After more than a year, Michael Laudrup is ready to continue his legacy as a soccer manager.

On 3 October, the Qatar Stars League club Al-Rayyan confirmed that the retired Danish international had joined their management team on a two-year contract, replacing former Uruguayan manager Jorge Fossati. Laudrup’s first match as Al-Rayyan manager resulted in a 1-1 draw in an away game against Al Sailiya. 

After a spectacular career on the pitch that included numerous titles and awards, Laudrup began his coaching career in 2000 when he became the assistant manager of the Danish national team under Morten Olsen.
Two years later, he signed on as manager for the Danish league club Brøndby IF, leading them to victory not just in the Danish Superliga but in the Danish Cup as well. 

Since then he’s been a globetrotter, connected with clubs around the world including Getafe, Spartak Moscow, Mallorca, Swansea City – and now Al-Rayyan. 

Pundits believe that Laudrup’s free-flowing attacking soccer philosophy is the reason for his success thus far, as seen most recently in the performance of fellow Qatar-based club Lekhwiya, which he took to the Stars League title in the 2014-15 season.
Time will tell if Laudrup can continue his quality streak, but for now he must face the expectations of fans of the current Qatar Stars League champions.

Laudrup’s own career as a player started back in 1976 when he joined the top-flight Danish club København Boldklub, or KB for short. Later he played for Juventus, alongside legend Michael Platini; Barcelona, where he was a member of manager Johan Cruyff’s ‘dream team’ in 1988; and subsequently Real Madrid. His career accolades include Denmark’s Golden Player award, and Spanish soccer’s best foreign player prize.

The Dane’s success did not come out of nowhere, however. Hailing from a family with three generations of soccer success, he is the son of former Danish international Finn Laudrup, and his brother Brian Laudrup has also had great success in the soccer world, lining out for his homeland’s winning squad at Euro ’92. Michael also has two sons, Mads and Andreas Laudrup, who both now play professionally.

But life isn’t all about soccer for Michael Laudrup, as he has also established a wine company, Laudrup Wine & Gastronomy, which imports wines from all over the world.

– Jakob Andreasen

This is part 13 of a new series for Metro Éireann Sport presented by Sport Against Racism Ireland (Sari)