Brian Laudrup
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Brian Laudrup (born February 22, 1969) was a Danish football player. He was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004, as was his older brother Michael.
Laudrup was born into a football family with father Finn Laudrup a former player and brother Michael also very keen on the sport. He started his career in his native Denmark with Brøndby before he won a transfer to Germany with KFC Uerdingen 05. After only one season with Uerdingen he was bought by Bayern Munich for £2m. His reputation began to grow and he earned himself a lifetime ambition when he moved to Serie A team Fiorentina. However, his time in Italy was both unhappy and unsuccessful and after the Italian team were relegated he was loaned to AC Milan. In July, 1994 Laudrup was offered an escape route from Italy when he was approached by Walter Smith of Rangers. He signed in a £2.3m deal. His time in Scotland was filled with success as he helped Rangers complete their nine-in-a-row sweep of the Scottish Premier League. He joined Chelsea in 1998 and had a brief spell at FC Copenhagen. Family problems resulted in Laudrup joining Ajax for one season. Injury forced him to retire from top-level football at 31 years old after a very successful career. He now turns out for a Danish seventh division side whilst running a successful wine business. He is also playing for Lyngby Boldklub's Old Boys side together with his equally famous brother Michael.
Laudrup was also an important player for Denmark, winning 82 caps, scoring 21 goals. He helped his country win the 1992 European Championship. He also played at Template:Ec and starred for Denmark in their 1998 World Cup run.
| Preceded by: Mark Hateley | Scottish Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year 1995 | Succeeded by: Paul Gascoigne |
| Preceded by: Paul Gascoigne | Scottish Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year 1997 | Succeeded by: Craig Burley |
| Preceded by: Mark Hateley | Scottish PFA Players' Player of the Year 1995 | Succeeded by: Paul Gascoigne Template:End boxda:Brian Laudrup ja:ブライアン・ラウドルップ sv:Brian Laudrup |