Simon Kjær has been appointed Guardian Footballer of the Year – an award given to a player who “has done something remarkable, whether it is overcoming adversity, helping others or setting a sporting example by acting with unparalleled honesty”.
Past winners include Manchester United duo Marcus Rashford (2020) and Juan Mata (2017) for their charitable efforts.
Praiseworthy actions
Following a year in which the Danish national team captain placed 18th in the Ballon d’Or rankings, the British newspaper praised Kjær’s actions at Parken Stadium on 12 June, after his teammate Christian Eriksen collapsed during Denmark’s inaugural European Championships 2020 match with a cardiac arrest. .
Not only did he quickly put Eriksen in a recovery position, he started CPR, formed a protective ring around him and then comforted his partner.
A team effort!
“I appreciate all the positive words and gratitude – I am honored,” he said
“But as I always said, my reaction was impulsive and so was everyone’s. What we did, we did as a team. I would not have been able to hold my shit together if I had no one to support “It was our friend: not a colleague, a friend. It made it so much more intense, and what we did was instinctive.”
Fire in the top 100
Kjær was also named the Guardian’s 54th best footballer in 2021.
Three other Danes – Kasper Schmeichel (77), Joakim Mæhle (96) and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (100) – were also present.
Two Danish coaches are on the world’s best 50 list
Two Danish football coaches have been included in a world’s best list compiled by the magazine FourFourTwo. National coach Kasper Hjulmand was number 11 for his efforts at the European Championships 2020. “Leading Ireland’s eternal playoff opponent Denmark to a European Championship semi-final is not bad. To do it after the traumatic experience of seeing his team’s star player have a cardiac arrest on the pitch in the first match is incredible, ”clapped FourFourTwo. “He has subsequently been linked with Everton and Aston Villa. Do not be surprised if he lands in the English Premier League soon.” Already there, another Dane, Thomas Frank, has placed 40th after a fantastic year in Brentford, which he guided to the EPL for the first time since 1947, where it is currently a respectable 12th place in the standings – which makes it ready for the highest performing promoted club.
Eriksen returns later this month – agent
Christian Eriksen’s agent Martin Schoots had told the media that the player will probably find a new club later this month after satisfactory tests in December. In a speech to the Daily Mail, Schoots warned that he would prefer Eriksen to come with the message. “He will do that very soon,” he confirmed.
The women’s handball team is now in third place in the world
The Danish women’s handball team is now in third place in the world after their impressive performance at the world championships in women’s handball in 2021, which ended in the Barcelona suburb of Granollers on 19 December with a 35-28 victory over Spain to take bronze. Two days earlier, France beat the Danes 23-22 to advance to the final, where they lost to Norway. It was the Danish women’s team’s first medal since 2013 – a relief for goalkeeper Sandra Toft, 32, the only survivor from that era.
Countdown to the Olympics: Men’s curling team squeeze of Czechs
The Danish men’s curling team has qualified for the Winter Olympics 2022 thanks to the victory in an eliminator against the Czech Republic in the Netherlands. Their opponents led 4-1 midway through the match, but the Danes fought back to win 8-5. It was all the more impressive as Denmark had lost to the Czechs in their initial group game. In total, three places for Beijing were at stake via the qualifiers, with Norway and Italy taking the other two places. The men’s team joins the women. Since 2002, only one of the Danish teams has failed to qualify: the men in 2006. The Winter Olympics are scheduled to take place from the 4th to the 20th. February.
Countdown to the Olympics: Danish ice hockey hope not hit too hard
In the midst of calls to boycott the Olympic Winter Games due to China’s human rights record, or postpone the fighting due to the rapid escalation of omicron cases, both the men’s and women’s Danish ice hockey teams are nervously counting down the days. The NHL has already confirmed that its players will not compete – for the second Olympics in a row – but it will only affect four Danes: Frederik Andersen (Carolina Hurricanes), Nikolaj Ehlers (Winnipeg Jets), Oliver Bjorkstrand (Columbus Blue Jackets) and Lars Eller (Washington Capitals). Several NHL-contracted Danes can line up as they are not on their current first team list, including Joachim Blichfeld (San Jose Sharks), Alexander True (Seattle Kraken) and Jonas Røndbjerg (Vegas Golden Knights).
The Danish national team achieves the highest FIFA ranking in 25 years
It is hard to guess why the Danish men’s national football team had such a high FIFA ranking in 1997. They bombed as defending champions at the European Championships in 1996 and did not even participate in the World Cup in 1994, but somehow managed to get up to an eighth place. And now history has almost repeated itself, as Denmark has been improved by only eight teams on the globe, thanks to a semi-place at the European Championships and a fantastic World Cup qualifying campaign.
Three Danes set off in search of a new team after the collapse of Qhubeka NextHash
Olympic gold medalist Lasse Norman Hansen had already found a new team ahead of the inevitable withdrawal and dissolution of the World Tour outfit Team Qhubeka NextHash. He has joined the PRT outfit Uno-X. Meanwhile, former teammate Andreas Stokbro is currently without a team, while Emil Vinjebo has had to step down two levels to join the Danish Riwal.
Source: The Nordic Page
