Kjaer: If Eriksen had not survived that year, I would have retired directly

Hupu November 15th News Danish star Kjaer, who retired last year, accepted an exclusive interview with Gazzetta dello Sport today. He talked about his experience playing for Milan that year and the moment that saved the life of his friend Eriksson.

The pronunciation of the word Kjaer in Danish is very close to kær, which means "the loved one". Can you use this word to describe your relationship with Milan fans?

"I am a fan of Milan and Denmark. I just like other teams. This is different. Milan fans know this."

The Serie A championship in 2022 is enough to sum up everything. What memory does it leave for you?

"Every time a team-mate parked their car in Milanello that year, I could read the joy on their faces, and the game against Lazio gave us a decisive boost. Ibrahimovic brought intensity, both positive and negative, and he just wanted to win. Pioli was very good at understanding the moments, and we also Good at dealing with the chaos Ibrahimovic creates, sometimes you have to put your hand on his shoulder and say, 'Calm down, take a deep breath,' but Zlatan has taught me so much."

This chemistry is no longer there in the 2024/2025 season. From an outside perspective, what do you think happened?

"In my opinion, the team has changed too much, at all levels. If I were to continue talking, I would have to talk about some internal things that I learned from friends, but those are private, and of course I feel the same as all Milan fans, and now the team is much better."

What do you think of Allegri's Milan?

"Milan becomes Milan again. If you bring Modric and Rabiot, you regain experience, which is one of the most underestimated things nowadays. I think Milan can win the Scudetto because they have the right coach and now you know who is the leader, last year, I didn't know."

Is Gabbia your successor?

"Yes, I like him very much. He is one of the most professional players and is always ready to sacrifice for Milan."

Where is Leo? Is it reasonable to continue to demand more stability from him?

"Yes, reasonable, I will ask him the same. Rafa can become one of the best players in the world, if he can learn a little bit from Gabia... You see Dembele won the Ballon d'Or, and Rafa can reach the same level. He needs to improve 1% every day, this cannot be done alone, can alone There are very few people who can do it, and he needs a coach and a company to help him. He is 26 years old, and it is either now or not. He has too many things on his shoulders. It is not easy. "

Let's talk about Derby. Were you really close to joining Inter Milan in 2008?

"Yes, Inter Milan was interested in bringing me in, and Real Madrid also made an offer, but then I went to Palermo."

Who is the favorite in the weekend game?

"Inter Milan is playing at home, right? Then I think Inter Milan 60-Milan 40, but it is balanced on the court."

Tell me something about yourself. You retired after 6 months without a ball to play. What happened?

"I learned in September 2023 that Milan would not renew my contract. From then on, I started to think about the conditions I wanted. I had several options, but I realized that I had to make a compromise, and my wife and I decided that in this kind of thing, there can be no compromise."

What offers have you received?

"There were a lot of offers, even some from Champions League teams, from Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands. But nothing came close to making me say 'yes'."

Is retirement difficult?

"Yes, it was difficult. But it helps that my decision was not made in a month. Of course, I miss my friends and teammates."

Why did you choose to continue living in Italy?

"Because we live a good life here. I retired for the children, to take them to play football, and to accompany them. So far, I have missed more than half of their lives."

What is your family like?

"It's a mess. I speak Danish, my wife speaks Swedish, they speak English, and a little bit of Italian, all mixed together."

What about work in Midtjylland?

"I was on the board, and we replaced a coach who was undefeated in 18 games because we wanted to continue to grow. There was a huge desire here, and now I have to figure out whether I want to be an athletic director, a general manager, or something else. There are some things in football that I don't like."

What things?

"There are too many interests. If I have a problem with you, I will tell you directly, which is usually not the case in the football world, and now I understand the operations behind it."

On June 12, 2021, the day Eriksson suffered a cardiac arrest at the European Cup, what changed?

"It changed everything. If Christian had left, I would never play football again. I learned that football is football and life is life. Football is work and passion and life is something else."

Does that thought come up every day?

"No, I don't think about it every day. But something happened a few days ago: at my son's game, a boy broke his wrist and an ambulance rolled in, and I felt weird. But as long as Christian is okay, I'll be okay. They tell me there's something about trauma. You will remember, and some you won't. There were 40 of us on that field, and we all recalled those hours together. I can no longer tell which memories are mine and which are not. "

It's like when you formed a circle to protect Christian?

"Yes. My teammates told me that if we hadn't hugged each other there, some people would have run away, some would have watched, and some would not have dared to look."

Have you never watched those scenes again?

"No. At most I’ve seen bits and pieces on social media. "

Since we are talking about emotions, choose one picture from your career: let's talk about happiness first.

"Won the league championship with Milan. "

Disappointed.

" 2022 World Cup. There has been a debate in Denmark about whether to go to Qatar or not. It feels like we are not going there to play football. "

Afraid.

"Of course it was Christian's accident at the European Cup. Also in Turkey, once the opposing fans rushed onto the field and wanted to beat the players and referees. I saw everyone else running, and I knew I had to run too..."

exclamation.

"When Special Olympics played against Atalanta, he ran all the way from one end of the field to the other, and then scored..."

Where will Kjaer be in five years?

"I hope to still be here, working for a club. Maybe I will continue to do my current job in Midtjylland, but I am in Italy and I don’t know if I can go to Milan. I'll do something that interests me and I'll try to stay within football, otherwise... I'll look elsewhere. "