Christian Eriksen Biography: Childhood, career and achievements

Christian Eriksen has had a unique and inspiring career. The midfielder has been a key component of the Denmark national team since 2010 and is regarded as one of the greatest footballers to have come from his nation of birth. While he has had notable spells with the likes of Ajax, Inter Milan, Brentford, and Manchester United, the midfielder is best remembered for his seven-year spell with Tottenham Hotspur from 2013 to 2020. 

During his time with Spurs under Mauricio Pochettino, he was regarded as one of the best playmakers in the world and helped the Lilywhites to challenge for the Premier League title twice. 

Childhood 

Born in Middlefart, Denmark, Eriksen started playing the beautiful game before the age of three, taking to it like a duck to water. His talent led to him joining Danish club Odense Boldklub at the age of 13. In 2008, aged just 16, he earned a move to Dutch giants Ajax Amsterdam. Due to his advanced skills as a youth, Eriksen was also selected to play for the Danish U-17 side when he was just 15.

At the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Eriksen was the youngest player in the tournament, aged just 18. 

Career

In a professional career that has spanned more than 15 years, Eriksen has played in Italy, England, and the Netherlands. For the Denmark national team, he made his debut in a friendly international against Austria in March 2010. 

Due to his early career promise, Eriksen was included in Morten Olsen’s Denmark squad for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. He was the youngest player to feature in that tournament but could not help his country to progress beyond the group stage. 

An international veteran of more than 100 caps, Eriksen has so far played in six major international tournaments for his country and will look to potentially cap off his international career after the 2026 World Cup in North America.

Achievements

In the infancy of his career, Eriksen helped Ajax Amsterdam to win three domestic league titles. His strong performances in the Netherlands led to him being signed by Tottenham Hotspur, a club where he spent seven years and is regarded as a legend. 

While Eriksen did not win any major silverware while on the books of Spurs, he played a key role as the club nearly won the Premier League twice under Mauricio Pochettino and also helped the club finish as Champions League runners-up in 2019 and League Cup runners-up in 2015. 

After moving on from Tottenham Hotspur, Eriksen moved on to play for Inter Milan where he helped win the Serie A. During his most recent spell with Manchester United, Eriksen was in the side as it went through several challenges, including a squad imbalance which impacted results. Nevertheless, during his time at Old Trafford, he won the FA Cup in 2024 after the club finished as the runners-up in the same tournament during the previous season. United also won the League Cup in 2023 with Eriksen present and finished as the runners-up in the Europa League in 2025. 

There is little doubt that Eriksen will go down as one of the modern-day greats of Danish football. On an individual basis, he won the Danish Talent of the Year award in 2010 and 2011. He is a two-time Tottenham Hotspur player of the season winner, having won the award at the club in 2014 and 2017, beating competition from the likes of Harry Kane and Hugo Lloris. 

Eriksen won many hearts throughout the world after suffering a near-fatal heart attack during Euro 2020 in a match against Finland. Despite the setback, he ended up returning to professional football, initially with English Premier League club Brentford before later joining Manchester United. This played a role in him being presented with the Comeback of the Year award by Laureus World Sport in 2023.