Former Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho has revealed just how emotional he became after seeing his ex-player Christian Eriksen collapse during Denmark's 2020 UEFA European Championship opener on the weekend.
Mourinho worked with Eriksen, 29, briefly before the player left Spurs to join Inter Milan in January 2020, two months after the Portuguese tactician was appointed manager of the London club.
After Eriksen's terrifying collapse and subsequent resuscitation during Denmark's Euro 2020 clash with Finland on Saturday evening, Mourinho admitted he was heavily impacted emotionally.
"Today, I cannot stop thinking about what happened yesterday (Saturday). I think it's a day to celebrate, not to be sad," he told talkSPORT.
"Hopefully football went in a direction where the organisation, the protocols, the level of the doctors and the specialists, 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.
"Yesterday, for the wrong reasons, football brought people together, and at the end we can celebrate (that) Christian is alive.
"Of course, I didn't speak with him, but I spoke with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg this morning and Pierre is very positive about Christian. The news is good, so I think it's a moment to celebrate."
