Michael Laudrup: Maybe The Best Of What Denmark Offered

Real Madrid just lost a classico. At the end of the game, the result of the field seems to be still ridiculed, the Catalans scored an astounding 5 goals. One Barca member did not miss the opportunity to inflict a little more fire on the mighty Spaniards. He raised his hand towards the Madrid supporters and showed five fingers as he had crushed the ego of the Spanish powers. The Catalans boasted it as 'La Manita', or 'small hand' if you translate it. After reading this, an old memory might linger in the depths of the mind of many, the voice of the independence-loving people of Catalonia and the ever-present character of Barcelona, Gerrard Pique's mockery is iconic in the history of El Classico.

And may I disappoint you, I wasn't talking about this incident at all. This incident is from much earlier. When Pep was a player himself, the same Pep who was making the game plan for the 5-0 you were thinking, was witnessing Sir Johan Cruyff's groundbreaking philosophy. At the time, Cruyff's assistant coach, Tony Bruins, could not resist the temptation to show five-finger gesture after the game with Cruyff's Dream Team, against Madrid. It was the time of the deadly Trio, Romario joined Stoichkov and Laudrup in '93, forming one of the deadliest partnerships known. Cruyff commissioned the Danish magician Laudrup to design the assists for who's known as the goal machine, Romario and Stoichkov, known for his fierce body language. He was the source of the team's core creativity. Romario, then vocal in his praise of Laudrup, gave credit to Laudrup for helping him maintaining his PSV's goal-scoring form at Barca. In his words,

"We would just run. Somehow he would get the ball to our feet."

However, the duration of this Barcelona trio was a total of one year, the 1993-94 season. Because then Laudrup left the club. Joining arch-rivals Real Madrid, having won four league titles, a Copa del Rey, two Spanish Super Cups, two UEFA Super Cups and a European Cup in five seasons for Barca. Disagreements with coach Cruyff ended his Barca career. Disagreements with the coach are not new again for Laudrup. Earlier, he said goodbye to the national team at the age of 26 after playing three matches in the Euro 92 qualifiers. What happened to Laudrup, who was an essential member of the team, even though the players along with tha fans admired him. Laudrop is one of the best players to grace the field, and if he was on the field, the impossible would have been easier. But coaching him was one of the hardest things.

Whimsical but incomparably talented Laudrup can be explained in this way. Laudrup made his senior team debut in 1981 at the Boldclub Youth Academy. A year later, he was named the "Danish Player of the Year" and became one of the top targets for clubs in Europe. Despite the possibility of moving to Liverpool, Laudrup joined Juventus from Serie A in 1983. Although it was difficult to get a place in Juventus with the two foreigners per club squad rule, Michel Platini and Jebiniu Boniek were playing for Juventus. It was decided to send him on loan to Lazio for two seasons and he returned to Juventus in 1985. In the first season, he won the Scudetto and the Intercontinental Cup with 12 goals in 42 matches. Of course, those two trophies were the only two trophies for him at Juventus, but this dynamic Danish entertained everyone through great play. In 1989, Barca coach Cruyff brought in Laudrup, using him as the centerpiece of the team. Much like Cruyff's own Danish version. Laudrop, who roamed freely in the midfield, became the main provider as well as scoring goals. Despite winning the Copa del Rey in the first season, Barca finished third in La Liga. Laudrup won everything between 1990-94. But in the 1993-94 season, He got into trouble in the dressroom with Cruyff. At the end of the season, Laudrup was dropped out of the team, and Barcelona could not maintain the same form as before. Despite winning 5-0 against Real, they lost to Sporting Gijon, a draw with Sevilla and then a loss to Real Sociedad. After losing to Athletic Bilbao at home, a 6-3 win over Real Zaragoza seemed almost unbelievable. [1/2]