Søren Lerby

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Søren Lerby, (born February 1, 1958) is a Danish professional football (soccer) player, who won the 1988 European Cup with Dutch club PSV Eindhoven. A left-footed midfielder, Lerby was a player who was always committed and a leader of the team. He played 67 matches for the Denmark national football team, and represented Denmark at the 1986 FIFA World Cup and two European Championships.

[edit] Biography

Born in Copenhagen in Denmark, he played in local clubs B 1903, Taastrup IK and Fremad Amager. He and Fremad Amager teammate Frank Arnesen moved abroad to become professional footballers November 1975. They switched to Dutch club Ajax Amsterdam, with Lerby only being 17 years old. Lerbý's first match at home against Go Ahead Eagles was won 4-1 (April 11th 1976). He won five Dutch Eredivisie league championships (1976-1977, 1978-1979, 1979-1980, 1981-1982, 1982-1983) in his eight years at Ajax. In the summer of 1981 he became the new captain as successor of the in 1981 departed Frank Arnesen and the in 1980 departed Ruud Krol. In the 2 seasons leftmidfielder Lerby had been captain (1981-1982 and 1982-1983) Ajax won the Dutch championship with high goal differences (+75(117-42), +65(106-41)). While at Ajax, he made his Danish national team debut against the Republic of Ireland in May 1978.

He moved to Germany in 1983, where he was looking to replace German midfielder Paul Breitner at Bayern Munich. Here he remained for three years, winning two German Bundesliga championships. Lerby was selected for the Danish national team at the 1984 European Championship, where he played full time in Denmark's four matches, and scored a goal in the semi-final against Spain, which saw Denmark eliminated on penalty shoot-out. He also played full time in Denmark's four games at the 1986 FIFA World Cup, where he scored a goal in Denmark's 6-1 win against Uruguay.

His career continued for French team AS Monaco from 1986 to 1987. Lerby moved back to the Netherlands in 1987 and was reunited with Frank Arnesen, now at Ajax' rivals PSV Eindhoven. He was a part of the 1988 European Cup winning PSV squad, also including fellow Danes Jan Heintze and Ivan Nielsen, Frank Arnesen being out with an injury for the final against SL Benfica. He was a part of the Danish squad for the 1988 European Championship, before he ended his active career in 1989.

Between 9 October 1991 and 10 March 1992 he spent some time as coach with Bayern Munich, as successor of Jupp Heynckes. With a spell of undistinguished results, including a combined 6-3 UEFA Cup elimination by his former club B 1903, Lerby effectively ended his managerial career and became a FIFA-licensed sports agent (Essel Sport Managements). Soren Lerby had been married to Dutch singer and actress Willeke Alberti (1981-1996). Together they had a son: Kaj. Soren Lerby afterwards married for the 2nd time to Arlette van der Meulen and with her he had a second son. He now lives in the Netherlands again, in the small village of Laren.

[edit] Honours

• Dutch Eredivisie championships (7):
  • 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, with Ajax Amsterdam
  • 1988 and 1989, with PSV Eindhoven
• German Bundesliga championships:
  • 1985 and 1986, with Bayern Munich
• German DFB-Pokal trophies:
  • 1984 and 1986, with Bayern Munich
• 1988 European Cup, with PSV Eindhoven

[edit] External links

• (Danish) Danish national team profile
• (Dutch) Ajax Hall of Fame
• (German) FussballDaten career statistics

v • d • e Denmark squad - UEFA Euro 1984 1 Kjær • 2 O. Rasmussen • 3 Busk • 4 M. Olsen • 5 Nielsen • 6 Lerby • 7 Bertelsen • 8 J. Olsen • 9 Simonsen • 10 Elkjær • 11 Berggreen • 12 Mølby • 13 Lauridsen • 14 Laudrup • 15 Arnesen • 16 T. Rasmussen • 17 Thychosen • 18 Sivebæk • 19 Brylle • 20 Qvist • Coach: Piontek

v • d • e Denmark squad - 1986 FIFA World Cup 1 Rasmussen • 2 Sivebæk • 3 Busk • 4 M. Olsen • 5 I. Nielsen • 6 Lerby • 7 Mølby • 8 J. Olsen • 9 Berggreen • 10 Elkjær Larsen • 11 Laudrup • 12 Bertelsen • 13 Frimann • 14 Simonsen • 15 Arnesen • 16 Qvist • 17 K. Nielsen • 18 Christensen • 19 Eriksen • 20 Bartram • 21 Andersen • 22 Høgh • Coach: Piontek

v • d • e Denmark squad - UEFA Euro 1988 1 Rasmussen • 2 Sivebæk • 3 Busk • 4 M. Olsen • 5 Nielsen • 6 Lerby • 7 Helt • 8 Frimann • 9 Heintze • 10 Elkjær • 11 Laudrup • 12 L. Olsen • 13 Jensen • 14 J. Olsen • 15 Povlsen • 16 Schmeichel • 17 Berggreen • 18 Eriksen • 19 Kristensen • 20 Vilfort • Coach: Piontek