Finicky is how Christian Eriksen likes to define himself. Since a tender age, the new Tottenham Hotspur midfielder has always looked for perfection, both on and off the pitch. “When I was young I had trials with top clubs like Chelsea, Barcelona and Milan”, the Dane recalled, “but as soon as I came to Holland I knew it was the right place for my development.”
After four seasons in the Eredivisie, nothing about Eriksen’s philosophy has changed. He refused offers from Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen, while he did not even want to hear about a Russian Premier League move – Zenit St. Petersburg just one of the clubs keen; Liverpool looked hard, but did not bid, something the Reds may regret. “At this stage of his career, Eriksen is looking only for a club who can help him to improve his performance level”, his agent Martin Schoots revealed. “Money is not his priority.”
Spurs’ revolution seems to fit perfectly with the ambitions of the Danish talent, a versatile and quick midfielder with superb vision and polished technical skills, who can play behind the forward as a central attacking midfielder, on the wings or even in a traditional central midfield role. Eriksen’s journey to White Hart Lane has been intriguing and he has been shaped for success.
“Danny, please come quickly to Odense, there is a 16-year-old midfielder you can’t miss.” Eriksen’s Ajax experience was to begin with a phone call from John Steen Olsen, the Dutch giants’ Scandinavian scout, to Danny Blind. It was the spring of 2008, three years after Eriksen moved from his local club in Middelfart, the town where he had been born on 14th February 1992, to Odense. When, on 17th October 2008, Ajax signed the youngster for €500,000, he had just been handed the Danish Under-17 Talent of the Year award.
Eriksen continued his progress at Ajax, picking up the best player award in June 2009 in the Varsseveld Ten Brinke Bouw Tournament, an international competition for Under-17 club teams. The jury singled out the youngster for praise due to a rare tactical insight into the game and his fantastic ability to shoot with both feet. In Holland, in the Eredivisie’s youth championship, Eriksen scored ten goals for Ajax A1 in the first half of the 2009/10 season before making his debut with the first team on 17th January 2010, in an away clash against NAC Breda.
Just 424 minutes played for Ajax were enough to secure Eriksen a first Denmark call-up and the player, at the time still uncapped by the Under-21s (he would later play at the 2011 European Under-21 Championship), made his senior debut on 3rd March 2010, coming on as a substitute in a friendly against Austria. It had been less than two months after his first Eredivisie appearance with Ajax. Then in June, Eriksen was the youngest player at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, playing in two of Denmark’s group games, against Holland and Japan.
Despite it being Martin Jol who brought the Dane through into Ajax’s first team, Eriksen flourished under Frank de Boer, who replaced Jol on the Amsterdam ArenA bench at the end of 2010. “Under Jol, Ajax didn’t play like Ajax usually do, if you know what I mean”, Eriksen said. “The philosophy was: give the ball to Luis Suarez and let’s see what happens. I had some problems with that kind of approach. However, when De Boer came, things changed quickly.”
De Boer made Eriksen the fulcrum around which he built a winning team. Ajax snatched the title from reigning champions FC Twente at the death in 2011. In the crucial game against the Tukkers which brought the Eredivisie crown back to Amsterdam after a seven-year absence, Eriksen left his own mark on the affair, providing the assist – his ninth in the league – for Siem de Jong’s definitive strike to seal a 3-1 win.
On 23rd May 2011, Eriksen was named Dutch Football Talent of the Year, only the second Danish player to win the award, after Jon Dahl Tomasson in 1996. He was elected by a jury led by Johan Cruyff, who stated that Eriksen “is a typical product of the Danish school. You can compare him to Brian and Michael Laudrup, although his cold-blooded composure reminds me also of a young Dennis Bergkamp.” Asked about the brightest Danish talent, Michael Laudrup replied: “Eriksen doesn’t seem like a typical Danish player because he doesn’t drink beer and he doesn’t like to play pool. Joking apart, I think his play is pure class.”
Despite being just 20 years old, Eriksen was Ajax’s most essential player in the 2011/12 season. For the second year in a row the Denmark international was the club’s assist king, creating 15 goals. He lifted his second Eredivisie title in a row and was named Danish Footballer of the Year.
Eriksen’s best season though was yet to come. “Every year I set a personal goal. For the 2012/13 season it was to end in double digits – I had to improve my goal rate.” Mission accomplished, as 13 goals, 23 assists and a series of superb performances, two Champions League games against Manchester City above all others, made him vital as Ajax grabbed their third consecutive title. And in Europe, Ajax surprisingly avoided bottom spot in their Champions League “group of death” with Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City.
On 2nd March 2013, the Danish starlet played his 100th official game for Ajax against Twente. Born in 1992, only Iker Munian (Athletic Bilbao) and Thibaut Courtois (Atletico Madrid) managed to reach the milestone before him. Eriksen also showed he was a man for the big occasion, scoring in both De Klassieker games against Feyenoord, while being the match-winner in Ajax’s home match against Twente; for good measure he also provided a goal and an assist against rivals PSV Eindhoven.
Before moving to London, Eriksen left Ajax in style with two superb free-kicks against AZ, the first in the Dutch Super Cup which De Boer’s men won 3-2, while he also clocked up top notch performances against Roda and Feyenoord. His ability from set-pieces looks to be something new. “People wonder if I practiced all summer instead of going on holiday”, said the 21-year-old. “Of course I didn’t. These five goals [Eriksen also scored two free-kicks in a friendly against Dynamo Dresden and another for Denmark versus Poland, ed.] are the result of years of training. Since I arrived at Ajax, every week I have practised free-kicks after training, trying different kinds of shot. I am now glad things are starting to work.” For Eriksen, and now Tottenham, being a finicky footballer looks a blessing in more ways than one.
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