen was named Man of the Match, and was praised for his performance by a number of prominent footballing figures, including Chelsea star Frank Lampard, Man Utd star Rio Ferdinand (on Twitter), manager Morten Olsen and several media experts in Denmark and England. On 4 June 2011 Eriksen scored his first national team goal, to give Denmark a 2–0 lead over Iceland in their Euro 2012 qualifier. In doing so, he became the youngest Danish player ever to score a goal in European qualification, being 9 days younger than Michael Laudrup when he scored his first goal in 1983.

On 10 January 2015, Eriksen was voted Danish Football Player of the Year twice in a row, making him the first player to do so since William Kvist.

Sponsorship
In 2012, Eriksen signed a sponsorship kit deal with American sportswear and equipment supplier, Nike. He appeared in an advert for the new Nike Green Speed II alongside Raheem Sterling, Stephan El Shaarawy, Mario Götze, Eden Hazard and Theo Walcott in November 2012.

Christian then transitioned from Nike's Mercurial range, to the more 'creative' orientated Magista.

Career statistics

Club

+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAjax2009–10Eredivisie15041—20—2112010–11Eredivisie28661—121104782011–12Eredivisie33720—81104482012–13Eredivisie331042—81—45132013–14Eredivisie42———1052Total11325164—3033016232Tottenham Hotspur2013–14Premier League257101093—36102014–15Premier League3810204240—48122015–16Premier League356411071—4782016–17Premier League368311281—48122017–18Premier League3710321062—47142018–19Premier League3580040122—51102019–20Premier League202201051—283Total226511541345110—30569Inter Milan2019–20Serie A17131—62—2642020–21Serie A26341—40—344Total43472—102—608Brentford2021–22Premier League11100———111Manchester United2022–23Premier League281404180—4422023–24Premier League221200040—2812024–25Premier League23110229200355Total7337063212001078VfL Wolfsburg2025–26Bundesliga3000———30Career total4698445101971121730648118

International

+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsDenmark20101002011102201211020131122014712015812016962017992018104201910620208520216020221132023612024143202563Total14646

Denmark score listed first, score column indicates score after each Eriksen goal

+ List of international goals scored by Christian EriksenNo.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition14 June 2011Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland142–02–0UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying210 August 2011Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland151–11–2Friendly35 June 2013Aalborg Stadium, Aalborg, Denmark352–12–1Friendly414 August 2013Stadion Energa Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland371–12–3Friendly522 May 2014Nagyerdei Stadion, Debrecen, Hungary431–12–2Friendly68 June 2015Viborg Stadium, Viborg, Denmark521–12–1Friendly77 June 2016Suita City Football Stadium, Suita, Japan612–04–02016 Kirin Cup83–094–0104 September 2016Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark631–01–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification1111 November 2016Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark662–14–12018 FIFA World Cup qualification124–1136 June 2017Brøndby Stadium, Brøndbyvester, Denmark681–01–1Friendly1410 June 2017Almaty Central Stadium, Almaty, Kazakhstan692–03–12018 FIFA World Cup qualification151 September 2017Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark704–04–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification164 September 2017Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium, Yerevan, Armenia712–14–12018 FIFA World Cup qualification175 October 2017City Stadium, Podgorica, Montenegro721–01–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification188 October 2017Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark731–01–12018 FIFA World Cup qualification1914 November 2017Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland752–15–12018 FIFA World Cup qualification203–1214–1229 June 2018Brøndby Stadium, Brøndbyvester, Denmark782–02–0Friendly2321 June 2018Samara Arena, Samara, Russia801–01–12018 FIFA World Cup249 September 2018Ceres Park, Aarhus, Denmark831–02–02018–19 UEFA Nations League B252–02621 March 2019Fadil Vokrri Stadium, Pristina, Kosovo861–12–2Friendly2710 June 2019Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark892–15–1UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying285 September 2019Victoria Stadium, Gibraltar902–06–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying293–03015 November 2019Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark945–06–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying316–0327 October 2020MCH Arena, Herning, Denmark982–04–0Friendly3311 October 2020Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland992–03–02020–21 UEFA Nations League A3414 October 2020Wembley Stadium, London, England1001–01–02020–21 UEFA Nations League A3515 November 2020Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark1021–02–12020–21 UEFA Nations League A362–13726 March 2022Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands1102–32–4Friendly3829 March 2022Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark1113–03–0Friendly3922 September 2022Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb, Croatia1161–11–22022–23 UEFA Nations League A407 September 2023Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark1234–04–0UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying415 June 2024Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark1292–12–1Friendly4216 June 2024MHPArena, Stuttgart, Germany1311–01–1UEFA Euro 20244315 October 2024Kybunpark, St. Gallen, Switzerland1382–22–22024–25 UEFA Nations League A4423 March 2025Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal1422–22–5 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A457 June 2025Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark1432–12–1Friendly4610 June 2025Nature Energy Park, Odense, Denmark1442–05–0Friendly

HonoursAjaxEredivisie: 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13
KNVB Cup: 2009–10
Johan Cruyff Shield: 2013Tottenham HotspurFootball League Cup runner-up: 2014–15
UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2018–19Inter MilanSerie A: 2020–21
UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2019–20Manchester UnitedFA Cup: 2023–24; runner-up: 2022–23
EFL Cup: 2022–23

UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2024–25Individual'
Ajax Talent of the Future (Sjaak Swart Award) 2010
Ajax Talent of the Year (Marco van Basten Award): 2011
Danish U-17 Talent of the Year: 2008
Danish Talent of the Year: 2010, 2011
Johan Cruyff Trophy: 2011
Dutch Footballer of the Year Bronze Boot: 2012
Danish Football Player of the Year: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018
Danish Football Player of the Year by TV2 and DBU: 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017
PFA Team of the Year: 2017–18 Premier Leaguef
Tottenham Hotspur Player of the Year: 2013–14, 2016–17
UEFA Champions League Midfielder of the Season 2nd place: 2018–19
Premier League Goal of the Month: April 2018
FIFA FIFPro World11 nominee: 2019 (14th midfielder)
Laureus World Sports Award for Comeback of the Year: 2023

References

Other websites

Christian Eriksen at tottenhamhotspur.com

 Christian Eriksen at Topforward
 Danish national team profile 
 Voetbal International profile 

Category:1992 births
Category:Living people
Category:Danish footballers
Category:Association football midfielders
Category:Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players
Category:Brentford F.C. players
Category:Manchester United F.C. players
Category:Denmark at the 2010 FIFA World Cup
Category:Denmark at UEFA Euro 2012
Category:Denmark at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Category:Denmark at UEFA Euro 2020
Category:Denmark at the 2022 FIFA World Cup
Category:Premier League players
Category:2010 FIFA World Cup players
Category:UEFA Euro 2012 players
Category:2018 FIFA World Cup players