World Soccer - UK (2022-01)

Denmarkcaptainaninspirationalfigureonandoffthepitch

SIMON KJAER

urelyintermsof sporting
accomplishments, 2021
wasa vintageaffairfor the
32-year-old MilanandDenmarkcentral
defensive warrior:steadyasa rockas
hisclubsealedtheirfirst Champions
Leaguequalificationsince 2013 , then
skipperingtheDanishnationalteam
toa highlysatisfyinglast-fourberth
atthe Euro 2 02 0 finals.
Butmuchmoresignificantly, he
showed himselftobeanoutstanding
humanbeing,reactingwith calmness,
clarityandempathy whenDenmark
team-mate ChristianEriksensuffered
a cardiacarrestduringa European
ChampionshiptieagainstFinland
inJune.
Kjaer wasindeeda lifesaver on
thatafternooninCopenhagen,quickly
realisingthe gravityofthesituation,
puttingErikseninthe recoveryposition,
ensuringhisairwayswereclearedand
startingCPRpriortomedicsarrivingon
thescene. In an emblematicmomentof
footballembracinghumanity, Kjaeralso
encouragedhisteam-mates to forma
protectiveringaroundEriksenashe
wastreatedwith a defibrillatorand
resuscitated.Kjaerthe guardian
angel,Kjaerthe sentinel, Kjaerthe
compassionate,onhandtooffer
comfort on thepitchtoEriksen’s
partner, SabrinaKvistJensen.
Thatday in Copenhagen,Kjaerwas
a leaderin everysenseof thewordand
rightly– along with on-siteandDanish
federationmedicalstaff – wasawarded
theUEFAPresident’sAwardfor 20 21.
“Kjaer:areasonforpride,” ranthe
headlineintheDiariodeSevilla, a
newspaperlocatedintheSpanish
citywhere Kjaer usedtoplay.
Truetohis down-to-earthcharacter,
themuch-travelledstopper– whoina
nomadiccareerhaswornthecoloursof
nofewerthannineproteams,including

Palermo,Wolfsburg,Lille,Romaand

Fenerbahce– insistsonshunningthe

individualaccolades.“I’mnota hero,”

heexplainedtotheItaliansportsdaily

CorrieredelloSportinAugust.“Iacted

withoutthinking. My instincts guidedme

andI didwhatI hadtodoautomatically.

It’swhatanyoneelsewouldhavedone.

Thisisthe first time thissortof thinghas

happenedtome.I hopeit’sthe last.

“Iwas able to staylucid, like all

myteam-mates.Itwas theworkof

thewholeteam.Obviouslywewould

havedonethesameifithad beenan

opponent.That’sit.Theonlythingthat

mattersisthatChristianisnow OK.

Onlythat’simportant.”

Oneof the30-strongshortlistforthe

2021 Ballond’Or award,Kjaerisliving

proofthatthere’salwayshopeindifficult

times.BeforemovingtoMilaninJanuary

2020 , hiscareerappearedtobeina

cul-de-sac,onlyservingas a back-up

forthelikesofAtalanta andSevilla.

Nowrebornandreinvigoratedatthe

SanSiro,herecentlyextendedhis

contractwith theRossoneriuntil 2 024

andfullyexpectsto endhisplayingdays

inLombardy. “ 2021 hasbeena crazy

yearforme.Milanare on theupand

Denmarkdidwellatthe Eurosand

havequalifiedfor thenextWorldCup.

It’sbeena greattimeinmycareerand

I wouldn’thaveachievedif I hadn’t

cometoMilan.”

NickBidwell

Inspirational

leader...Kjaer

P

P L A Y

E R

PEOPLEOFTHEYEAR

JOSHCAVALLO

TheAdelaideUnitedand

Australia left-back recently

cameoutasgay, theonly

currenttop-flightmale

professionaltohavedone

so.“AllI wantto do is play

footballandbetreated

equally, ”hedeclared.

JORDANHENDERSON

TheLiverpoolskipper

wasawarded an MBE

“forservicesto football

andcharity,particularly

during theCOVID-1 9

pandemic”,havingled

PremierLeague players

indonating to theNHS.

SEBASTIENTHILL

Ontargetwiththewinner

inSheriff Tiraspol’s stunning

ChampionsLeagueupsetof

giants RealMadridatthe

Bernabeuin September,the

attacking midfielder, 2 7,is

thefirstLuxembourgplayer

toscoreinthecompetition.

H O N OU R A BL EM EN T I ON S