Christian Eriksen: Wolfsburg's "relaxed" superstar

1) Family business

 Eriksen was only five years old when he when joined local Danish side Middelfart Boldclub – the team his father had represented some 30 years earlier.

 Known for its links to the oil industry, Middelfart has long held a reputation as a fertile breeding ground for some of Denmark’s most promising youngsters, but it soon became clear that Eriksen was a cut above his peers.

“We have a lot of good kids, but nobody like Christian,” Middelfart’s then-chairman Claus Hansen told the Guardian in 2018. “Everyone could see he was special. More than that, he took care of all the others. Christian was, and is, a good boy – nice, polite, friendly.”

Often playing under his dad, Eriksen helped Middelfart’s Under-12 side finish fifth in the whole of Denmark, and go unbeaten in the local championship of Funen – Denmark’s central island – for the third time in four seasons.

He left for Odense Boldklub in 2005, but by then Eriksen had left his mark. “When kids start playing football, they think: ‘Christian Eriksen is from Middelfart – I want to play at Middelfart too’,” Hansen said.

2) Grew up idolising Italy legend 

Eriksen was born four months after a Denmark side featuring the likes of Peter Schmeichel, Henrik Larsen and Michael Laudrup stunned Germany in the UEFA EURO 1992 final.

Given his position, vision and elegance on the ball, it is no surprise that Eriksen grew up idolising Denmark’s legendary captain Laudrup, who also played for Lazio, Juventus, Barcelona and Real Madrid in a glittering club career.

But Eriksen also nurtured a soft spot for another preternaturally talented No.10.

“It was [Francesco Totti] because I played Football Manager,” he told Manchester United’s official website in 2022.

“After that, it was [Michael] Laudrup, the one and only. Just because he was Danish and I liked his style.”

3) ‘More relaxed’ since cardiac arrest

Eriksen’s cardiac arrest during Denmark’s UEFA EURO 2020 group game against Finland stunned the football world, but the midfielder’s recovery has been nothing short of remarkable.

He was playing top-flight football again just 259 days later, after joining English club Brentford – who at the time were coached by compatriot Thomas Frank – until the end of the 2021/22 season.

In the immediate aftermath of his collapse, however, Eriksen was unsure if he even wanted to resume his professional career.

“At the time I said [I wanted to quit],” Eriksen said in an interview with CNN after receiving the Comeback of the Year award at the Laureus Sports Awards in Paris in 2023. “But I also knew that if I could play football, I wanted to come back.”

Eriksen admitted he has become “more relaxed” since his cardiac arrest, adding: “I think my team-mates would say the same. I’ve found out that football is life – but it’s not that important.”

4) Dead-ball specialist

Eriksen excels in all aspects of the game, particularly in attack, and will be keen to become Wolfsburg’s new designated set-piece taker (even if Maxi Arnold may have a thing or two to say about that!)

Watch: All Maximilian Arnold's free-kick goals

He has scored an astonishing 15 direct free-kicks over the course of his club career to date – a tally that makes up nearly 17 percent of his total of 89 goals.

Asked how he does it while at Manchester United, Eriksen gave a little insight into his secret:

“What’s my technique? I think you can see that when I take one. It’s difficult to explain, I have my ritual with the steps and how the ball needs to be put down. Apart from that, nothing, just kicking the ball how I’ve trained with training, and I know how it’s going to hit.”

Watch: Eriksen's first interview as a Wolfsburg player

5) Big impact

Might Wolfsburg be able to claim their first Bundesliga title since 2009 with Eriksen running things from midfield? It might not be such a far-fetched idea given the impact he has had at his previous clubs.

For example, after joining Inter Milan from Tottenham Hotspur in 2020, he helped the Nerazzurri claim their first Serie A title in 11 years. In the second half of the 2021/22 campaign he was instrumental in an unfancied Brentford side finishing safely in mid-table in the Premier League thanks to one goal and four assists.

That helped earn him a move to Manchester United, where he won the League Cup (2023), the FA Cup (2024) and finished as runner-up in the Europa League (2025), despite the club’s turmoil in recent years.

Now one of six Danish players in the Wolfsburg squad and with an exciting young coach in Paul Simonis at the helm, what might Eriksen inspire at the Volkswagen Arena?