Simon Kjaer was certainly one of the best defenders in the Serie A before his injury. Now, he is working hard to get back to the field as his recovery is going according to schedule. However, perhaps what made him reach new heights in his career is his qualities and courage as a human being when he helped save the life of his friend and teammate in the national team in the Euros, Christian Eriksen.
For this gesture, the experience Dane defender received the 'Italian Football Hall of Fame' award dedicated to Davide Astori.
"I remember Davide very well on the pitch, and obviously I also remember his tragic end well", he said. "Both Pioli and my teammates have talked to me about him, I know that his death was shocking for all of Italy and for the whole world of football. It is a tragedy that still makes us sad, and that will do so forever. Receiving the award dedicated to Davide means a lot, it makes me happy and proud; for me it is an opportunity to honour his name."
On helping save Christian Eriksen's life in the Euros 2020:
"Some things and some moments of that day will stay with me forever. The main thing, however, is that now Christian is fine, that he is back with his family and on the pitch, and that he has resumed doing the thing he loves most, that is playing football. In those terrible moments we behaved like a real team, each of us did our best to help a teammate and a friend of ours. I must admit, however, that I have closed that chapter, and not even too much desire to talk about it again. What happened that day in Copenhagen is the result of the joint effort of players, doctors, paramedics and staff, "declared Kjaer.
"At that moment, all of us were there for Christian. But to talk about it here, with gratitude to the FIGC and to show my respect to Davide Astori and honour his legacy, this time I have decided to reopen this chapter."
Kjaer continued:
"When I was running in Christian's direction, I had no idea, as well as any of my teammates, that he had had cardiac arrest. The only thing I thought about was to reach him as quickly as possible and help him. I learned that this is the most important thing. If you see something strange you have to act, and you have to do it quickly. In first aid, speed is crucial. Do what you can do, and do it fast, and then let a professional take over as soon as possible. That day, we were lucky because doctors and paramedics were really close."
