Christian Eriksen
Christian Eriksen
Eriksen shows Spurs the way!
Danish international, Christian Eriksen, celebrated his birthday in style when he scored the winner in Tottenham's top of the table match against Manchester City. Tottenham Hotspur, more commonly known as Spurs, took the lead in the second half, when they were given a debatable penalty. Harry Kane scored from the spot for his 15th Premier League goal in his last 17 matches. Manchester City sent on the young Nigerian, Kelechi Iheanacho, and the striker equalised a few minutes later. City looked like they would be the team to get the winner, but, in the 83rd minute, Spurs scored on the counter-attack. Another subsititute, the Argentinian Erik Lamela, ran forward with the ball and played a great pass to Eriksen, who coolly put the ball past Joe Hart in the City goal. This was Tottenham's fifth consecutive victory and are now in second place, only 2 points behind Leicester City at the top of the Premier League.
"Yeeeees! Couldn't wish for a better birthday present! Massive win today! Thanks for all the birthday wishes!" Christian Eriksen.
Who worked the hardest?
Christian Eriksen is better known for his skill on the ball and his amazing free-kicks, but in the match against Manchester City he was the hardest working player on the pitch. During the match, Eriksen ran 12.6 kilometres which was over a kilometre more than any Manchester City player (David Silva - 11.2km). In total, Tottenham players ran 121 kilometres compared to 111 kilometres ran by the City players. The Spurs manager, Mauricio Pochettino, is well-known for getting his teams to work very, very hard and it looks like this tactic is working for Spurs. On average, Spurs players run 115 kilometres in every Premier League match, which means they have already run over 3000 kilometres this season. Only Bournemouth have run more than Spurs. As well as making the players run more, Pochettino is also very strict about what the players eat, which helps with their stamina and energy levels on the pitch.
"My body fat has gone down a lot because of the hard training and because I now take care of what I eat all the time." Kevin Wimmer, Spurs defender.
What do we know about Christian Eriksen?
Christian Dannemann Eriksen was born in February 1992, and is from Middelfart, which is a small town in the middle of Denmark. Eriksen's first professional club was Odense Boldklub (OB) in his native Denmark, where he made his name as a prospect that was interesting scouts from some of Europe's biggest clubs. Despite not making a senior appearance for OB, he moved to Ajax for about €1 million in 2008. He made 162 appearances for the Dutch club and scored 32 goals, as he helped Ajax to win 3 League titles and the Dutch Cup. In August 2013, Eriksen moved to Tottenham for about £11.5 million. After a fantastic first season in the Tottenham midfield, he was named Tottenham's Player of the Year for 2013/14. He's also been named Danish Player of the Year award in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
"Christian is a very important player for Tottenham and we're really happy with him." Mauricio Pochettino, Tottenham manager.
Are there any other Danes in the Premier League?
Over 50 Premier League players, past and present, have come from Denmark and many of them, like Eriksen, have lit up Premier League grounds around the country. Jan Molby is remembered with affection at Liverpool, he made over 250 appearances for the Anfield club. Daniel Agger is another Dane who spent nearly 10 years at Anfield and played over 200 times. Thomas Sorensen has played nearly 500 matches for three Premier League sides (Sunderland, Aston Villa and Stoke City), but the most well-known Dane must be Peter Schmeichel, who won 5 Premier League titles with Manchester Utd and is the only goalkeeper to ever win the Premier League's Player of the Year award (1995/96). Peter's son, Kasper, is now looking to emulate his father's success at Leicester City.
"Eriksen had a stunning debut season in the Premier League and I'm sure many clubs are annoyed that they didn't buy him." Premier League legend - Peter Schmeichel.
Who are Tottenham's biggest rivals?
There are 6 Premier League teams from London but Tottenham's closest and fiercest rivals are Arsenal. Spurs play Arsenal in the North London derby and it is the first fixture that fans of both clubs look for each season. During the Premier League era, Arsenal have been the team on top, winning 19 matches in comparison to Tottenham's 9. The North London derby was first played in 1909 and in total, Arsenal have 78 victories compared to Tottenham's 55. If you want to see goals, this is the match to watch, it is the highest scoring fixture in the Premier League, with 126 goals in 44 matches. Tottenham play Arsenal on March 5th in a match that could decide the Premier League title, who do you think will win?
Watch an interview with Christian Eriksen talking about Tottenham's win on the Spurs official website.
Did you know......?
- Christian Eriksen has been nicknamed 'The Prince of Denmark'.
- Eriksen was the youngest player at the 2010 World Cup, he was just 18 years old.
- He has played 56 times for Denmark.
- Peter Schmeichel has played more times (129) for Denmark than any other player.
- Spurs will move to another stadium while they rebuild White Hart Lane in the next few years.
Quiz
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What do you think?
Who is the hardest working player in your favourite team?
Is it important that teams run a lot these days?
Do teams run more when they have the ball or when they don't have the ball? Is it important to have more possession than the other team?
Leave your message in the comments section below.
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Comentários
16/10/2023
points
It's not important to run a lot if you can score anyway
16/10/2023 13:57
Tottenham Hotspur
713
It's not important to run a lot if you can score anyway
29/10/2022
points
C.Eriksen is my hero.He got over the malignant disease and returned to the pitches in a short periods.
Sentence
According managers lots of referee decisions are debatable.
29/10/2022 18:48
Tottenham Hotspur
5558
C.Eriksen is my hero.He got over the malignant disease and returned to the pitches in a short periods.
Sentence
According managers lots of referee decisions are debatable.
20/06/2021
points
It was very sad for me to hear that "Prince of Denmark" have to give up his football career and he'll live with a pacemaker anymore.
I wish him a healthy and full of happiness life with his family. God bless him.
20/06/2021 10:03
Tottenham Hotspur
5558
It was very sad for me to hear that "Prince of Denmark" have to give up his football career and he'll live with a pacemaker anymore.
I wish him a healthy and full of happiness life with his family. God bless him.
22/06/2020
points
It's important to run a lot because football nowadays rely on physicality more than skills so you have to be fit to play in a top team even more than being skillful.
22/06/2020 18:52
Manchester United
6539
It's important to run a lot because football nowadays rely on physicality more than skills so you have to be fit to play in a top team even more than being skillful.
22/06/2020
points
In this season 2019-2020 , I think the hardest working players are Fred , Scott McTominay and Daniel James.
22/06/2020 18:51
Manchester United
6539
In this season 2019-2020 , I think the hardest working players are Fred , Scott McTominay and Daniel James.
03/10/2017
points
Eriksen is one of the best players in the Premier League.
03/10/2017 16:05
Arsenal
2337
Eriksen is one of the best players in the Premier League.
18/07/2016
points
it's important to score more than to run more
18/07/2016 15:21
Manchester City
1734
it's important to score more than to run more
18/07/2016
points
when they don't have the ball
18/07/2016 15:19
Manchester City
1734
when they don't have the ball
01/06/2016
points
In both ways teams run more, either they are with the ball likebana leicester city or when they don't have the ball like many city.
Having more possession is good but possession without scoring is useless and unnecessary
01/06/2016 15:23
Manchester United
4779
In both ways teams run more, either they are with the ball likebana leicester city or when they don't have the ball like many city.
Having more possession is good but possession without scoring is useless and unnecessary
01/06/2016
points
For the epl it's very important teams run a lot else you could be hit on a counter attack.
01/06/2016 15:20
Manchester United
4779
For the epl it's very important teams run a lot else you could be hit on a counter attack.
01/06/2016
points
Martial is the hardworking player in my team manager utd. He runs all over the field, tackles, passes assist and scores goals.
01/06/2016 15:19
Manchester United
4779
Martial is the hardworking player in my team manager utd. He runs all over the field, tackles, passes assist and scores goals.
10/03/2016
points
Selcuk Inan is the hardest working player in my favourite team.
It must be on optimum level.
In football,The teams which have the ball don't run much.
10/03/2016 14:59
Leicester City
1761
Selcuk Inan is the hardest working player in my favourite team.
It must be on optimum level.
In football,The teams which have the ball don't run much.
23/02/2016
points
Which team had run more or had more possession is a statistic to deal with as a coach or manager. A lot of clubs have actually statistics offices. But what really matters for one match is the winner and the it makes that happens.
23/02/2016 14:05
Manchester City
3988
Which team had run more or had more possession is a statistic to deal with as a coach or manager. A lot of clubs have actually statistics offices. But what really matters for one match is the winner and the it makes that happens.
10/04/2016
points
Win every match is what matters, possession is no longer important.
10/04/2016 10:36
Arsenal
2320
Win every match is what matters, possession is no longer important.
21/02/2016
points
I think the most hard working player is Firminio.
21/02/2016 16:10
Liverpool
3705
I think the most hard working player is Firminio.
21/02/2016
points
I think teams run more when they do mot have the ball,it is not important to have the possession of the ball and the most important think is to score goals.
21/02/2016 16:09
Liverpool
3705
I think teams run more when they do mot have the ball,it is not important to have the possession of the ball and the most important think is to score goals.
21/02/2016
points
Yes because playing the best you have is the good way to improve yourself and lead your team to the top.
21/02/2016 16:05
Liverpool
3705
Yes because playing the best you have is the good way to improve yourself and lead your team to the top.
18/02/2016
points
Spurs have got a good squad right now. Those lads could make history!
18/02/2016 15:28
Arsenal
2453
Spurs have got a good squad right now. Those lads could make history!
18/02/2016
points
I think it's Alexis Sanchez who is the hardest working player in my favourite team.
18/02/2016 15:12
Arsenal
2453
I think it's Alexis Sanchez who is the hardest working player in my favourite team.
18/02/2016
points
The ball possesion doesn't guarantee a good result. On the contrary, the team with a bigger possession of the ball usually have negative score, so they have to make constant pressure.
18/02/2016 14:53
Arsenal
3557
The ball possesion doesn't guarantee a good result. On the contrary, the team with a bigger possession of the ball usually have negative score, so they have to make constant pressure.
18/02/2016
points
I agree up to a point. Higher ball possession does not necessarily mean you are going to win. But such top-flying teams like Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Juventus, and Arsenal would say that the ball possession is one of the important ingredients of the team's success.
18/02/2016 16:16
Arsenal
2453
I agree up to a point. Higher ball possession does not necessarily mean you are going to win. But such top-flying teams like Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Juventus, and Arsenal would say that the ball possession is one of the important ingredients of the team's success.
18/02/2016
points
Usually the teams with the ball don't have to run a lot because they make many passes. If they do it succesfully then it is on opponents to take the ball, so they'll have to run a lot to intercept it.
18/02/2016 14:51
Arsenal
3557
Usually the teams with the ball don't have to run a lot because they make many passes. If they do it succesfully then it is on opponents to take the ball, so they'll have to run a lot to intercept it.
18/02/2016
points
Running a lot - it is a precondition for good results. It doesn't guarantee anything but you can't have a winning streak without it. It is crucial in the modern era of this sport.
18/02/2016 14:48
Arsenal
3557
Running a lot - it is a precondition for good results. It doesn't guarantee anything but you can't have a winning streak without it. It is crucial in the modern era of this sport.
18/02/2016
points
Nacho Monreal is running a lot. He's one of the hardest working players in my team.
18/02/2016 14:44
Arsenal
3557
Nacho Monreal is running a lot. He's one of the hardest working players in my team.