Former Manchester United defender, Dailey Blind, has revealed that he almost sat out the Netherlands thrilling win over Ukraine in their EURO 2020 opener last night due to Christian Eriksen’s collapse.
The Danish midfielder who played with Blind in Ajax for about three years suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch during Denmark’s game against Finland in Copenhagen on Saturday.
The incident brought back a horrific memory for Blind who himself had heart problems himself last year.
The 31-year-old, who was diagnosed with inflamed heart muscle in 2019 after collapsing during Ajax’s Champions League game against Valencia.
Blind was fitted with a pacemaker that treats dangerously abnormal heart rhythms but it failed while he was playing in a friendly last August and he collapsed again – although it was later described as a one-off incident, according to Sky Sport.
The Dutchman had a tough decision to make but the good news that Eriksen survived the attack gave Blind the courage to decide to play in Sunday’s match.
The 31-year-old broke down in tears after being substituted midway through the second half of the 3-2 win over Ukraine in the Group C match on Sunday.
After the match, Blind said: “Yesterday had a huge impact on me, never mind the fact that I know Christian well as a friend.
“The situation for him is terrible. Of course, I have also experienced a few things in that area, so that I had to overcome a mental hurdle to play today.
“I had to persuade myself to play but I’m proud that I did and that’s why my emotion came bursting out at the end of the game.”
Speaking further, he told reporters: “I definitely thought about not taking part. The images on television and the incident had a big impact and I didn’t sleep very well because of them. I really had to overcome a big hurdle to do this.”
Blind added that the news that Eriksen was awake and talking in the hospital came as a relief.
“If it didn’t go well, it would have haunted my head even more. When Christian encouraged his own teammates to play is when I decided to play myself. Also because I’m safe, according to the doctors,”
Reports revealed that Dutch coach Frank de Boer had to cancel a team meeting on the eve of the game because of the distress among the Dutch players.
“I’m sure he (Blind) had a hard time making that choice, but on the other hand, he really put his hand up,” De Boer said. “That burst of feelings that hit him at the end was very normal.”
