Michael Laudrup is a Danish footballer who has signed a two year contract for being the head coach of Spanish side R.C.D. Mallorca. 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 scored 37 goals in a total of 104 appearances for the Denmark national football team. From November 1994, he captained his country for a total of 28 matches before his retirement in June 1998.

In 1999, he was voted the Best Foreign Player in Spanish Football over the previous 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 subsequently took over as coach of Getafe, Madrids 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 teams attacking style brought plaudits.

Brian Laudrup is a Danish football player who is a commentator for TV3+ and runs a youth coaching camp. He started his active career with Danish club Brøndby, winning two Danish championships in the late 1980s. He then played for German and Italian clubs, winning the 1994 Serie A title with AC Milan. He was a vital part of the Rangers team which dominated the Scottish Premier League in the 1990s, winning three championships among others. He won the 1998 UEFA Super Cup with English club Chelsea, had a brief stint with FC Copenhagen in Denmark, before ending his career with Dutch club Ajax in 2000.

He played 82 games and scored 21 goals for the Danish national team, and was a vital part of the Danish teams who won the Euro 1992 and 1995 Intercontinental Cup tournaments. He could play as second striker or right-winger but his high speed and precision crossing was most useful when he operated his game as right wing-forwarder. During four years in Germany, he was rated 3 international-class seasons by Kicker Magazine. He also won the Danish Footballer of the Year award a record four times.

Author: SABINA TAGORE IMMANUEL