2021 Year in Review: From Eriksen's recovery to the European Super League

Odd years in football can be quieter with fewer international football tournaments but not 2021. Odd in the sense that for at least half the year football was still played behind-closed-doors in most of Europe's big leagues and, with the arrival of Omicron, meaning that many ended it behind-closed-doors, too.

However, the 12 month delay of Euro 2020 meant that Europe's big footballing showpiece finally got underway in June. The tournament was staged across the continent in 11 host cities with football once again not quite coming home as Italy denied England at Wembley after the Three Lions once more came up short in a penalty shoot-out.

The tournament was only a day old when Denmark's Christian Erikssen suffered a cardiac arrest during their game against Finland in Copenhagen. The Danish international's life was saved by quick-thinking medics and a German emergency doctor in the crowd.

Six months later, and he still hasn't returned to the field but the good news is that he has started training again. He won't feature for Inter Milan again because the club released him as his health condition goes against Italian football regulations.

The run-up to the Euro's was overshadowed by the potential breakaway European Super League. 12 clubs from England, Spain and Italy were prepared to walk away from the Champions League - in what they claimed was an attempt to 're-shape football' and make the matches more of an event. Supporters didn't quite see it that way and mobilised online and in-person to protest against the potentially seismic change in European Football.

Dan Silver of the Chelsea Supporters Trust told Football Now "We put a statement out, completely against it. We don't want this. We're not interested, we definitely don't