Brian Laudrup

Brøndby

Laudrup began his senior career with Brøndby in Denmark. At Brøndby, he competed with later Danish internationals Claus Nielsen and Bent Christensen for a place in the starting line-up, and formed a great partnership with Nielsen. He won the 1987 and 1988 Danish First Division with the club. Halfway through the 1989 season, Laudrup's contract with Brøndby expired, and he agreed to join German club Bayer Uerdingen. The transfer fee was thought to be around DKK 8 million, the partition of which Brøndby and Brian's father and agent Finn Laudrup disagreed about. The Danish Football Union ruled in favor of Brøndby's claims of around DKK 3.9 million, but the Laudrups paid around DKK 3.3 million, and insisted on not paying the remainder. The case was eventually settled in March 1990.

Uerdingen

Laudrup joined Uerdingen in order to play in a club with relative little pressure, and also looked to lean on fellow Dane Jan Bartram, who was already at the club. He scored 6 goals in 34 matches during the 1989–90 Bundesliga season, and impressed so much for both club and country that he was named Danish Player of the Year. Laudrup's performances in the Bundesliga were widely praised. At kicker's biannual ranking of Bundesliga players, Laudrup was rated the league's second-best forward in the second highest category, international class, after Werder Bremen's New Zealander, Wynton Rufer. German sports magazine Sport Bild hailed Laudrup as the 1989–90 season's best…

Laudrup made his international debut for the Denmark under-17 team in July 1984, and played six matches for the team until October that year. From October 1985 to August 1987, he played 12 matches and scored 6 goals for the under-19 team. He also represented the under-21s in five games from June 1987 to November 1988. He was called up for the senior Denmark national team by coach Sepp Piontek in April 1987 as a replacement for his brother Michael, but did not receive his debut.

Senior debut

Laudrup was included in the senior Danish "Olympic national team" of under-21 coach Richard Møller Nielsen, and took part in three qualification matches for the 1988 Summer Olympics. He made his debut on 18 November 1987, at age 18, in a 1–0 defeat to West Germany, with Bjarne Goldbæk also debuting in that match. Laudrup scored his first national team goal in his third game, a 4–0 win against Greece on 20 April 1988. He was then included as a part of coach Piontek's selection ahead of the UEFA Euro 1988. He came on as a substitute in a friendly match against Austria in April 1988, but broke his collarbone just before the final Euro 1988 squad was named. Laudrup was recalled to the senior national team in February 1989, and became a mainstay in the team under new national team coach Richard Møller Nielsen. He scored three goals in four matches as Denmark narrowly missed qualification for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. During the dispute with Brøndby over his transfer fee, it was…

Laudrup now works as a pundit and co-commentator for Discovery Networks Denmark, covering the Premier League and Denmark national team. He formerly covered the UEFA Champions League in the same role for Danish TV3+. He is also involved with the so-called "Laudrup & Høgh ProCamp", a youth football camp, co–coached with former national team goalkeeper Lars Høgh. In his spare time, he played for Lyngby's Old Boys side alongside Michael Laudrup.

Brian Laudrup was born into a football family – his father Finn Laudrup was a former Danish international, and his brother Michael Laudrup also became a Danish international. Brian was born in Vienna when his father was playing for Wiener SC.