Christian Eriksen explains living under lockdown in Italy, not playing soccer for seven weeks, and why he had to leave Tottenham Hotspur for Inter.
Eriksen’s Inter career had just started when the lockout took place, and he made just four appearances in Serie A, two in the Europa League and two in the Coppa Italia.
“It seemed the right move for me, as they were very eager to sign me, and that’s important for a player to know he is wanted. It meant they would’ve done anything to bring me in,” Eriksen told Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten.
“Some Tottenham fans got angry when I said in a BBC interview that I had a better chance of winning something at Inter, but that is the truth, there are many stronger teams in England,” he continued. “There will always be people at Spurs who are angry with me, but the vast majority of fans were positive and I liked playing for that club. I met some lovely people and have fond memories. I would’ve liked to leave in different circumstances, but that’s not how football works.”
As he had just moved from Tottenham Hotspur in January, Eriksen didn’t have a house to stay in and had a lockdown in the Inter apartment. “I thought of talking to Romelu Lukaku and Ashley Young, but they already had families to look after, and 14 days sleeping on someone’s sofa is too long. Instead, I ended up staying at the club’s training structure with a chef and five members of staff who chose to quarantine themselves in order to protect their families.”
“I’ve been running around the parking lot basement and calculated I can run 35 metres, then have to take a turn and run 35 metres back,” Eriksen said.
Eriksen spent the rest of his time studying Italian, constructing Lego and watching Netflix, but got into trouble while driving in Milan:
“The police stopped me and in my rather bad Italian I had to explain what I was doing, where I was going and why I was out the house. I’ve never had so much free time and you can’t even really go shopping. We can’t complain, as it’s far more difficult for many others, but it is so different to the life we are accustomed to.”
Series A clubs are allowed to return to training this week as Italy transitions to phase two of the coronavirus pandemic response. “We do follow the training schedule sent by the club and their diet plans too, but you have to make do,” said Eriksen about spending time till training resumes.
“I haven’t touched the ball in seven weeks. It’s been the longest period without football in my life and I really am starting to miss it,” he confessed about missing football.
