Michael Laudrup

Who is Michael Laudrup?

Michael Laudrup is a retired Danish footballer and current manager of Qatar Stars League club Lekhwiya. During his playing career, he won league titles with Ajax, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus. Whilst playing for Spanish club Barcelona, he won nine trophies, including four straight La Liga titles. He 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 104 appearances. 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 in November 2006.