page_title: Christian Eriksen
section_title: Breakthrough season
hierarchical_section_title: Christian Eriksen / Club career / AFC Ajax / Breakthrough season
caption_attribution_description: Nederlands: Basis elftal van Ajax tegen Olympique Lyon op 14 september 2011.English: Starting eleven of Ajax against Olympique Lyon on September 14th, 2011. Line-up: Kenneth Vermeer, Siem de Jong, Toby Alderweireld, Kolbeinn Sigþórsson, Theo Janssen, Jan Vertonghen, Miralem Sulejmani, Derk Boerrigter, Christian Eriksen, Gregory van der Wiel, Nicolai Boilesen
context_page_description: Christian Dannemann Eriksen is a Danish footballer who plays for the Italian club Inter Milan and the Denmark national team as an midfielder. He made his debut for the Denmark national team in March 2010, and was the youngest player of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
  In 2011, Eriksen was named Danish Football Player of the Year, Dutch Football Talent of the Year, Ajax Talent of the Year, and made the UEFA Euro U-21 Team of the Tournament. He won the Eredivisie with Ajax in 2010–11, 2011–12, and in 2012–13 before signing with Tottenham Hotspur in August 2013. He won the Tottenham Hotspur Player of the Year award for the 2013–14 season and in 2015, he won the Danish Football Player of the Year award for the second year in a row.
context_section_description: Eriksen started the 2010–11 season well, scoring his first Ajax league goal on 29 August 2010 in an away victory over De Graafschap. On 11 November 2010, Eriksen scored his first goal at the Amsterdam ArenA a 3–0 Cup victory over BV Veendam. In December, Eriksen was named Danish "Talent of the Year". Several days after receiving this award, Eriksen once again proved his value to Ajax by scoring the only goal in a 0–1 away league victory over Vitesse. On 17 February 2011, Eriksen scored his first goal in a European tournament, the Ajax goal to 2–0, when Ajax beat Anderlecht 3–0 in the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League. On 13 March 2011, Eriksen scored a solo goal, running from the half way line to finish it off with a strike to secure a 3–1 win over Willem II.
  During the rest of the season, Eriksen became more and more important for Ajax, due to his growing capabilities as the team's playmaker, providing many assists. After a good season during which he developed himself into an undisputed starter in the side that won the 2010–11 Eredivisie (Ajax's first Eredivisie title in seven years), he was named Ajax's Talent of the Year. On 23 May 2011 he was named Dutch Football Talent of the Year, the second Danish player to win the award since Jon Dahl Tomasson in 1996. He was elected by a jury under command of Holland's all-time best player Johan Cruyff. "He's a player I really like with all my heart," Cruyff praised Eriksen. "This prize is just the beginning, a stimulus to get the maximum out of his career. The talent is there, the recognition also; now it is up to the player himself. He is a typical product of the Danish school. You can compare him with Brian and Michael Laudrup. Only time will tell if Eriksen can reach the same level as them.".
caption: Eriksen with Ajax teammates.
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