381. Michael Laudrup

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.