Eriksen: “My free kick against AC Milan, Brozovic and Lukaku...”

MILAN – Determination and a passion for football. Christian Eriksen recently spoke to DAZN, with the Dane commenting on the enjoyable spell he’s going through: “I’m now playing more often, and this makes me happy.”

A turning point for the midfielder arrived when he scored that free-kick goal in the #DerbyMilano: “The perception is that things changed at that moment. Those viewing from the outside saw it as a kind of reawakening, as if to say: 'Oh, look, he can still take free kicks, he hasn’t gone off the radar, he’s still around'. I knew immediately that the ball was heading in the right direction, that it would go in if it didn’t take a deflection. I always have the same free-kick routine: I put the ball down, take five steps back and then slowly go towards it. It’s about knowing where to hit it, and the first thing you need to do is beat the wall.”

And then there’s all the daily work that has been done to be increasingly effective in this Inter side: “I don’t know if it’s right to talk about the 'new Eriksen' or the old Eriksen who is now playing a bit more. As a result of the system we use and the position I cover, I play a bit deeper, so I’m more involved in recovering the ball. I need to be ready to make challenges to win back possession. Previously, I’d played higher up the pitch, but now I’ve adapted to a new system and playing style. I’ve slowly got the hang of it and I’m now well aware of what needs to be done. I’ve been at Inter for a year, and we do what the Coach asks of us every day. I've tried to do these things from day one. Conte and I had to get to know each other, and now we understand each other better. This is a good thing, it makes it easier to comprehend how to interpret certain games.”

Eriksen has formed a promising tandem with Brozovic in midfield: “It’s different than before, when Brozovic played more of a lone role, but the Coach is the one who decides our positions. We don’t play as deep playmakers every game, it depends on the opposition and how we can do damage with our playing system.”

Finally, the Dane talked about Romelu Lukaku, a teammate, a friend and a point of reference on the pitch: “Romelu and I have a great relationship, he’s a friendly giant. When we were youngsters, we played against each other when he was at Anderlecht. He’s doing incredible things and is going above and beyond what he did in England, where I faced him many times. The midfielders often look for him, we know where to find him. In our system, we must always have a passing option on the ball.  Why wouldn’t we look to make the most of his attributes as much as we can?”