MICHAEL LAUDRUP
1989- 1994 GAMES 288 CLUB BARCELONA
BEFORE Johan Cruyff’s maiden season at Barcelona may have garnered a European Cup Winners’ Cup, but fans were restless. It had been four years since a league title win, with Real Madrid dominating since.
LEGACY Things soon changed. Cruyff had been a ridiculously gifted playmaker, and his new man from Juventus was cut from the same cloth. With Laudrup pulling the strings, Barça lifted the 1989- 90 La Liga title. When Hristo Stoichkov came in the following summer, Cruyff’s team really was a dream: the Bulgarian thrived ahead of his Danish team- mate, hitting 90 goals across four campaigns together.
Four straight league titles were secured with Laudrup in tow, while European glory was also delivered. The 1991- 92 season culminated in a 1- 0 win over Sampdoria – the Catalan outfit’s first European Cup.
Despite his pass master’s consistently mesmerising displays for the Blaugrana, however, Cruyff was growing frustrated. “He’s one of the most difficult players I’ve worked with,” said the Dutchman. “When he gives 80- 90 per cent he’s still the best. I want 100 per cent and he rarely does it.”
Pre- 1995 UEFA laws meant teams could only field a maximum of three foreigners. After Romario’s arrival from PSV in 1993, Laudrup was increasingly benched. The Brazilian later dubbed him “the best I ever played with” – but Laudrup was restless. The final straw was when Cruyff omitted him for the 1994 Champions League Final. “When I saw Laudrup was out, I relaxed,” recalled then- Milan coach Fabio Capello.
In a positively Cruyffian move, Laudrup joined Real Madrid on a free transfer that summer. The Dream Team era died as Los Blancos reasserted their dominance, with the Dane winning a fifth title in 1994- 95.
Underrated Laudrup certainly was – just ask Thierry Henry. “Laudrup was a freak,” he told Jamie Carragher’s Greatest Game podcast. “There is a video on Youtube [ of his passes] that I watch. A lot of players in history have worn No. 10 and only thought about scoring. Laudrup... my gosh – the ball slowed down when it saw the striker.”
BEST MOMENT Being in the Barça team that demolished Real 5- 0 in 1994, then joining Real and destroying Barça by the same scoreline. “I won 10- 0,” he joked.