Jose Mourinho
Jose Mourinho has revealed he cried and prayed after watching Christian Eriksen collapse following a cardiac arrest while playing for Denmark at Euro 2020.
Eriksen, 29, slumped to the turf in horrifying scenes during the fixture against Finland on Saturday and required CPR.
After receiving urgent medical treatment and being rushed to hospital, Denmark star Eriksen is now conscious and in a stable condition at a Copenhagen hospital.
Among those watching the incident live on television was Mourinho, who coached Eriksen for two months at Tottenham, and the experienced coach admitted his reaction was one of shock.
“Today I cannot stop thinking about what happened yesterday. I think it’s a day to celebrate, not to be sad.
“Hopefully football went in a direction where the organisation, the protocols, level of the doctors and the specialists [is optimum], and I also believe God was looking at football in that moment.
“Everything together made Christian to be with us, to be with his family, to be alive.
“It was much more important than football but at the same time I believe that it also showed the good values of football.
“The love, the solidarity, family spirit. It was not just about his family it was about the football family. Football bringing people together.
“I prayed yesterday, I cried yesterday, but how many millions did it around the world? I believe many because football can bring people together,” Mourinho told talkSPORT.
Eriksen fell just before half-time in Denmark’s opening group game at the tournament, and medics were quickly ushered over by referee Anthony Taylor.
CPR and a defibrillator were used to save Eriksen, while his team-mates formed a protective ring around him to allow for privacy during the treatment.