Bayer Leverkusen coach Kasper Hjulmand will also face his former Danish international Christian Eriksen in Saturday’s Bundesliga away game at VfL Wolfsburg (3:30 p.m., Sky). The two share a fateful event at the 2021 European Championships. “That situation back then changed our lives a bit,” said Hjulmand at a press conference. “It’s nice to see Christian again.”
The 33-year-old Eriksen, who has been playing at VfL Wolfsburg since this season, suffered a cardiac arrest in the 43rd minute of Denmark’s opening game of the European Championship against Finland in Copenhagen on June 12, 2021 and had to be resuscitated on the pitch. Hjulmand was the Danish national coach then and later until July 2024. In March 2022, Eriksen von Hjulmand was called up to the Danish national team for the first time.
“Sometimes, in quieter moments, I think of Christian,” Hjulmand said. “He is a great player and a top person – but I am now the coach of Bayer Leverkusen and am therefore totally focused on my team.”
There is “a small question mark” behind Grimaldo’s commitment
In Wolfsburg, Leverkusen may have to do without their left-back and top scorer Alejandro Grimaldo. The 30-year-old Spaniard was unable to play in the Spanish national team’s two World Cup qualifying games due to muscular problems. Hjulmand said there was still “a small question mark” behind Grimaldo’s involvement in Wolfsburg.