Michael Laudrup
Encyclopedia
Michael Laudrup is a retired Danish
footballer, who works as a manager and last coached La Liga
side RCD Mallorca
. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of football. His most prominent run of football came with Spanish
club Barcelona
, with whom he won four straight La Liga
championships. He famously moved to arch rivals Real Madrid
in 1994, with whom he won his fifth La Liga title in a row. He made his debut for the Denmark national football team
on his 18th birthday in 1982, and scored 37 goals in a total of 104 appearances for his country. From November 1994, he captained Denmark for a total of 28 matches, including the victorious 1995 Confederations Cup
tournament. He retired as an active player in June 1998.
In 1999, he was voted the Best Foreign Player in Spanish Football over the preceding 25-year period and in April 2000 he was knighted, receiving the Order of the Dannebrog
. In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA
's Jubilee, he was selected as the Golden Player
of Denmark by the Danish Football Association
; their most outstanding player of the past 50 years. He was officially named the best Danish footballer of all time by the Danish Football Association (DBU) in November 2006.
After ending his playing career, Laudrup took up coaching, and became assistant manager of the Danish national team. He got his first manager job at former club Brøndby
in 2002, whom he guided to the 2005 Danish Superliga
championship. He chose not to extend his contract with Brøndby in May 2006. He subsequently took over as coach of Getafe
, Madrid's third club, and continued his coaching career with notable success there. He brought the club comparative success in the Copa del Rey and UEFA Cup, and the team's attacking style brought plaudits.
, Copenhagen
, Michael Laudrup started playing football in father Finn Laudrup
's childhood club Vanløse
. When Finn Laudrup became player/coach of Brøndby IF
in 1973, the family moved to Brøndby and both Michael and his brother Brian Laudrup
started playing for the club as well. Michael followed his father to the top-flight Danish 1st Division
club Københavns Boldklub in 1976, while Brian remained at Brøndby.
of Brøndby to the 1st Division.
At Brøndby, Laudrup scored two goals in the club's 1st Division debut game, as fellow promoted team Boldklubben 1909
were beaten 7–1. Laudrup scored 15 league goals in 1982, and ended the season as the third top goal scorer of the 1st Division. His accomplishments earned him the 1982 Danish Player of the Year
award. He played part of the 1983 season for Brøndby, and scored 9 goals, before he was sold to defending Serie A
champions Juventus
from Italy
in June 1983. It was the then biggest transfer deal in Danish football, worth around $1 million. He was due to sign for Liverpool the same year on a 3 year contract, but Liverpool at the last minute changed the contract to 4 years and Michael decided not to join.
Under restriction of a maximum of two foreign players in the team, of which the club had Polish
midfielder Zbigniew Boniek
and Michel Platini, Juventus initially lent him to newly-promoted Rome
club Lazio
for a single season. He scored two goals in his Serie A
debut, even though Lazio lost 2–4 to Verona
. In his first year at the club, Lazio narrowly avoided relegation, but as Juventus wanted to keep Boniek and Platini, Laudrup stayed a second year at Lazio. Lazio started the 1984–85 season badly, and they finished dead last and were relegated to Serie B
, with Laudrup scoring just a single goal that season.
Laudrup returned to the Juventus side in 1985 to replace Zbigniew Boniek
, playing alongside Michel Platini. In his first year at the club, he won the 1985–86 Serie A
championship, as well as the Intercontinental Cup
trophy, and Laudrup was once again named 1985 Danish Player of the Year. The following season was no success for Laudrup, who suffered from injuries, like large parts of the Juventus team, including Platini. When Platini retired in 1987, Laudrup was expected to lead the team in his place, playing alongside newly-bought Welsh
forward Ian Rush
. But the 23-year old failed to live up to Platini's standards, and did not score any goals, despite playing all 30 games of the 1987–88 season.
of Spain
where he enjoyed tremendous success, with former Dutch national team
captain Johan Cruijff the coach. Laudrup was one of the restricted three foreign players allowed in the team, alongside Dutch
defender Ronald Koeman
and Bulgaria
n striker Hristo Stoichkov
, who were the pillars of Barça coach Johan Cruijff's Dream Team. The team won four consecutive La Liga
championships from 1991 to 1994, as well as the 1991–92 European Cup, and Laudrup was twice elected the best player of the year in Spain during his Barcelona years. When Barça hired a fourth foreign star player, Brazil
ian striker Romário
in 1993 it meant the four foreigners would rotate as the three foreign players allowed in each match, and when Laudrup wasn't selected for the 1994 European Cup final 0–4 loss to Milan
, his time at Barcelona was over.
In 1994, he completed a controversial move from Barça to Real Madrid
after he fell out with Johan Cruyff. Laudrup went on to guide Real Madrid in a championship winning season that would end the Barça stranglehold, making Laudrup the only player ever to win the Spanish league five times in a row playing for two different clubs. After the initial success at Real, a lacklustre season would be in store for the club. Despite only playing two seasons at Real Madrid, Laudrup was voted the 12th best player in Real history in an internet survey by Spanish newspaper Marca
when the club celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2002.
While playing with Barcelona he participated in the 5–0 victory over rivals Real Madrid in the 1993–94 season. The following season while playing for Real Madrid he aided in the revenge beating that Madrid gave Barça, the final score also being 5–0.
He went on to play for Vissel Kobe
in Japan
, before he ended his playing career in a championship winning season at Dutch team Ajax in 1998.
Following his retirement, Laudrup sometimes turned out to play for Lyngby
's Old Boys team in his spare time.
. Despite playing for relegation battlers Lazio, Laudrup starred for the Danish national team at the Euro 1984, playing all four Denmark matches.
He took part in the 1986 World Cup
in Mexico
, a performance which is best remembered for his exceptional solo dribble and goal in the 6–1 defeat of Uruguay
. He was also a part of the disappointing Danish national team at the Euro 1988 tournament, though Laudrup experienced personal success as he scored one of Denmark's two goals. Following three games in the qualification campaign for Euro 1992, Laudrup decided to quit the national team in November 1990 alongside Brian Laudrup
and Jan Mølby
, following differences with coach Richard Møller Nielsen
. Denmark eventually won the tournament.
He returned to coach Nielsen's Danish squad in August 1993, but saw Spain
qualify for the 1994 World Cup
ahead of Denmark. He scored a goal in the 2–0 victory against Argentina
, as Denmark won the 1995 Intercontinental Cup
. He also scored four goals in 10 games as Denmark qualified for the Euro 1996, though the tournament would leave no positives for him.
His last games for Denmark came at the 1998 World Cup
, when he captained Denmark to the quarter-final. He crowned his tournament performance with a trademark assist in the knock-out stage. In the Round of 16 elimination game against Nigeria
, looking to his left, Laudrup launched a lob to his right, over the defenders. The pass was picked up by Ebbe Sand
, who headed it past defender Taribo West
, and converted the chance for the 3–0 goal in the 4–1 win against Nigeria. Denmark was defeated 2–3 by Brazil
in the quarter-finals, and both Michael and Brian Laudrup announced their international retirement following the World Cup elimination.
midfielder
, Laudrup was known as one of the most effective passers, as well as one of the most skillful and elegant players of the game and is still popular amongst fans. Laudrup was considered by many as one of the most technically accomplished players ever. He was ranked amongst the best players in Europe, and his talent was exceptional, with the French
three time European footballer of the year
award winner Michel Platini
describing him as one of the most talented players ever, only lamenting his lack of selfishness causing him to score too few goals. His team mate in Real Madrid
, Raúl
has in an interview in April 2006 called Laudrup the best player he has ever played with. His team mate in Barcelona
, Romário
has stated the same and added that Laudrup in his opinion is the fifth best player in the history of the game as he was able to create and score goals almost at will (behind Pelé, Diego Maradona
, himself and Zinedine Zidane
). Laudrup was known as a gentleman on the pitch and never received a red card.
After his playing career ended with Ajax, Laudrup became a coach at age 36 when he started serving as an assistant coach for the Danish national team coach Morten Olsen
in 2000. The national team would play a 4–2–3–1 formation, depending on two fast wingers and with the aim to dominate games with a short-passing possession game. Together they led Denmark to the knock-out stage of 2002 World Cup
, after which Laudrup took the job as manager for Brøndby in the Danish Superliga
. As his assistant coach, Laudrup paired up with former Danish championship winning manager John "Faxe" Jensen
, who had played alongside him in the Danish national team.
At the start of his reign, Laudrup proclaimed a tactical scheme close to that which Olsen and he had coached at the national team. Laudrup renovated the Brøndby team by letting a large contingent of older and experienced players go, in favour of several new offensive players, and he gave the chance to young talents from the club's youth scheme. To ensure the defensive strength of the team, he hired the proven national team player Morten Wieghorst
. In his first year as head coach, he managed the team to a Danish Cup
win against FC Midtjylland in the final. After finishing runners up twice, he finally led the team to The Double
in 2005.
After finishing runners-up in the 2005–06 season, Laudrup left Brøndby along with assistant coach John "Faxe" Jensen. He could not come to an agreement with Brøndby about renewing his contract, and therefore decided to leave the club. He was associated with several new jobs, including head coach of former club Real Madrid and rumours that he would replace Lars Lagerbäck
as head coach for the Swedish national team
. In 2007, Brøndby decided to name a new lounge at the stadium "The Michael Laudrup Lounge", with Laudrup's approval.
On 21 June 2007, he was linked to a move to Madrid's La Liga
team Getafe
by sports newspaper Marca. This was confirmed on 9 July 2007. During his stay in Getafe the club reached the final in Copa del Rey
, but lost to Valencia
, and the quarter finals in the UEFA Cup
(lost in extra time to Bayern Munich). During his tenure, as successor to former Real Madrid manager Bernd Schuster
, he brought a new brand of exciting and free-flowing attacking football to the club which brought back memoires of Laudrup as a player. His team, which is not one of the established forces in Spanish football, also enjoyed comparative success. However, he performed only one season as manager, tendering his resignation in May 2008.
Since he announced his departure from Getafe he has been linked with jobs at Valencia
, Benfica, Chelsea
, Blackburn Rovers
, Panathinaikos, CSKA Moscow and West Ham United
. He almost got the job at Panathinaikos, but according to Danish media he wanted an option to allow him to leave, if he got an offer from a Spanish club. This could not be accepted by the Greeks, who chose Henk ten Cate
instead.
On 12 September 2008, it was officially announced that Laudrup signed a 18-month contract with Spartak Moscow
. However, he spent only 7 months in the post, being sacked on 15 April 2009 after Spartak's 0–3 loss to Dinamo Moscow
in the Russian Cup.
On 22 October 2009, Spanish media announced that Laudrup would be appointed as new manager of Spanish side Atlético Madrid, replacing the short and unsuccessful run of Abel Resino
, following Atletico's 4–0 Champions League defeat at the legs of Chelsea
, but Laudrup and the club weren't able to agree on terms. The day after, on 23 October, Resino was sacked and Quique Sanchez Flores
was appointed as coach as second choice instead of Laudrup.
In July 2010, Laudrup was appointed manager of RCD Mallorca
on a contract that was to run until the end of June 2012. In his first season in Mallorca, Laudrup managed to keep a struggling Mallorca team, which was suffering from losing many first team players and who was ejected from the Euro League due to a bad financial situation, from relegation.
At the beginning of the 2011–2012 season, on 27 September 2011, Laudrup resigned from his job, following the firing of his assistant, Erik Larsen. Laudrup cited that great frustration with Lorenzo Serra Ferrer, the club's Director of Football, leading to a bad work climate as the main reason for his resignation.
manager Ebbe Skovdahl
. He is the son of former Danish national team player Finn Laudrup
and Michael's oldest son Mads Laudrup
has been the team captain of various Danish youth national teams since January 2005, and his youngest son Andreas Laudrup
was selected a part of the under-16 national team in March 2006.
Michael Laudrup has a younger brother, Brian Laudrup
, who was also a footballer. Brian Laudrup was known for his part in the Rangers
squad which won nine-in-a-row in the 90's. Brian was a part of the trophy-winning Danish national team at UEFA Euro 1992, but Michael did not play in that championship due to differences with the national team coach Richard Møller Nielsen
and because he had thought that stripping off Yugoslavia for the political, and not football reasons is not just. In 2004, both the Laudrup brothers were named in the FIFA 100
, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers chosen by Pelé
as part of the celebration of FIFA
's 100th anniversary.
He was admired for his outstanding technique, elegance, deep passes and dribbling. Jorge Valdano, the Argentinian
coach of Laudrup in Real Madrid
, said "he has eyes everywhere". His trademark move — looking one way and passing the other — fooled countless opponents during his career. The Laudrup dribble was perhaps the best-known part of his game, as he quickly moved the ball from one foot to the other away from the defender. His outstanding skills were combined with an immense creativity. He always played the attack in the least obvious way, leaving the defense stranded. This has led to the expression "Made in Laudrup", widely used in Spain about his unique play. Numerous teammates of Laudrup have said: "Just run, he will always find a way of passing you the ball".
In Barcelona
he played alongside Hristo Stoichkov
, who scored many goals from Laudrup's passes, like Iván Zamorano
(who called Laudrup el genio, the genius) during Laudrup's time at Real Madrid. Zamorano was going through a hard spell in Madrid, but when Laudrup arrived to assist his goals, Zamorano immediately became pichichi – top scorer of the Spanish league, La Liga
. An impressive 82% of his goals from the 1994–95 season came from assists from Laudrup. Throughout his career his number of assists was impressive and almost always the highest of his team.
Michael Laudrup provided many examples of his skills with the Danish national team. However there were periods where he failed to deliver the performances he consistently delivered at club level, where he had world class players all around him for most of his career. With Denmark, he sometimes appeared frustrated when his passes were not utilized properly. In the last couple of years there was even a discussion about whether there was room for both of the Laudrups in the national team. Outstanding as they were and even with some difference in their playing styles, it was rare to see both of them playing a good game. In the end though, they both ended their careers with the national team on a high, with Michael captaining the side to the quarter finals at the 1998 World Cup
, where they crashed out after a thrilling 3–2 encounter with then-reigning world champions and later final participants, Brazil.
|1981||KB
||1st Division
||14||3||||||||||||||14||3
|-
|1982||rowspan="2"|Brøndby
||rowspan="2"|1st Division
||24||15||||||||||||||24||15
|-
|1983||14||8||||||||||||||14||8
|-
|1983/84||rowspan="2"|Lazio||rowspan="2"|Serie A
||30||8||||||||||||||30||8
|-
|1984/85||30||1||||||||||||||30||1
|-
|1985/86||rowspan="4"|Juventus||rowspan="4"|Serie A
||29||7||||||||||||||29||7
|-
|1986/87||20||3||||||||||||||20||3
|-
|1987/88||27||0||||||||||||||27||0
|-
|1988/89||26||6||||||||||||||26||6
|-
|1989/90||rowspan="5"|Barcelona
||rowspan="5"|La Liga
||32||3||7||2||colspan="2"|-||3||1||42||6
|-
|1990/91||30||9||5||2||colspan="2"|-||7||0||42||11
|-
|1991/92||36||13||2||2||colspan="2"|-||||||38||15
|-
|1992/93||37||10||4||4||colspan="2"|-||||||41||14
|-
|1993/94||31||5||1||0||colspan="2"|-||||||32||5
|-
|1994/95||rowspan="2"|Real Madrid||rowspan="2"|La Liga
||33||4||2||1||colspan="2"|-||5||2||40||7
|-
|1995/96||29||8||0||0||colspan="2"|-||7||0||36||8
|-
|1996||rowspan="2"|Vissel Kobe
||Football League
||12||5||3||2||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||15||7
|-
|1997||J. League 1||3||0||0||0||6||1||colspan="2"|-||9||1
|-
|1997/98||Ajax||Eredivisie
||21||11||||||||||||||21||11
52||26||||||||||||||52||26
162||25||||||||||||||162||25
228||52||||||||||||||228||52
15||5||3||2||6||1||colspan="2"|-||21||8
21||11|||||||||||||||21||11
478||119||3||2||6||1||0||0||487||122
|}
|1982||3||2
|-
|1983||5||7
|-
|1984||13||2
|-
|1985||6||6
|-
|1986||10||1
|-
|1987||4||0
|-
|1988||9||1
|-
|1989||8||4
|-
|1990||6||3
|-
|1991||0||0
|-
|1992||0||0
|-
|1993||4||0
|-
|1994||8||3
|-
|1995||9||5
|-
|1996||8||1
|-
|1997||2||1
|-
|1998||9||1
|-
!Total||104||37
|}
Getafe C.F.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
footballer, who works as a manager and last coached La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
side RCD Mallorca
RCD Mallorca
Real Club Deportivo Mallorca is a Spanish football team based on Palma, Majorca, in the Balearic Islands. Founded on 5 March 1916, the team currently plays in the Spanish first division, holding home games at Son Moix....
. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of football. His most prominent run of football came with Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
club Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
, with whom he won four straight La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
championships. He famously moved to arch rivals Real Madrid
Real Madrid C.F.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
in 1994, with whom he won his fifth La Liga title in a row. He made his debut for the Denmark national football team
Denmark national football team
The Denmark national football team represents Denmark in association football and is controlled by the Danish Football Association , the governing body for the football clubs which are organized under DBU...
on his 18th birthday in 1982, and scored 37 goals in a total of 104 appearances for his country. From November 1994, he captained Denmark for a total of 28 matches, including the victorious 1995 Confederations Cup
1995 King Fahd Cup
-Group B:---------Third place play-off:-Final:-Goalscorers:3 goals Luis García2 goals Gabriel Batistuta Peter Rasmussen Daniel Amokachi1 goal José Chamot Ariel Ortega Sebastián Rambert Brian Laudrup Michael Laudrup...
tournament. He retired as an active player in June 1998.
In 1999, he was voted the Best Foreign Player in Spanish Football over the preceding 25-year period and in April 2000 he was knighted, receiving the Order of the Dannebrog
Order of the Dannebrog
The Order of the Dannebrog is an Order of Denmark, instituted in 1671 by Christian V. It resulted from a move in 1660 to break the absolutism of the nobility. The Order was only to comprise 50 noble Knights in one class plus the Master of the Order, i.e. the Danish monarch, and his sons...
. In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
's Jubilee, he was selected as the Golden Player
UEFA Jubilee Awards
To celebrate the Union of European Football Associations 's 50th anniversary in 2004, each of its member associations was asked by UEFA to choose one of its own players as the single most outstanding player of the past 50 years . The 52 players were known as the Golden Players...
of Denmark by the Danish Football Association
Danish Football Association
The Danish Football Association is the governing body of football in Denmark. It is the organization of the Danish football clubs and runs the professional Danish football leagues and the men's and women's national teams. It is based in the city of Brøndby and is a founding member of both FIFA...
; their most outstanding player of the past 50 years. He was officially named the best Danish footballer of all time by the Danish Football Association (DBU) in November 2006.
After ending his playing career, Laudrup took up coaching, and became assistant manager of the Danish national team. He got his first manager job at former club Brøndby
Brøndby IF
Brøndby IF is a Danish professional football club based in Brøndbyvester, Brøndby, on the western outskirts of Copenhagen and is the biggest football club in Denmark with almost 2000 members. The club is also known as Brøndbyernes Idrætsforening, or Brøndby and BIF for short...
in 2002, whom he guided to the 2005 Danish Superliga
Danish Superliga
The Danish Superliga is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest association football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams to be relegated, which proves to be one of the...
championship. He chose not to extend his contract with Brøndby in May 2006. He subsequently took over as coach of Getafe
Getafe CF
Getafe Club de Fútbol is a Spanish La Liga football club based in Getafe, a city in the Madrid metropolitan area, founded in 1946 and refounded in 1983.In the top level since 2004-05, it holds home games at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez....
, Madrid's third club, and continued his coaching career with notable success there. He brought the club comparative success in the Copa del Rey and UEFA Cup, and the team's attacking style brought plaudits.
Club career
Born in FrederiksbergFrederiksberg
Frederiksberg Kommune is a municipality on the island of Zealand in Denmark. It surrounded by the city of Copenhagen. The municipality, co-extensive with its seat, covers an area of and has a total population of 98,782 making it the smallest municipality in Denmark area-wise, the fifth most...
, Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Michael Laudrup started playing football in father Finn Laudrup
Finn Laudrup
Finn Laudrup-Jensen is a Danish former association football player, who represented a number of Danish clubs and played professionally with Wiener Sport-Club in Austria. He played 19 matches and scored six goals for the Denmark national football team...
's childhood club Vanløse
Vanløse IF
Vanløse IF is a Danish football club currently playing in the Danish 2nd Division East.- Squad :As of December 1, 2009 -Achievements:*2 seasons in the Highest Danish League...
. When Finn Laudrup became player/coach of Brøndby IF
Brøndby IF
Brøndby IF is a Danish professional football club based in Brøndbyvester, Brøndby, on the western outskirts of Copenhagen and is the biggest football club in Denmark with almost 2000 members. The club is also known as Brøndbyernes Idrætsforening, or Brøndby and BIF for short...
in 1973, the family moved to Brøndby and both Michael and his brother Brian Laudrup
Brian Laudrup
Brian Laudrup is a Danish former football player and current football commentator, pundit and analyst on TV3+. Along with former international goalkeeper Lars Høgh, Laudrup manages a football academy for marginalized youth...
started playing for the club as well. Michael followed his father to the top-flight Danish 1st Division
Danish 1st Division
The 1st Division has been the name of the second highest football league in Denmark since 1991. From 1945 to 1991 the 1st Division was the name of the highest level of football in Denmark...
club Københavns Boldklub in 1976, while Brian remained at Brøndby.
Early career and Juventus
He made his senior debut for KB in 1981, and made his debut for the Danish under-19 national team in February 1981. In all, he scored a combined total of 14 goals in 25 games at various youth levels. He went back to play for Brøndby in 1982, where his father had ended his career in 1981, contributing to the promotionPromotion and relegation
In many sports leagues around the world, promotion and relegation is a process that takes place at the end of each season. Through it, teams are transferred between divisions based on their performance that season...
of Brøndby to the 1st Division.
At Brøndby, Laudrup scored two goals in the club's 1st Division debut game, as fellow promoted team Boldklubben 1909
Boldklubben 1909
Boldklubben 1909, known as B 1909, is a Danish association football club currently playing in the Denmark Series Pool 2. They play at Gillested Park in Odense on Funen, which has a capacity of 6,000...
were beaten 7–1. Laudrup scored 15 league goals in 1982, and ended the season as the third top goal scorer of the 1st Division. His accomplishments earned him the 1982 Danish Player of the Year
Danish Player of the Year
The Danish Player of the Year award is an annual prize, which has been given to the best Danish football player by the Danish Football Player Association since 1963. The winner is decided in a vote amongst the professional Danish footballers....
award. He played part of the 1983 season for Brøndby, and scored 9 goals, before he was sold to defending Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
champions Juventus
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
from Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
in June 1983. It was the then biggest transfer deal in Danish football, worth around $1 million. He was due to sign for Liverpool the same year on a 3 year contract, but Liverpool at the last minute changed the contract to 4 years and Michael decided not to join.
Under restriction of a maximum of two foreign players in the team, of which the club had Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
midfielder Zbigniew Boniek
Zbigniew Boniek
Zbigniew "Zibì" Kazimierz Boniek is a former Polish footballer and coach. He first played at Zawisza Bydgoszcz and later at Widzew Łódź. Boniek was named by Pelé as one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers and by FIFA as one of the 100 best-ever players. On 12 October 2009 he received a Golden...
and Michel Platini, Juventus initially lent him to newly-promoted Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
club Lazio
S.S. Lazio
Società Sportiva Lazio, commonly referred to as Lazio, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. The team, founded in 1900, play in the Serie A and have spent most of their history in the top tier of Italian football...
for a single season. He scored two goals in his Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
debut, even though Lazio lost 2–4 to Verona
Hellas Verona F.C.
Hellas Verona Football Club is a professional Italian association football team, based in Verona, Veneto. The team's colours are yellow and blue and gialloblu is the team's most widely used nickname...
. In his first year at the club, Lazio narrowly avoided relegation, but as Juventus wanted to keep Boniek and Platini, Laudrup stayed a second year at Lazio. Lazio started the 1984–85 season badly, and they finished dead last and were relegated to Serie B
Serie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...
, with Laudrup scoring just a single goal that season.
Laudrup returned to the Juventus side in 1985 to replace Zbigniew Boniek
Zbigniew Boniek
Zbigniew "Zibì" Kazimierz Boniek is a former Polish footballer and coach. He first played at Zawisza Bydgoszcz and later at Widzew Łódź. Boniek was named by Pelé as one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers and by FIFA as one of the 100 best-ever players. On 12 October 2009 he received a Golden...
, playing alongside Michel Platini. In his first year at the club, he won the 1985–86 Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
championship, as well as the Intercontinental Cup
Intercontinental Cup (football)
The European/South American Cup, commonly referred to as the World Club Championship, Intercontinental Cup or Toyota Cup, was a football competition endorsed by UEFA and CONMEBOL, contested between the winners of the European Cup and the South American Copa Libertadores...
trophy, and Laudrup was once again named 1985 Danish Player of the Year. The following season was no success for Laudrup, who suffered from injuries, like large parts of the Juventus team, including Platini. When Platini retired in 1987, Laudrup was expected to lead the team in his place, playing alongside newly-bought Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
forward Ian Rush
Ian Rush
Ian James Rush, MBE, is a retired football player from Flint, Wales. He is best remembered as a player for Liverpool, where he was among the top strikers in the English game in the 1980s and 1990s. He also had spells playing at Chester City, Juventus, Leeds United, Newcastle United, Sheffield...
. But the 23-year old failed to live up to Platini's standards, and did not score any goals, despite playing all 30 games of the 1987–88 season.
Barcelona and Real Madrid
In 1989, he joined FC BarcelonaFC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
where he enjoyed tremendous success, with former Dutch national team
Netherlands national football team
The Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands...
captain Johan Cruijff the coach. Laudrup was one of the restricted three foreign players allowed in the team, alongside Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
defender Ronald Koeman
Ronald Koeman
Ronald Koeman is a former Dutch footballer, and the current manager of Feyenoord. He is the younger brother of former Feyenoord coach Erwin Koeman and the son of former Dutch international Martin Koeman...
and Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n striker Hristo Stoichkov
Hristo Stoichkov
Hristo Stoichkov Stoichkov , sometimes Stoitchkov; born 8 February 1966 in Plovdiv) is a retired Bulgarian footballer. He is regarded as one of the best footballers of his generation and the greatest Bulgarian footballer of all time. Nicknamed The Dagger , The Dog , The Modern Left...
, who were the pillars of Barça coach Johan Cruijff's Dream Team. The team won four consecutive La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
championships from 1991 to 1994, as well as the 1991–92 European Cup, and Laudrup was twice elected the best player of the year in Spain during his Barcelona years. When Barça hired a fourth foreign star player, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian striker Romário
Romário
Romário de Souza Faria , better known simply as Romário , is a former footballer who played striker,manager and current politician where is currently running for a mayor like position in his hometown...
in 1993 it meant the four foreigners would rotate as the three foreign players allowed in each match, and when Laudrup wasn't selected for the 1994 European Cup final 0–4 loss to Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
, his time at Barcelona was over.
In 1994, he completed a controversial move from Barça to Real Madrid
Real Madrid C.F.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
after he fell out with Johan Cruyff. Laudrup went on to guide Real Madrid in a championship winning season that would end the Barça stranglehold, making Laudrup the only player ever to win the Spanish league five times in a row playing for two different clubs. After the initial success at Real, a lacklustre season would be in store for the club. Despite only playing two seasons at Real Madrid, Laudrup was voted the 12th best player in Real history in an internet survey by Spanish newspaper Marca
Marca (newspaper)
MARCA is a Spanish national daily sports newspaper owned by Unidad Editorial. The newspaper focuses primarily on football, in particular the day-to-day activities of Real Madrid CF...
when the club celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2002.
While playing with Barcelona he participated in the 5–0 victory over rivals Real Madrid in the 1993–94 season. The following season while playing for Real Madrid he aided in the revenge beating that Madrid gave Barça, the final score also being 5–0.
He went on to play for Vissel Kobe
Vissel Kobe
is a Japanese professional football club, currently playing in the J. League Division 1. The team is located in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture. The home stadium is Kobe Wing Stadium, in Hyōgo-ku, though some home matches are played at Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium in Suma-ku.-History:The club was...
in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, before he ended his playing career in a championship winning season at Dutch team Ajax in 1998.
Following his retirement, Laudrup sometimes turned out to play for Lyngby
Lyngby Boldklub
Lyngby Boldklub is a professional Danish football club founded in 1921. It is based at Lyngby Stadion in Kongens Lyngby, Denmark. From 1994 to 2001 the club was known as Lyngby FC.-History:...
's Old Boys team in his spare time.
International career
Laudrup was called up for the Danish national team during Brøndby's debut season in the top-flight. On his 18th birthday 15 June 1982 he became the then second youngest Danish national team player ever, following Harald NielsenHarald Nielsen
Harald Ingemann Nielsen is a Danish former football player, who most notably played professionally for Italian club Bologna F.C. where he was the league top scorer in Bologna's 1964 Serie A championship winning season...
. Despite playing for relegation battlers Lazio, Laudrup starred for the Danish national team at the Euro 1984, playing all four Denmark matches.
He took part in the 1986 World Cup
1986 FIFA World Cup
The 1986 FIFA World Cup, the 13th FIFA World Cup, was held in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia had been originally chosen to host the competition by FIFA but, largely due to economic reasons, was not able to do so and officially...
in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, a performance which is best remembered for his exceptional solo dribble and goal in the 6–1 defeat of Uruguay
Uruguay national football team
The Uruguayan national football team represents Uruguay in international association football and is controlled by the Uruguayan Football Association, the governing body for football in Uruguay. The current head coach is Óscar Tabárez...
. He was also a part of the disappointing Danish national team at the Euro 1988 tournament, though Laudrup experienced personal success as he scored one of Denmark's two goals. Following three games in the qualification campaign for Euro 1992, Laudrup decided to quit the national team in November 1990 alongside Brian Laudrup
Brian Laudrup
Brian Laudrup is a Danish former football player and current football commentator, pundit and analyst on TV3+. Along with former international goalkeeper Lars Høgh, Laudrup manages a football academy for marginalized youth...
and Jan Mølby
Jan Mølby
Jan Mølby is a Danish former international footballer who spent much of his professional football career at English club Liverpool.- Club career :...
, following differences with coach Richard Møller Nielsen
Richard Møller Nielsen
Richard Møller Nielsen , nicknamed Ricardo, is a Danish former football player and football manager. His greatest triumph came when he coached the Danish national football team which surprisingly won the 1992 European Championship tournament. In 1995, he was knighted as Knight 1st Degree of the...
. Denmark eventually won the tournament.
He returned to coach Nielsen's Danish squad in August 1993, but saw Spain
Spain national football team
The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque...
qualify for the 1994 World Cup
1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988...
ahead of Denmark. He scored a goal in the 2–0 victory against Argentina
Argentina national football team
The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association , the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Alejandro...
, as Denmark won the 1995 Intercontinental Cup
1995 King Fahd Cup
-Group B:---------Third place play-off:-Final:-Goalscorers:3 goals Luis García2 goals Gabriel Batistuta Peter Rasmussen Daniel Amokachi1 goal José Chamot Ariel Ortega Sebastián Rambert Brian Laudrup Michael Laudrup...
. He also scored four goals in 10 games as Denmark qualified for the Euro 1996, though the tournament would leave no positives for him.
His last games for Denmark came at the 1998 World Cup
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...
, when he captained Denmark to the quarter-final. He crowned his tournament performance with a trademark assist in the knock-out stage. In the Round of 16 elimination game against Nigeria
Nigeria national football team
The Nigeria national football team, nicknamed the Super Eagles or Green Eagles, is the national team of Nigeria and is controlled by the Nigeria Football Federation . The team has ranked as high as 5th in the FIFA World Rankings, in April 1994...
, looking to his left, Laudrup launched a lob to his right, over the defenders. The pass was picked up by Ebbe Sand
Ebbe Sand
Ebbe Sand is a Danish former professional footballer who most notably played as a striker for FC Schalke 04 in Germany. He was the German Bundesliga top scorer in 2001, and he won the German Cup in 2001 and 2002 with Schalke...
, who headed it past defender Taribo West
Taribo West
Taribo West is a retired Nigerian professional footballer who played as a defender. West represented the Nigerian national team in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups. He is known for the various unusual and colourful hairstyles that he has sported over the years.-Club career:Taribo moved to France in...
, and converted the chance for the 3–0 goal in the 4–1 win against Nigeria. Denmark was defeated 2–3 by Brazil
Brazil national football team
The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...
in the quarter-finals, and both Michael and Brian Laudrup announced their international retirement following the World Cup elimination.
Style of play
A play-makingPlaymaker
In association football, a playmaker is a player who controls the flow of the team's offensive play, and is often involved in passing moves which lead to goals....
midfielder
Midfielder
A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...
, Laudrup was known as one of the most effective passers, as well as one of the most skillful and elegant players of the game and is still popular amongst fans. Laudrup was considered by many as one of the most technically accomplished players ever. He was ranked amongst the best players in Europe, and his talent was exceptional, with the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
three time European footballer of the year
European Footballer of the Year
The "", literally translated as "the golden ball" and often referred to as the European Footballer of the Year award, was an annual association football award. It was presented to the player who had been considered to have performed the best over the previous calendar year...
award winner Michel Platini
Michel Platini
Michel François Platini is a former French football player, manager and current president of UEFA. Platini was a member of the French national team that won the 1984 European Championship, a tournament in which he was the top goalscorer and voted the best player. He participated in the 1978, 1982...
describing him as one of the most talented players ever, only lamenting his lack of selfishness causing him to score too few goals. His team mate in Real Madrid
Real Madrid C.F.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
, Raúl
Raúl González
Raúl González Blanco , known simply as Raúl, is a Spanish footballer who plays as a striker. He currently plays for German club Schalke 04....
has in an interview in April 2006 called Laudrup the best player he has ever played with. His team mate in Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
, Romário
Romário
Romário de Souza Faria , better known simply as Romário , is a former footballer who played striker,manager and current politician where is currently running for a mayor like position in his hometown...
has stated the same and added that Laudrup in his opinion is the fifth best player in the history of the game as he was able to create and score goals almost at will (behind Pelé, Diego Maradona
Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona is a retired Argentine football player and widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time. Over the course of his professional club career Maradona played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell's Old Boys, setting...
, himself and Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Yazid Zidane is a retired French footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. Zidane was a leading figure of a generation of French players that won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship...
). Laudrup was known as a gentleman on the pitch and never received a red card.
Managing career
Morten Olsen
Morten Per Olsen is a Danish football manager and former football player. He has been the head coach of the Danish national team since 2000, guiding Denmark to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, 2004 European Championship and 2010 FIFA World Cup...
in 2000. The national team would play a 4–2–3–1 formation, depending on two fast wingers and with the aim to dominate games with a short-passing possession game. Together they led Denmark to the knock-out stage of 2002 World Cup
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
, after which Laudrup took the job as manager for Brøndby in the Danish Superliga
Danish Superliga
The Danish Superliga is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest association football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams to be relegated, which proves to be one of the...
. As his assistant coach, Laudrup paired up with former Danish championship winning manager John "Faxe" Jensen
John Jensen
John Jensen , nicknamed Faxe, is a former Danish international footballer who is unemployed. He is known for his temper and is often outspoken in interviews. His playing career lasted over a decade, during which he played most famously for Arsenal F.C...
, who had played alongside him in the Danish national team.
At the start of his reign, Laudrup proclaimed a tactical scheme close to that which Olsen and he had coached at the national team. Laudrup renovated the Brøndby team by letting a large contingent of older and experienced players go, in favour of several new offensive players, and he gave the chance to young talents from the club's youth scheme. To ensure the defensive strength of the team, he hired the proven national team player Morten Wieghorst
Morten Wieghorst
Morten Wieghorst is a Danish association football manager and former player. He is the manager of the Denmark national under-21 football team and the former manager of FC Nordsjælland in the Danish Superliga whom he guided to the 2010 and 2011 Danish Cup trophy.During his active career, Wieghorst...
. In his first year as head coach, he managed the team to a Danish Cup
Danish Cup
The Danish Cup is the official "knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955...
win against FC Midtjylland in the final. After finishing runners up twice, he finally led the team to The Double
The Double
The Double is a term in association football which refers to winning a country's top tier division and its primary cup competition in the same season...
in 2005.
After finishing runners-up in the 2005–06 season, Laudrup left Brøndby along with assistant coach John "Faxe" Jensen. He could not come to an agreement with Brøndby about renewing his contract, and therefore decided to leave the club. He was associated with several new jobs, including head coach of former club Real Madrid and rumours that he would replace Lars Lagerbäck
Lars Lagerbäck
Lars Edvin "Lasse" Lagerbäck is a Swedish football manager and former player, currently managing Iceland....
as head coach for the Swedish national team
Sweden national football team
The Swedish national football team represents Sweden in association football and is controlled by the Swedish Football Association, the governing body for Football in Sweden. Sweden's home ground is Råsunda Stadium in Stockholms län and their head coach is Erik Hamrén. Sweden made their first...
. In 2007, Brøndby decided to name a new lounge at the stadium "The Michael Laudrup Lounge", with Laudrup's approval.
On 21 June 2007, he was linked to a move to Madrid's La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
team Getafe
Getafe CF
Getafe Club de Fútbol is a Spanish La Liga football club based in Getafe, a city in the Madrid metropolitan area, founded in 1946 and refounded in 1983.In the top level since 2004-05, it holds home games at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez....
by sports newspaper Marca. This was confirmed on 9 July 2007. During his stay in Getafe the club reached the final in Copa del Rey
Copa del Rey
The Copa del Rey is an annual football cup competition for Spanish football teams. Its full name is Campeonato de España – Copa de Su Majestad el Rey de Fútbol ....
, but lost to Valencia
Valencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, Spain. They play in La Liga and are one of the most successful and biggest clubs in Spanish Football and European Football. Valencia have won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups which was the...
, and the quarter finals in the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
(lost in extra time to Bayern Munich). During his tenure, as successor to former Real Madrid manager Bernd Schuster
Bernd Schuster
Bernhard Schuster is a German football manager and former player, currently unemployed. His nickname is "der Blonde Engel" .-Club career:...
, he brought a new brand of exciting and free-flowing attacking football to the club which brought back memoires of Laudrup as a player. His team, which is not one of the established forces in Spanish football, also enjoyed comparative success. However, he performed only one season as manager, tendering his resignation in May 2008.
Since he announced his departure from Getafe he has been linked with jobs at Valencia
Valencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, Spain. They play in La Liga and are one of the most successful and biggest clubs in Spanish Football and European Football. Valencia have won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups which was the...
, Benfica, Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
, Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
, Panathinaikos, CSKA Moscow and West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
. He almost got the job at Panathinaikos, but according to Danish media he wanted an option to allow him to leave, if he got an offer from a Spanish club. This could not be accepted by the Greeks, who chose Henk ten Cate
Henk ten Cate
Henk ten Cate is a Dutch football manager and a former professional player.In the 2005–06 season, he was the assistant of Frank Rijkaard at Barcelona that guided the team to a Champions League Trophy and La Liga title...
instead.
On 12 September 2008, it was officially announced that Laudrup signed a 18-month contract with Spartak Moscow
FC Spartak Moscow
FC Spartak Moscow is a Russian football club from Moscow. Having won 12 Soviet championships and 9 of 19 Russian championships they are one of the country's most successful clubs. They have also won the Soviet Cup 10 times and the Russian Cup 3 times...
. However, he spent only 7 months in the post, being sacked on 15 April 2009 after Spartak's 0–3 loss to Dinamo Moscow
FC Dynamo Moscow
Dynamo Moscow is a Russian football club based in Moscow, currently playing in the Russian Premier League. Dynamo's traditional kit colours are blue and white...
in the Russian Cup.
On 22 October 2009, Spanish media announced that Laudrup would be appointed as new manager of Spanish side Atlético Madrid, replacing the short and unsuccessful run of Abel Resino
Abel Resino
Abel Resino Gómez , sometimes just Abel, is a retired Spanish footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and a current coach....
, following Atletico's 4–0 Champions League defeat at the legs of Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
, but Laudrup and the club weren't able to agree on terms. The day after, on 23 October, Resino was sacked and Quique Sanchez Flores
Quique Sanchez Flores
Enrique "Quique" Sánchez Flores is a retired Spanish footballer who played as a right defender, and a current manager....
was appointed as coach as second choice instead of Laudrup.
In July 2010, Laudrup was appointed manager of RCD Mallorca
RCD Mallorca
Real Club Deportivo Mallorca is a Spanish football team based on Palma, Majorca, in the Balearic Islands. Founded on 5 March 1916, the team currently plays in the Spanish first division, holding home games at Son Moix....
on a contract that was to run until the end of June 2012. In his first season in Mallorca, Laudrup managed to keep a struggling Mallorca team, which was suffering from losing many first team players and who was ejected from the Euro League due to a bad financial situation, from relegation.
At the beginning of the 2011–2012 season, on 27 September 2011, Laudrup resigned from his job, following the firing of his assistant, Erik Larsen. Laudrup cited that great frustration with Lorenzo Serra Ferrer, the club's Director of Football, leading to a bad work climate as the main reason for his resignation.
Personal life
Michael Laudrup is part of a family with three generations of footballers. His uncle was former Brøndby and AberdeenAberdeen F.C.
Aberdeen Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen...
manager Ebbe Skovdahl
Ebbe Skovdahl
Ebbe Skovdahl Hansen is a retired Danish football manager. He most prominently was a successful manager at Brøndby IF, for whom he had also played in his active years...
. He is the son of former Danish national team player Finn Laudrup
Finn Laudrup
Finn Laudrup-Jensen is a Danish former association football player, who represented a number of Danish clubs and played professionally with Wiener Sport-Club in Austria. He played 19 matches and scored six goals for the Denmark national football team...
and Michael's oldest son Mads Laudrup
Mads Laudrup
Mads Thunø Laudrup is a Danish professional footballer, who plays as a winger or central midfielder for HB Køge. He has scored two goals and played 28 games for various Danish youth national teams.-Biography:...
has been the team captain of various Danish youth national teams since January 2005, and his youngest son Andreas Laudrup
Andreas Laudrup
Andreas Retz Laudrup is a Danish football player, currently playing for FC Nordsjælland. He is the younger son of former Danish international Michael Laudrup.-Club career:...
was selected a part of the under-16 national team in March 2006.
Michael Laudrup has a younger brother, Brian Laudrup
Brian Laudrup
Brian Laudrup is a Danish former football player and current football commentator, pundit and analyst on TV3+. Along with former international goalkeeper Lars Høgh, Laudrup manages a football academy for marginalized youth...
, who was also a footballer. Brian Laudrup was known for his part in the Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
squad which won nine-in-a-row in the 90's. Brian was a part of the trophy-winning Danish national team at UEFA Euro 1992, but Michael did not play in that championship due to differences with the national team coach Richard Møller Nielsen
Richard Møller Nielsen
Richard Møller Nielsen , nicknamed Ricardo, is a Danish former football player and football manager. His greatest triumph came when he coached the Danish national football team which surprisingly won the 1992 European Championship tournament. In 1995, he was knighted as Knight 1st Degree of the...
and because he had thought that stripping off Yugoslavia for the political, and not football reasons is not just. In 2004, both the Laudrup brothers were named in the FIFA 100
FIFA 100
The FIFA 100 is a list of the world-renowned Brazilian striker Pelé's choice of the "greatest living footballers". Unveiled on 4 March 2004 at a gala ceremony in London, the FIFA 100 marked part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Fédération Internationale de...
, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers chosen by Pelé
Pelé
However, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...
as part of the celebration of FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
's 100th anniversary.
He was admired for his outstanding technique, elegance, deep passes and dribbling. Jorge Valdano, the Argentinian
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
coach of Laudrup in Real Madrid
Real Madrid C.F.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
, said "he has eyes everywhere". His trademark move — looking one way and passing the other — fooled countless opponents during his career. The Laudrup dribble was perhaps the best-known part of his game, as he quickly moved the ball from one foot to the other away from the defender. His outstanding skills were combined with an immense creativity. He always played the attack in the least obvious way, leaving the defense stranded. This has led to the expression "Made in Laudrup", widely used in Spain about his unique play. Numerous teammates of Laudrup have said: "Just run, he will always find a way of passing you the ball".
In Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
he played alongside Hristo Stoichkov
Hristo Stoichkov
Hristo Stoichkov Stoichkov , sometimes Stoitchkov; born 8 February 1966 in Plovdiv) is a retired Bulgarian footballer. He is regarded as one of the best footballers of his generation and the greatest Bulgarian footballer of all time. Nicknamed The Dagger , The Dog , The Modern Left...
, who scored many goals from Laudrup's passes, like Iván Zamorano
Iván Zamorano
Iván Luis Zamorano Zamora is a retired Chilean football striker. Along with former world-class forward Marcelo Salas and former world player of the year Elias Figueroa he is regarded as one of Chile's most recognized footballers.He was a member of the Chilean national team and played in the 1998...
(who called Laudrup el genio, the genius) during Laudrup's time at Real Madrid. Zamorano was going through a hard spell in Madrid, but when Laudrup arrived to assist his goals, Zamorano immediately became pichichi – top scorer of the Spanish league, La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
. An impressive 82% of his goals from the 1994–95 season came from assists from Laudrup. Throughout his career his number of assists was impressive and almost always the highest of his team.
Michael Laudrup provided many examples of his skills with the Danish national team. However there were periods where he failed to deliver the performances he consistently delivered at club level, where he had world class players all around him for most of his career. With Denmark, he sometimes appeared frustrated when his passes were not utilized properly. In the last couple of years there was even a discussion about whether there was room for both of the Laudrups in the national team. Outstanding as they were and even with some difference in their playing styles, it was rare to see both of them playing a good game. In the end though, they both ended their careers with the national team on a high, with Michael captaining the side to the quarter finals at the 1998 World Cup
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...
, where they crashed out after a thrilling 3–2 encounter with then-reigning world champions and later final participants, Brazil.
Career statistics
|-|1981||KB
Kjøbenhavns Boldklub
Kjøbenhavns Boldklub or KB is a Danish sports club based in Copenhagen. The club was founded April 26, 1876 on the grassy fields in outer Copenhagen which later became Fælledparken. Football and cricket has been played in KB since 1879, making KB the oldest football club on Continental Europe and...
||1st Division
Danish 1st Division
The 1st Division has been the name of the second highest football league in Denmark since 1991. From 1945 to 1991 the 1st Division was the name of the highest level of football in Denmark...
||14||3||||||||||||||14||3
|-
|1982||rowspan="2"|Brøndby
Brøndby IF
Brøndby IF is a Danish professional football club based in Brøndbyvester, Brøndby, on the western outskirts of Copenhagen and is the biggest football club in Denmark with almost 2000 members. The club is also known as Brøndbyernes Idrætsforening, or Brøndby and BIF for short...
||rowspan="2"|1st Division
Danish 1st Division
The 1st Division has been the name of the second highest football league in Denmark since 1991. From 1945 to 1991 the 1st Division was the name of the highest level of football in Denmark...
||24||15||||||||||||||24||15
|-
|1983||14||8||||||||||||||14||8
|-
|1983/84||rowspan="2"|Lazio||rowspan="2"|Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
||30||8||||||||||||||30||8
|-
|1984/85||30||1||||||||||||||30||1
|-
|1985/86||rowspan="4"|Juventus||rowspan="4"|Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
||29||7||||||||||||||29||7
|-
|1986/87||20||3||||||||||||||20||3
|-
|1987/88||27||0||||||||||||||27||0
|-
|1988/89||26||6||||||||||||||26||6
|-
|1989/90||rowspan="5"|Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
||rowspan="5"|La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
||32||3||7||2||colspan="2"|-||3||1||42||6
|-
|1990/91||30||9||5||2||colspan="2"|-||7||0||42||11
|-
|1991/92||36||13||2||2||colspan="2"|-||||||38||15
|-
|1992/93||37||10||4||4||colspan="2"|-||||||41||14
|-
|1993/94||31||5||1||0||colspan="2"|-||||||32||5
|-
|1994/95||rowspan="2"|Real Madrid||rowspan="2"|La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
||33||4||2||1||colspan="2"|-||5||2||40||7
|-
|1995/96||29||8||0||0||colspan="2"|-||7||0||36||8
|-
|1996||rowspan="2"|Vissel Kobe
Vissel Kobe
is a Japanese professional football club, currently playing in the J. League Division 1. The team is located in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture. The home stadium is Kobe Wing Stadium, in Hyōgo-ku, though some home matches are played at Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium in Suma-ku.-History:The club was...
||Football League
Japan Football League
The is the 3rd tier of the Japanese association football league system, following J. League Division 1 and J. League Division 2. Also known as the JFL, it is generally considered as the top amateur league in Japan although in reality it is a semi-professional league as many full-time footballers...
||12||5||3||2||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||15||7
|-
|1997||J. League 1||3||0||0||0||6||1||colspan="2"|-||9||1
|-
|1997/98||Ajax||Eredivisie
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
||21||11||||||||||||||21||11
52||26||||||||||||||52||26
162||25||||||||||||||162||25
228||52||||||||||||||228||52
15||5||3||2||6||1||colspan="2"|-||21||8
21||11|||||||||||||||21||11
478||119||3||2||6||1||0||0||487||122
|}
National team statistics
|-|1982||3||2
|-
|1983||5||7
|-
|1984||13||2
|-
|1985||6||6
|-
|1986||10||1
|-
|1987||4||0
|-
|1988||9||1
|-
|1989||8||4
|-
|1990||6||3
|-
|1991||0||0
|-
|1992||0||0
|-
|1993||4||0
|-
|1994||8||3
|-
|1995||9||5
|-
|1996||8||1
|-
|1997||2||1
|-
|1998||9||1
|-
!Total||104||37
|}
Managerial stats
| Nat | Team | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | +/- | Win % | ||||
 |
Brøndby Brøndby IF Brøndby IF is a Danish professional football club based in Brøndbyvester, Brøndby, on the western outskirts of Copenhagen and is the biggest football club in Denmark with almost 2000 members. The club is also known as Brøndbyernes Idrætsforening, or Brøndby and BIF for short... |
2002 | 2006 |
||||||||
 |
Getafe Getafe CF Getafe Club de Fútbol is a Spanish La Liga football club based in Getafe, a city in the Madrid metropolitan area, founded in 1946 and refounded in 1983.In the top level since 2004-05, it holds home games at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez.... |
2007 | 2008 |
||||||||
 |
Spartak Moscow FC Spartak Moscow FC Spartak Moscow is a Russian football club from Moscow. Having won 12 Soviet championships and 9 of 19 Russian championships they are one of the country's most successful clubs. They have also won the Soviet Cup 10 times and the Russian Cup 3 times... |
2008 | 2009 |
||||||||
| |
Mallorca RCD Mallorca Real Club Deportivo Mallorca is a Spanish football team based on Palma, Majorca, in the Balearic Islands. Founded on 5 March 1916, the team currently plays in the Spanish first division, holding home games at Son Moix.... |
2010 | 2011 |
||||||||
| Total Career |
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Quotes on Laudrup
- RomárioRomárioRomário de Souza Faria , better known simply as Romário , is a former footballer who played striker,manager and current politician where is currently running for a mayor like position in his hometown...
: "The best player I have ever played with and the 5th best in the history of the game" - RaúlRaúl GonzálezRaúl González Blanco , known simply as Raúl, is a Spanish footballer who plays as a striker. He currently plays for German club Schalke 04....
: "The best I have ever played with." - ZamoranoIván ZamoranoIván Luis Zamorano Zamora is a retired Chilean football striker. Along with former world-class forward Marcelo Salas and former world player of the year Elias Figueroa he is regarded as one of Chile's most recognized footballers.He was a member of the Chilean national team and played in the 1998...
: "Un genio!", "The reason why I make so many goals, is Laudrup." - Cruyff: "One of the most difficult players I have worked with. When he gives 80–90% he is still by far the best, but I want 100%, and he rarely does that."
- Cruyff (After Real Madrid with Laudrup had won 5–0 over Cruyff's Barcelona): "When Michael plays like a dream, a magic illusion, determined to show his new team his extreme abilities, no one in the world comes anywhere near his level."
- PlatiniMichel PlatiniMichel François Platini is a former French football player, manager and current president of UEFA. Platini was a member of the French national team that won the 1984 European Championship, a tournament in which he was the top goalscorer and voted the best player. He participated in the 1978, 1982...
: "One of the biggest talents ever. The best in the world on the training pitch, but never used his talent to its full during matches. - PlatiniMichel PlatiniMichel François Platini is a former French football player, manager and current president of UEFA. Platini was a member of the French national team that won the 1984 European Championship, a tournament in which he was the top goalscorer and voted the best player. He participated in the 1978, 1982...
: "Michael had everything except for one thing: he wasn't selfish enough." - GuardiolaJosep GuardiolaJosep "Pep" Guardiola i Sala , is a Spanish football manager and former player. Guardiola played as a defensive midfielder and spent the majority of his playing career with FC Barcelona, whom he currently manages. He was part of Johan Cruyff's dream team that won Barcelona's first European Cup....
: "The best player in the world, I can't believe he hasn't won the title as best player." - BeckenbauerFranz BeckenbauerFranz Anton Beckenbauer is a German football coach, manager, and former player, nicknamed Der Kaiser because of his elegant style, his leadership, his first name "Franz" , and his dominance on the football pitch...
: "PeléPeléHowever, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...
was the best in the 60s, CruyffJohan CruyffHendrik Johannes Cruijff OON , known as Johan Cruyff, is a retired Dutch footballer and is currently the manager of the Catalan national team as well as a member of the AFC Ajax board of directors. He won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974, which is a record jointly held with...
in the 70s, Maradona in the 80s and Laudrup in the 90s." - Roberto GaliaRoberto GaliaRoberto Galia is an Italian professional football coach and a former player. Currently, he manages S.C. Insubria A.S.D..He represented Italy at the 1988 Summer Olympics.-External links:*...
: "I have played against Maradona, Platini and BaggioBaggioBaggio is the Italian-derived name of Bagg in Milanese dialect. Is an Italian surname and also a village in Milan inhabited by Celtic tribes. It can also be found in Germany and the UK ....
. But the player I saw do the most indescribable things was Michael Laudrup." - ClementeJavier ClementeJavier Clemente Lázaro, is a Spanish football manager. The veteran La Liga manager has spent most of his career at two clubs: Athletic Bilbao and RCD Espanyol. Between 1992 and 1998, he managed Spain and went 31 games unbeaten. He was also the the first foreign manager of Serbia. His most recent...
: "To me, Michael Laudrup is the most genius player the world has ever seen. He will always be my numero uno. Always." - BakeroJosé Mari BakeroJosé María Bakero Escudero is a retired Spanish footballer, and the current coach of Lech Poznań in Poland.Having played mainly for Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona, he began his career as a forward but was converted into an attacking midfielder, who possessed passing and netting ability José María...
: "No one has given the club [Barcelona] as much inspiration as Michael. We all look up to him. It is a privilege to have your day enriched by a genius." - KoemanRonald KoemanRonald Koeman is a former Dutch footballer, and the current manager of Feyenoord. He is the younger brother of former Feyenoord coach Erwin Koeman and the son of former Dutch international Martin Koeman...
: "Michael was possibly the most skilful and elegant player I ever played with. Few could dribble like he could. He could sense when a game was ready to be seized and transformed by a moment of individual brilliance." - StoichkovHristo StoichkovHristo Stoichkov Stoichkov , sometimes Stoitchkov; born 8 February 1966 in Plovdiv) is a retired Bulgarian footballer. He is regarded as one of the best footballers of his generation and the greatest Bulgarian footballer of all time. Nicknamed The Dagger , The Dog , The Modern Left...
: "One of the best European players I’ve ever seen. An elegant, old-fashioned playmaker, he did things few other footballers could do." - Brian LaudrupBrian LaudrupBrian Laudrup is a Danish former football player and current football commentator, pundit and analyst on TV3+. Along with former international goalkeeper Lars Høgh, Laudrup manages a football academy for marginalized youth...
: "My brother started as an attacker but became an elegant attacking midfielder, perhaps the most complete there has ever been. His vision, speed of thought and passing were on a different level; he always knew what was going to happen before anybody else did. If anyone had a ‘football brain’, it was him." - Ferrer: "Few people made me enjoy the game as much as Michael. Maybe he didn’t get the media recognition he deserved, but he was so classy and a real thinker. A master of the blind pass and impossible through-balls and I will never forget his ‘spoon’ pass in a game against Osasuna. He lifted the ball right over the defence and Romario touched it in first time."
- CapelloFabio CapelloFabio Capello is an Italian football manager and former player. He is the manager of the England national football team.Capello has the distinction of winning the domestic league title with every club he has coached throughout his career...
(After the 4–0 win of Milan against Barcelona in the 1994 CL final):"Laudrup was the guy I feared but Cruyff left him out, and that was his mistake." - FigoLuís FigoLuís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo, OIH, is a Portuguese former international footballer. He played as a midfielder for Sporting CP, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Internazionale, during a career which spanned over a period of 20 years. He retired from football on 31 May 2009...
:"I think maybe Laudrup was the best player I ever played against." - MourinhoJosé MourinhoJosé Mário dos Santos Félix Mourinho is a Portuguese football manager and the current manager of Real Madrid. He is commonly known as "The Special One".Mourinho is regarded by some players, coaches and critics as the best ever coach in football....
:"He was phenomenal in Barcelona. He was a fantastic player whom I would love to have on my team today." - StoichkovHristo StoichkovHristo Stoichkov Stoichkov , sometimes Stoitchkov; born 8 February 1966 in Plovdiv) is a retired Bulgarian footballer. He is regarded as one of the best footballers of his generation and the greatest Bulgarian footballer of all time. Nicknamed The Dagger , The Dog , The Modern Left...
:"Laudrup was the greatest" - IniestaAndrés IniestaAndrés Iniesta Luján is a Spanish football player. He currently plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona, and the Spanish national team....
:"Who is the best player in history? Laudrup."
Juventus
- Serie ASerie ASerie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
: 1985–86 - Intercontinental CupIntercontinental Cup (football)The European/South American Cup, commonly referred to as the World Club Championship, Intercontinental Cup or Toyota Cup, was a football competition endorsed by UEFA and CONMEBOL, contested between the winners of the European Cup and the South American Copa Libertadores...
: 19851985 Intercontinental CupThe 1985 Intercontinental Cup was a football match played on December 8, 1985 between Juventus, winners of the 1984-85 European Cup, and Argentinos Juniors, winners of the 1985 Copa Libertadores. Recognised as the best edition in the history of the tournament for technical and agonistic level, the...
Barcelona
- La LigaLa LigaThe Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
: 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94 - Copa del ReyCopa del ReyThe Copa del Rey is an annual football cup competition for Spanish football teams. Its full name is Campeonato de España – Copa de Su Majestad el Rey de Fútbol ....
: 1990 - Spanish Super Cup: 19911991 Supercopa de EspañaThe 1991 Supercopa de España was two-leg Spanish football matches played on 28 October and 11 November 1991. It contested by Atlético Madrid, who were Spanish Cup winners in 1990–91, and FC Barcelona, who won the 1990–91 Spanish League. FC Barcelona won 2–1 on aggregate.-First leg:-Second...
, 19921992 Supercopa de EspañaThe 1992 Supercopa de España was two-leg Spanish football matches played on 28 October and 11 November 1992. It contested by Atlético Madrid, who were Spanish Cup winners in 1991–92, and FC Barcelona, who won the 1991–92 Spanish League. FC Barcelona won 5–2 on aggregate.-First leg:-Second... - European CupUEFA Champions LeagueThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
: 1992 - UEFA Super Cup: 1992
Ajax
- EredivisieEredivisieThe Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
: 1997–98 - KNVB CupKNVB CupThe KNVB Cup is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association since 1899. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside of the Netherlands, it is often referred to as the Dutch Cup...
: 1998
Individual
- Danish Player of the Year(2) 1982, 1985
- Don Balón AwardDon Balón AwardFrom 1976 until 2010, the Spanish magazine Don Balón confered the Don Balón Award to the best Spanish player, the best foreign player, the best referee, and the breakthrough player in La Liga...
(1) 1992 - Best Foreign Player in Spanish Football the last 25 years(1) 1974–2011
- Denmarks Best Player Ever(1) 2006
- Danish Manager of the Year(2) 2003, 2005
Honours as manager
Brøndby- 1 × Danish SuperligaDanish SuperligaThe Danish Superliga is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest association football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams to be relegated, which proves to be one of the...
: 2004–05 - 3 × Danish SuperligaDanish SuperligaThe Danish Superliga is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest association football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams to be relegated, which proves to be one of the...
: Runner up: 2002–03 2003–04 2005–06 - 2 × Danish CupDanish CupThe Danish Cup is the official "knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955...
: 2002–03 2004–05 - 2 × Danish Super Cup: 2001–02, 2004–05
Getafe C.F.
- 1 × Copa del reyCopa del ReyThe Copa del Rey is an annual football cup competition for Spanish football teams. Its full name is Campeonato de España – Copa de Su Majestad el Rey de Fútbol ....
: Finalist: 2007–08