Michael Laudrup - 266.13 Performance Pts
Born: 15/06/1964 Frederiksberg, Denmark
Position: Midfielder Height: 1.81m Weight: 78kg
The 1986
World Cup in Mexico saw Denmark appear at the finals for the first time, and
Laudrup was one of their star performers. His performance, and individual goal,
in the 6-1 thrashing of Uruguay, was a stand-out moment. He won over 100 Danish
caps but missed out on their greatest triumph - the 1992 European Championships.
Famously the Danes were recalled from holiday to enter the tournament,
following the withdrawal of Yugoslavia, but Laudrup had fallen out with manager
Richard Moller Nielsen, and, not rating their chances, decided to stay on his
sunbed. Oops. At club level he was most closely associated with Barcelona and
Real Madrid, and enjoyed La Liga success, and huge acclaim from the fans, at
both clubs. He'd already established himself in Serie A prior to this, firstly
with Lazio (debuting in 1983), then with Juventus, winning the title in 1986 -
this was truly a year where Laudrup came to the fore. He'd suffered relegation
the previous year with Lazio, so was delighted to follow this up with Scudetto
success with Juve. His time at Barcelona coincided with a period of great
achievement. Having arrived in 1989, Laudrup went on to win 4 successive league
titles (1991-1994), plus the European Cup, Barcelona's first ever, in 1992. His
first year at Real (1995) saw him lift the title again, to make it a personal 5
in-a-row. Curiously he helped Real beat Barca 5-0 in El Clasico in his first
season at the Bernabeu, having achieved the same result for Barca against Real
the previous season. After leaving Spain, he played in Japan for a year, before
helping Ajax win the Dutch league title in his last season as a player. His
managerial career has included roles in Denmark, Spain and Russia; he's best
remembered by Premier League fans for his spell with Swansea and was in the
hot-seat when they won their first major trophy - the 2013 League Cup. The
Laudrup family tree has football running through it. Michael's father Finn was
a Danish international, as was his younger brother Brian, and the two featured
alongside each other many times for their country.
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