Martin Laursen(born 26 July 1977) is a Danish former professionalfootballerwho played in thecentre-backposition. He played three seasons for Italian clubA.C. Milan,with whom he won the 2003UEFA Champions Leagueand the 2004Serie Achampionship. He also played for Italian clubsHellas VeronaandParma,and was theteam captainof English clubAston Villa.He was most recently the manager ofSøllerød-Vedbæk.
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Martin Laursen[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 26 July 1977[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Fårvang,Denmark | ||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Horn/Fårvang | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1995–1998[2] | Silkeborg | 35 | (1) |
| 1998–2001[3] | Hellas Verona | 58 | (3) |
| 2001–2002 | Parma | 0 | (0) |
| 2001–2002[3] | →Milan(loan) | 22 | (2) |
| 2002–2004[3] | Milan | 20 | (0) |
| 2004–2009[4] | Aston Villa | 84 | (8) |
| Total | 219 | (14) | |
| International career | |||
| 1996[5] | Denmark U-19 | 1 | (0) |
| 1997–1999[5] | Denmark U-21 | 14 | (0) |
| 2000–2008[5] | Denmark | 53 | (2) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2011–2012 | Søllerød-Vedbæk | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Laursen wascapped53 times and scored two goals for theDenmark national teamfrom 2000 to 2008, and he was named 2008Danish Football Player of the Year.He represented Denmark at the2000 European Championship,2002 FIFA World Cup,and2004 European Championshiptournaments.
Club career
editYouth career and Silkeborg
editBorn in Fårvang nearSilkeborg,Laursen started playing football with local amateur club Horn/Fårvang. He started his senior career with nearby top-flight clubSilkeborgin theDanish Superligachampionship. Laursen made his Silkeborg debut in October 1995,[2]under Silkeborg managerPreben Elkjær.[6]Laursen helped steer Silkeborg to second place in the1997–98 Superliga season,under new Silkeborg managerSepp Piontek,[6]as he played 22 games and scored one goal during that season.[2]Laursen played 35 games and scored one goal for Silkeborg in the Superliga from his debut until his last game in June 1998.[2]
Verona
editAfter three seasons at Silkeborg, Laursen moved to Italy in August 1998, to play forHellas Veronain the second-tierSerie Bleague. The contact with Verona was mediated by former Verona player and Silkeborg manager Preben Elkjær.[7]Laursen was plagued by a knee injury for the majority of his first season at Verona, where the club wonpromotionto the top-flightSerie Achampionship.[8]Laursen established himself in the Veronastarting lineupduring his second season in Italy. He became known as Lionheart Laursen among the Verona fans, describing his courage and great ability to time his headers.[9]
Seeking a high-profile move,Parmamade a successful bid of 9,000 million Italian lire (€4,648,112)[10]to signhalf of the registration rightsof Laursen in June 2000,[11]in a deal including Parma-owned playerAnthony Šerićremaining at Verona on loan. Laursen played a further season with Verona.[12]After the2000–01 Serie Aseason, Laursen moved to join Parma who acquired the remaining 50% of his registration rights for another 9,000 million Italian lire (€4,648,112), while Šerić in turn made aco-ownershipdeal with Verona in June 2001, for 2,500 million lire (€1,291,142).[10][13]Following only three weeks of training at the club, Parma loaned Laursen out before he would play any games for the club.[14]
A.C. Milan
editIn July 2001, Laursen was loaned out to Serie A rivalsA.C. Milan,[15]who needed depth in their squad.[16]He started out strong for his new club, scoring two goals in the first four rounds of the2001–02 Serie Aseason,[17]and played 22 league games in his first season with Milan.[3]Milan decided to buy him in the middle of the season for afeeof 21.5 billionlire(€11,103,823).[18]In the summer 2002, Milan boughtItalian internationaldefenderAlessandro Nesta,and Laursen's playing time diminished to a combined 20 league games in the next two seasons.[3]
Though winning silverware with Milan in 2003, Laursen did not play in theUEFA Champions League final.He won theCoppa Italia,[19]UEFA Champions LeagueandEuropean Super Cupin 2003, and the 2004Serie Achampionship.[20]Due to the presence ofPaolo Maldiniand Alessandro Nesta,[8]Laursen failed to establish himself in Milan's first team in the long run.[21]When Milan boughtDutch internationaldefenderJaap Stamin May 2004, Laursen left the club shortly thereafter.[22]
Aston Villa
editOn 21 May 2004, Laursen was bought byFA Premier LeaguesideAston Villafor a fee of £3 million,[23]on a four-year contract. His debut with Villa came againstSouthamptonon 14 August, a match which ended 2–0 in Villa's favour. Laursen's time at Villa initially proved frustrating. He put in a few encouraging performances on and off, during the2004–05 season,but the knee injury that plagued him earlier in his career returned and kept Laursen at playing only one Premier League game for Aston Villa during the2005–06 season.[3]After a re-occurrence of the knee injury during the summer 2006 off-season, his playing future at club and international level was seen to be in doubt.[24]
He underwent a full rehabilitation inBologna,and returned to the Villa side in August 2006. Villa hiredMartin O'Neillas manager in August 2006, and he and Laursen came to an understanding of giving Laursen the freedom to train as he wanted, which helped prevent further injuries.[25]Laursen became an integral part of O'Neill's plans, and the physical English playing style proved to suit Laursen perfectly.[25]Laursen became an effective goalscorer for Villa during the2007–08 season,scoring six goals from his position of centre-back.[4]This included three goals againstTottenham Hotspur,two of which came in a thrilling 4–4 draw atWhite Hart Lane,the other coming in a 2–1 home victory.[4]Laursen agreed terms on a new two-and-a-half-year deal with Aston Villa in January 2008.[24]He played all Villa's matches, except forLeague Cupgames, during the 2007–08 season and he was voted the Supporters' Player of the Year in 2008.[23]
Laursen replacedGareth Barryas club captain for Villa on a permanent basis for the2008–09 season.[23]In Aston Villa's first game of the 2008–09 season, Laursen captained the side in theUEFA Intertoto Cup,and continued his goal-scoring record from set pieces by scoring Villa's second goal in the 2–2 draw against Danish teamOdense.[4]Laursen also managed to get onto the scoresheet in aUEFA Cupmatch withHafnarfjörður,[4]and againstStoke Cityin the Premiership.[4]On 23 October 2008, Laursen gave Aston Villa the lead in the UEFA Cup game againstAjaxwith a header from close-range.[4]Villa went on to win the match 2–1. He was named 2008Danish Football Player of the Yearin November 2008.[26]
In December 2008, Laursen was injured again.[23]He returned for the game againstWest Bromwich Albionin January 2009,[4]but suffered an injury relapse.[23]In April 2009, O'Neill expressed his fears that Laursen's career might be over due to the injuries which, even if treated, would require ten months of reconvalescence. In May 2009, Laursen announced his decision to retire from football rather than undergo major surgery.[27]24 May saw Aston Villa's final game of the season at home toNewcastle United.Prior to kick-off, Laursen appeared in front of the Villa Park crowd and gave a speech where he thanked the fans and wish them well for the future. Following this, he was inducted into the "Villa Legends" section of Aston Villa's official website.[23]
International career
edit
While playing for Silkeborg, Laursen played one game for theDenmark under-19 national teamin December 1996.[5]He was called up for theDenmark under-21 national teamin February 1997, and went on to play 14 games for the under-21s until June 1999.[5]Laursen made his debut for the senior Denmark national team in afriendly matchagainstPortugalin March 2000.[5]He was a part of the Denmark squad at theUEFA Euro 2000,though he did not play a single game at the tournament due to injury.
Laursen's breakthrough with the national team came at the2002 FIFA World Cup,when he played full-time in all four Denmark games before elimination.[5]Laursen scored his first goal for his country in September 2003, in theUEFA Euro 2004 qualification,an all-important goal in injury time of the penultimate qualification match.[5]His goal levelled the game withRomaniato 2–2, and kept Denmark in the race for a place at the final competition. Laursen and the Denmark team secured qualification when they drew the last game, thus winning their qualification group. Laursen played full-time in Denmark's four games at the tournament,[5]playing impressively.[23]
After the March 2005 game againstKazakhstan,Laursen's national team career went on a hiatus,[5]due to a knee injury. After his absence from the Danish national team for more than one and a half years, he was called up in November 2006, but had to withdraw from the team before the game due to yet another knee injury. In June 2007, Laursen returned to Denmark's starting line-up in a 2–0 win againstLatvia.[5]He played his last international game on 11 October 2008 againstMalta.[5]In January 2009, Laursen announced his retirement from international football, as he found it physically straining to play for both club and country.[28]
Retirement
editLaursen returned to Denmark following his retirement, settling inVedbæk.[25]He worked as a footballpunditforSky Sportsbriefly, and also as a co-commentator for Danish broadcasterTV2.[25]The former defender told the website of previous club Aston Villa that his primary focus was to spend time with his family; a career in the football media allows him to remain active in the game whilst not taking up too much time.[25]However, he refused to rule out a career in coaching or management in the future.[25]
Spending time with my family. That was important to me. It might not be enough in 10 years time though. Then I may want to be a manager – or something else – but as it is now it would be hard for me to be a football Boss and go into training and have football on my mind 24 hours per day.
I am not ready for that yet. But you never know, in the future things might change. At the moment this is perfect for me.
–Martin Laursen[25]
Managerial career
editIn September 2011, Martin Laursen took the job as head coach ofSøllerød-Vedbækin theDanish 2nd Divisionsin order to start a managing career. He resigned on 14 June 2012 after steering the club clear of relegation.[29]
Career statistics
editInternational goals
edit- Scores and results list Denmark's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Laursen goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 September 2003 | Copenhagen,Denmark |  Romania |
2–2 | 2–2 | UEFA Euro 2004 qualification |
| 2 | 12 September 2007 | Aarhus,Denmark |  Liechtenstein |
2–0 | 4–0 | UEFA Euro 2008 qualification |
Honours
editMilan
Individual
References
edit- ^abHugman, Barry J. (2005).The PFA Premier & Football League Players' Records 1946–2005.Queen Anne Press. p. 361.ISBN1-85291-665-6.
- ^abcdMartin Laursenat DanskFodbold
- ^abcdef"LAURSEN (Martin Laursen)".FootballDatabase. Archived fromthe originalon 4 February 2009.Retrieved30 March2014.
- ^abcdefghMartin Laursenat Soccerbase
- ^abcdefghijkl(in Danish)Martin Laursen – Alle hold (Alle kampe)atDanish Football Association
- ^abRavn, Michael (23 September 2009)."Martin Laursen på Stjernepladsen"(in Danish).Silkeborg IF.Archived fromthe originalon 19 February 2012.Retrieved30 March2014.
- ^(in Danish)Ib Pilegaard,Martins pavestolte forældre,B.T.,16 June 2004
- ^abMartin Laursen BioatSoccernet
- ^Greg Ptolomey,English Angle: To The Bitter End – Aston Villa Lose Martin 'Lionheart' Laursen,Goal, 15 May 2009
- ^abHellas Verona FC SpAbilancio(financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2001,PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A.(in Italian)
- ^(in Danish)Brian Haagen Hansen,Martin Laursen nu Danmarks dyreste,B.T.,11 August 2000
- ^(in Danish)Jacob Teilmann, "Martin Laursen klar til Koller – og Parma",Ritzaus Bureau,27 March 2001
- ^"ECCO LE ULTIME NOVITA' DI MERCATO".Hellas Verona FC(in Italian). 29 June 2001.Retrieved8 April2010.
- ^(in Danish)Steen Uno, "Martin Laursen begyndte for blot tre uger siden hos",B.T.,27 July 2001
- ^"Milan sign Laursen".Forzamilan.27 July 2001. Archived fromthe originalon 18 October 2010.Retrieved9 April2010.
- ^Milan sign Laursen,BBC Sport,31 July 2001
- ^Misha Miladinovich, Giacomo Giusti and Alberto Novello,Italy 2001/02,RSSSF,11 January 2003
- ^Parma AC SpA Report and Accounts on 30 June 2002(in Italian),CCIAA
- ^Italian Cup 2002/03Archived5 May 2014 at theWayback Machineat A.C. Milan
- ^2003/2004 TitleArchived5 May 2014 at theWayback Machineat A.C. Milan
- ^Players to Watch – Martin Laursen,BBC Sport,26 May 2004.
- ^GALLIANI: 'BEST YEARS OF OUR LIFE CONTINUE...',A.C. Milan, 25 May 2004
- ^abcdefg"Villa Legends – Martin Laursen".Aston Villa F.C.Archived fromthe originalon 18 August 2009.Retrieved30 March2014.
- ^ab"Laursen agrees new deal at Villa".BBC Sport.17 January 2008.
- ^abcdefgPaul Brown,Loving LifeArchived22 December 2015 at theWayback Machine,Aston Villa F.C.
- ^(in Danish)Pia Schou Nielsen,Martin Laursen Årets Spiller,Danish Football Association,17 November 2008
- ^Laursen hangs up his boots,Sky Sports,15 May 2009
- ^"Laursen's Big Decision".Aston Villa F.C.29 January 2009. Archived fromthe originalon 4 March 2016.Retrieved30 March2014.
- ^"Martin Laursen stopper i BSV".bold.dk.14 June 2012.
External links
edit
- Martin Laursennational team profile at theDanish Football Association(in Danish)
- Aston Villa profile
- Martin Laursen–FIFAcompetition record (archived)