The hero: – They were tears of sadness and joy

On August 17, 2020, a message appeared in the Messenger inbox of HamKam sports director Espen Olsen.

The message he never answered was from Christian Eriksen.

“I have a question for you, and it has to do with the eager Hammer, who grew up with HamKam and played for the first team and even the first team, before the journey began. Today I play at Elverum, but there is a lull … and the season does not seem to be so … I have always been 110% and bleed more than happy for the parent club. The question I asked, then, is if there is any interest in another conversation, talk/meeting?”

– I thought then and there that we needed reinforcements. I must admit that Eriksen was not at the top of the building. I actually did not reply to this Messenger message. I haven’t answered yet, so I’ll do it now, says Espen Olsen and laughs well.

Energetic

It’s the day after a rare evening in Briskeby:

After 2-1 against Rufus on Monday, only a weak theory could deny HamKam a promotion. And perhaps the best player with the Greens and Whites in the 2021 promotion season, Olsen did not remember the answer a little more than a year ago.

Fortunately for both Olsen and HamKam, Christian Eriksen has been as energetic and intense in his orientation as he is off the field.

– Send text messages, then call. It was a bit of a coincidence, we were quite a few people in training, and they let him join in. I discussed a little with others in the club who knew him better than me. They said he was a man standing like that, and it wasn’t wrong for him to be in training. Olsen says Kjetil (Rekdal) and Geir (Frigård) both liked him very much from the start.

Eriksen’s stature hasn’t completely diminished in the past year: With 11 goals and nine assists in just 27 games, he’s been a huge contributor to the promotion.

lost dad

In the jubilant scenes after the match, the 26-year-old had a lot of emotions.

– When my uncle somewhat abruptly came into the indoor playground, there was a lot of emotion. I got carried away with the team in my heart, and he cried a little, too. Then it was hard to back off. Candid Christian Eriksen says it was nice to get her out, with tears of joy and sadness.

Both are in the local newspapers Red Arbiderblad And in HamKams private sites He spoke about his personal tragedy in 2013.

Abe Stein, who worked as a mentor and soccer coach throughout his childhood, lost his life when he met the trailer he was driving in a truck loaded with unsafe cargo.

Eriksen tells TV 2 that he no longer has problems talking about the day life was turned upside down.

– Dad came to an outside turn, while the truck driver came to the inside turn. Eriksen says my dad got timber from the truck straight into the cab.

– I was 18 at the time, and I had just taken the note. We sat down and ordered Russian clothes the night before, and I remember Dad being a bit up that day. This was one of the first things I thought of when I was told he had died, and that he might have fallen asleep behind the wheel, because he had gone to work so early. But fortunately it was not. It was almost better if someone else had caused it.

– When you say that there were tears of sadness also yesterday, did yesterday not allow you to share them with your father?

– Yes, at the same time I know he would be an incredibly proud father. That was what my uncle said yesterday, too, as he thought it would be one of my dad’s biggest days, says Eriksen.

Wait for death message

He was attending Hammer Cathedral School when the accident occurred, and the family received the death letter while Christian was studying.

– My mother and the others weren’t coming to class and texting me, they waited several hours before I finished school. Then they sent a message that I should go home. I remember writing I was going to a friend, so it had to be later. But then they wrote that I had to come. Well, what’s up now, sort of. My first thought was that my 96-year-old grandmother had passed away, says Eriksen.

– But when I went up into the courtyard, I suddenly saw the priest, my uncle, and several members of my family. Then my uncle came and said that my father died. Then there weren’t many legs to stand on. It was a terrible message to receive.

In that sense, it was a bit more emotional when Uncle had just walked off the indoor court after yesterday’s promotion.

– It was a wonderful moment. Christian Eriksen says it is a victory for us and the family.

He played his first football match already three days after his father’s death. Football became his refuge, where he could relax and release frustration, sadness and anger.

never give up

Today, he is highlighted as a symbol of HamKam’s success, with his tireless work and guerrilla style of play.

Christian was one of the best players. It’s a bit difficult to single out one person in this year’s Kamma team, because there are many who have performed at a very high level. But Christian is a mentor star. Athletic director Olsen says he became HamKam’s DNA through his hard work.

Do you think Eriksen will become a HamKam player if he doesn’t keep pushing you?

I might have answered him in the end, for you should have been very respectful for you to answer, but I don’t think he would have ended up here if he had not been firm himself, he says.

When Eriksen came to HamKam for a test match in the fall of 2020, he had been without football for most of the year due to Corona and the severe restrictions that broad football was subject to.

He was laid off from his kindergarten job, but had a small training group where he also kept fit.

– When everything was closed, I was laid off and no longer allowed to attend training. I and three or four other boys from Hamar had to use other areas. We went together to Borstad, on a path next to where I live. There we ran our own program with three running sessions and five football sessions per week. We’ve done that over a very long period of time, says Eriksen.

– What would you do if Hammam said no thank you?

– Then maybe I’ll try on my way inland to Oslo. Asker, where do I know coach Wiggard Skogheim or some other club out there. But I must honestly admit that I took the tour with myself after closing. At the same time, I had this inner drive of my own, which told me I shouldn’t sit there for 10-15 years and regret that I threw it away and didn’t take the chance, he says.

Kindergarten jobs are not excluded

Now he does not have to regret. From being a third-tier player who has not been allowed to train with his team or play matches a little over a year ago, he is now a leading player on a team that plays in the Elite Series next year.

And now the babysitting job may have to make way as well – but that’s a long way off.

– Exactly that I have not yet fully decided. I have to talk to my employer and to Kjetil (Rekdal) about the complete package. Recovery is important in football, and I must admit that it is difficult to combine work in kindergarten in the periods when matches are approaching. But in a normal week it goes well and then gives me more energy than it drains. We may be able to facilitate in a positive way next year, says Eriksen.