Michael Laudrup (born 15 June 1964) is a retired Danish footballer and current manager of Qatar Stars League club Lekhwiya. During his playing career, he won league titles with Ajax, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus. Whilst playing for Spanish club Barcelona, he won nine trophies, including four straight La Liga titles. He moved to arch rivals Real Madrid in 1994, with whom he won his fifth La Liga title in a row. He made his debut for the Denmark national football team on his 18th birthday in 1982, and scored 37 goals in 104 appearances. From November 1994, he captained Denmark for a total of 28 matches, including the victorious 1995 Confederations Cup tournament. He retired as an active player in June 1998.In 1999, he was voted the Best Foreign Player in Spanish Football over the preceding 25-year period and in April 2000 he was knighted, receiving the Order of the Dannebrog. In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's Jubilee, he was selected as the Golden Player of Denmark by the Danish Football Association; their most outstanding player of the past 50 years. He was officially named the best Danish footballer of all time by the Danish Football Association (DBU) in November 2006. He was named by Pelé as one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers at a FIFA Awards ceremony in 2004.After retiring as a player, Laudrup took up coaching, and became assistant manager of the Danish national team. He got his first manager job at former club Brøndby in 2002, whom he guided to the 2005 Danish Superliga championship. He chose not to extend his contract with Brøndby in May 2006. He took over as coach of Getafe, Madrid's third club, and had notable success there. He brought the club comparative success in the Copa del Rey and UEFA Cup, and the team's attacking style brought plaudits. On 15 June 2012, Laudrup was appointed the manager of Premier League club Swansea City, signing a two-year contract. In his first season in south Wales, Laudrup won the League Cup, the first major trophy in Swansea's 100-year history. On 4 February 2014 he was sacked by Swansea after a "significant" slump in the Premier League, leaving them two points above the relegation zone.
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