Danish footballer and football coach. As a player, he played as a midfielder for Lazio, Juventus, Barcelona, Real Madrid and the Denmark national team. In 2006, the Danish Football Federation recognized Laudrup as the best footballer in Danish history.
Biography, family
Laudrup is one of the brightest and most famous footballers of the Danish national team of the last century. An erudite and intellectually-minded midfielder, the brain center of the team, who could not only perfectly create the moment by assisting his partner, but could also masterfully send the ball into the goal. Mikael loved attacking football, the teams for which Laudrup played were always distinguished by a spectacular game, and to some extent Mikael's merit was also in this.
Carier start
Mikael was born on June 15, 1964 in Copenhagen. Mikael's father, Finn Laudrup, was a footballer, playing for Danish teams and showing beautiful football, and also played for the Danish national team. Mikael followed the example of his father, like his brother Briand. Mikael began studying football at the Brøndby club in 1973, and after 4 successful seasons he was rented out by one of the championship leaders, the Copenhagen club. At the age of 17, the player returns from the loan. He showed excellent form during 1982/83 and is getting noticed by observers at Juventus Turin.
Career at Juventus (1983-1989)
After transferring to Juventus, Laudrup went on loan to Lazio, where the player spent 2 seasons. At that moment, Juventus had first-class players, and it was difficult for the less experienced Mikael to compete and win a place in the starting lineup. In “Juventus” he was able to gain a foothold and start playing since 1985, becoming one of the key players of the team, and won the title with her in the 1985/86 season. Soon eminent players began to leave the team, Laudrup could not become the connecting link of the new team, although he arrived in his best sports form. In 1989 he signed a labor agreement with Barcelona.
Career at Barcelona (1989-1994)
The career for the Catalan club has become the most significant and impressive in the football life of Michael. Perfectly fitting into the tactics of the game, and the arrangement of players on the field, he became one of the most important players, leaders of the attacking game, while he himself scored a lot and gave assists. The attacking style of Barcelona in the early 90s was impeccable and in the short pass - "taka". The Catalan club have won the Spanish championship four times in a row (1990-1994), in the period 1989/90 they won the Spanish Cup, in 1991 and 1992. took the Spanish Super Cup and, finally, in 1992, for the first time in their history, won the main international trophy - the European Champions Cup.
When the contract with “Barcelona” ended, Laudrup often remained on the reservists' bench, as a new footballer Romario came to the team. The team consisted of four foreigners - Mikael, Romario, Koeman and Stoichkov. Based on the rules, it is only possible to release 3 legionnaires on the field, so 1 of these talented players was always out of the game. This player most often turned out to be Mikael. For this reason, soon a conflict broke out between Laudrup and the mentor: Laudrup said that he could not remain in reserve, because he needed to prove his worth in the last year of the contract with the club, but the coach saw that the player did not fulfill all the instructions in training.
In the end, Mikael left the location of the team, despite the fact that his superiors notified him with a request not to leave, the notice was signed by thousands of fans of the talent and fans of Mikael. The fans were upset that the new team of Michael was the nemesis of "Barcelona" - Real Madrid.
Career at Real Madrid (1994-1996)
In his debut season at the “royal club” Laudrup performed brilliantly, confirming his professional level, looked at his best.
Becoming one of the leaders of the team, Mikael kept the entire center of the field under his control, and subsequently helped “Real” become the champion of the country.
For his outstanding game, the footballer was awarded the title of the best legionnaire of the championship over the past 25 years.
Completion of a career
After Real Madrid, Laudrup went to the Japanese club Vissel Kobe, where he was offered a good expensive contract, and ended up playing football in the homeland of the Dutch club Ajax. As part of Ajax, Laudrup became the winner of the Dutch championship and won the Cup, putting a beautiful end to his career as a football player.
National team
Laudrup began playing for the national team on June 15, 1982 in a confrontation with the Scandinavians. The Danes then lost to Norway 1: 2, but the only goal for the Danes was scored by Mikael, who was 18 years old. Journalists called him a "Danish phenomenon" and predicted a great future. The Danish national team always played better when Mikael Laudrup appeared on the field with his brother. Naturally, there were other good footballers whose talent deserved close attention, but Mikael Laudrup's star burned the brightest of all.
In the semi-finals of the 1984 European Championship, the team almost reached the final, losing at the semi-finals to the Spanish national team. Despite the exemplary play of the football player at the 1986 World Cup and a very simple exit from the group, the Denmark national team was literally defeated by the Spanish national team 1: 5 at the stage of the 1/8 finals, and flew out of the tournament.
Then a conflict occurred between the coach and Laudrup, the true reasons for which are unknown, but there is an opinion that Laudrup was offended by the mentor's sharp remarks. Brothers Mikael and Briand were determined to complete their appearance on the field for the national team, while the current coach Nielsen is the team's mentor. Despite this, at the beginning of 1990, Brian returned to the team, but his older brother Mikael did not, continuing to stand his ground. This act cost him the European championship title, the Danish national team won the title in 1992. It was a wonderful achievement for them. In addition to the fact that the team in an unimaginable way ended up in the championship instead of Yugoslavia, which due to the political situation in the country was under international sanctions, the Danes left the difficult group, leaving behind the England national team, the founders of football. In the 1/2 finals, the reigning European champions, the Dutch, were defeated, the main time ended with a score of 2: 2, in the penalty shootout the Danes were more precise 5: 4. In the final they were beaten and
the current world champions - the German national team with a score of 2: 0.
After the championship, Laudrup still returns to the national team, making peace with the coach. The midfielder was remembered for his effective and bright game at the 1998 World Championship, the Danish national team reached the quarter-finals, and the Laudrup brothers looked very good together and were distinguished by brilliant interaction in the game. In the quarterfinals, Denmark lost to the world champions - the Brazilian national team. The meeting with the wizards of the ball ended with a score of 2: 3 and became a decoration of the entire championship. In total, for Sat. Denmark Laudrup had 103 meetings and scored 38 goals. In terms of the amount of matches played, Mikael is in the first 5 players, and in terms of goals scored, he is in 6th place in the history of Denmark. In 1982 and 1985, Mikael Laudrup was awarded the title of the best football player in the country.
Personal life
Mikael is married. The spouse's name is Siv. They bring up three sons together. It is noteworthy that in the family of the hereditary football player Mikael there are also heirs of football customs. These are his children - Mads and Andreas, as well as his nephew Kolya. But all three are far enough from their star father, and the success of which will be very difficult to repeat.
