Player Profile: Simon Kjær

image: @simonkjaer.official Instagram

The Euros in 2020 was extremely eventful for the Danish captain, Simon Kjær. Faced with the prospect of losing his friend and Denmark’s star man, Christian Eriksen, Kjær stepped up to the plate and performed critical life-saving CPR to help him eventually rise from the dead. While a drained Denmark did lose that match to Finland, they went on an unimaginable run right to the semi-finals of the Euros, finally losing to England.

Kjær was rightfully hailed as a hero for how he dealt with the situation and rallied his team to the semis, despite going through such a traumatic experience and losing their leading man. He was brilliant at AC Milan too, as the journeyman finally lived up to the potential he’d shown early on at Palermo, culminating with finishing 18th in the Ballon D’or rankings.

A commanding ball-playing defender, Kjær is a model professional any team would love to have. He isn’t a flashy defender who throws in late tackles. Kjær relies on his positional awareness to break up attacks. Highly composed at the back, the Dane rarely gives the ball away and loves to play a long ball to advance play. A natural leader, he can often be spotted commanding the defensive line.

In December 2021, he suffered an ACL injury which sidelined him until the start of this season. He’s been eased back into the Milan squad, however, he’s looked just as good as he was whenever he’s played this season. AC Milan have conceded just a single goal in the 600+ minutes Kjær has played this season. Denmark will look to start on the front foot in a 433, with Kjær and Christensen projected to start as centre-backs.

De Rød-Hvide head into the tournament with muted kits, in protest against Qatar ‘22, a stark contrast to the prospects of this side. They’ve cemented themselves as a dark horse to potentially win the tournament. Now 33, Kjær heads into potentially his last world cup, arguably as good as he’s ever been.