John Lauridsen

John Lauridsen

Lauridsen lining-up for Español
Personal information
Full nameJohn Mikkelsen Lauridsen
Date of birth2 April 1959
Place of birthRibe, Denmark
Height1.74 m (5 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Playing positionMidfielder
Youth career
Gredstedbro
Vejle
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1978–1982Esbjerg76(11)
1982–1988Español213(26)
1988–1990Málaga58(3)
1990–1992Esbjerg
National team
1981–1988Denmark27(3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

John Mikkelsen Lauridsen (born 2 April 1959) is a retired Danish professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder, gifted with field vision and able to shoot with both feet.[1]

He won the Danish championship with Esbjerg, before playing eight years uninterrupted in La Liga, with Español and Málaga. He appeared in more than 250 official games for the former, helping the club reach the 1988 UEFA Cup Final.

Lauridsen played 27 times for Denmark from 1981 to 1988, representing the nation at the Euro 1984 tournament, but spent the majority of his international career as a back-up player.

Football career

Born in Ribe, Jutland, Lauridsen played his youth football in Gredstedbro and Vejle Boldklub, before he made his senior debut with top-flight Danish 1st Division club Esbjerg fB in 1978.[1] He played 16 matches as the club won the 1979 1st Division championship the following season.

Lauridsen made his Danish national team debut in August 1981, in a 2–1 friendly win with Finland, in which he scored the equalizer at the 27th minute (the first of his three international goals). Also that summer, he was supposed to travel to England to sign for Ipswich Town, but the ferry did not make the journey due to bad weather conditions, and the deal fell through. Shortly after, football agent Fernand Goyvaerts phoned the player with an offer from Spain's RCD Español, which he accepted,[1] signing with the Catalans in early 1982, and becoming a full-time professional.

The first half-season notwithstanding, Lauridsen never played in less than 30 matches for Español – known as Espanyol from 1995. He was voted the best foreign player of the 1986–87 season in La Liga,[1] as his team reached a best-ever third place finish. He also helped the side reach the final of the following year's UEFA Cup – eight games, 304 minutes, two goals – which ended in a penalty shootout defeat against Bayer 04 Leverkusen; he appeared in more than 250 official matches for the club during his seven-year spell, as one of only two foreign players – the other being Cameroonian goalkeeper Thomas Nkono.[2]

While at Espanyol, Lauridsen was included in the Danish squad for the UEFA Euro 1984, where he took part in two games, scoring a goal in the 5–0 group stage win against Yugoslavia. His international career brought him only 27 games in seven years, as he was often overlooked behind the likes of Frank Arnesen, Søren Lerby, Jan Mølby and Jesper Olsen. He played his last game for Denmark on 27 April 1988, in a friendly with Austria.

Lauridsen stayed in Spain after his 1988 exit from Espanyol, playing two years with CD Málaga, also in the top flight. He ended his career as an amateur player with Esbjerg fB, helping it promote into the second-tier of Danish football.[3] His last match was played on 19 November 1992 at the age of 33, a 4–1 win against Vejle Boldklub, where he had played as a youth.

After his footballing career ended, Lauridsen settled in Bramming. In the following years, he occasionally appeared in games for Espanyol's veterans.[2]

Honours

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Esbjerg profile (Danish)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Espanyol archives (Spanish)
  3. ↑ Søren Olsen, "Nu står den på nedtrapning" (p. 17); Politiken, 21 March 1993 (Danish)

External links