Martin Laursen
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Martin Laursen[1] | ||
Date of birth | [1] | 26 July 1977||
Place of birth | Fårvang, Denmark | ||
Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
Position(s) | Defender | ||
Youth career | |||
Horn/Fårvang IF | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1995–1998[2] | Silkeborg | 35 | (1) |
1998–2001[3] |
Hellas Verona | 58 | (3) |
2001–2002 |
Parma | 0 | (0) |
2001–2002[3] |
→ Milan (loan) | 22 | (2) |
2002–2004[3] |
Milan | 20 | (0) |
2004–2009[4] | Aston Villa | 84 | (8) |
Total | 219 | (14) | |
International career | |||
1996[5] | Denmark U-19 | 1 | (0) |
1997–1999[5] | Denmark U-21 | 14 | (0) |
2000–2008[5] | Denmark | 53 | (2) |
Managerial career | |||
2011–2012 |
BK Søllerød-Vedbæk | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Martin Laursen (born 26 July 1977) is a Danish former professional
Laursen was capped 53 times and scored two goals for the Denmark national team from 2000 to 2008, and he was named 2008 Danish Football Player of the Year. He represented Denmark at the 2000 European Championship, 2002 FIFA World Cup, and 2004 European Championship tournaments.
Club career
Youth career and Silkeborg
Born in Fårvang near
Verona
After three seasons at Silkeborg, Laursen moved to Italy in August 1998, to play for
Seeking a high-profile move,
A.C. Milan
In July 2001, Laursen was loaned out to Serie A rivals
Though winning silverware with Milan in 2003, Laursen did not play in the
Aston Villa
On 21 May 2004, Laursen was bought by
He underwent a full rehabilitation in
Laursen replaced
In December 2008, Laursen was injured again.[23] He returned for the game against West Bromwich Albion in January 2009,[4] but suffered an injury relapse.[23] In April 2009, O'Neill expressed his fears that Laursen's career might be over due to the injuries which, even if treated, would require 10 months of reconvalescence. In May 2009, Laursen announced his decision to retire from football rather than undergo major surgery.[27] 24 May saw Aston Villa's final game of the season at home to Newcastle United. Prior to kick-off, Laursen appeared in front of the Villa Park crowd and gave a speech where he thanked the fans and wish them well for the future. Following this, he was inducted into the "Villa Legends" section of Aston Villa's official website.[23]
International career
While playing for Silkeborg, Laursen played one game for the Denmark under-19 national team in December 1996.[5] He was called up for the Denmark under-21 national team in February 1997, and went on to play 14 games for the under-21s until June 1999.[5] Laursen made his debut for the senior Denmark national team in a friendly match against Portugal in March 2000.[5] He was a part of the Denmark squad at the UEFA Euro 2000, though he did not play a single game at the tournament due to injury.
Laursen's breakthrough with the national team came at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, when he played full-time in all four Denmark games before elimination.[5] Laursen scored his first goal for his country in September 2003, in the UEFA Euro 2004 qualification, an all-important goal in injury time of the penultimate qualification match.[5] His goal levelled the game with Romania to 2–2, and kept Denmark in the race for a place at the final competition. Laursen and the Denmark team secured qualification when they drew the last game, thus winning their qualification group. Laursen played full-time in Denmark's four games at the tournament,[5] playing impressively.[23]
After the March 2005 game against Kazakhstan, Laursen's national team career went on a hiatus,[5] due to a knee injury. After his absence from the Danish national team for more than one and a half years, he was called up in November 2006, but had to withdraw from the team before the game due to yet another knee injury. In June 2007, Laursen returned to Denmark's starting line-up in a 2–0 win against Latvia.[5] He played his last international game on 11 October 2008 against Malta.[5] In January 2009, Laursen announced his retirement from international football, as he found it physically straining to play for both club and country.[28]
Retirement
Laursen returned to Denmark following his retirement, settling in
Spending time with my family. That was important to me. It might not be enough in 10 years time though. Then I may want to be a manager – or something else – but as it is now it would be hard for me to be a football boss and go into training and have football on my mind 24 hours per day.
I am not ready for that yet. But you never know, in the future things might change. At the moment this is perfect for me.
–Martin Laursen[25]
Managerial career
In September 2011 Martin Laursen took the job as head coach of
Career statistics
International goals
- Scores and results list Denmark's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Laursen goal.
No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 10 September 2003 | Copenhagen, Denmark | Romania | 2–2 | 2–2 | UEFA Euro 2004 qualification
|
2 | 12 September 2007 | Aarhus, Denmark | Liechtenstein | 2–0 | 4–0 | UEFA Euro 2008 qualification
|
Honours
Milan
Individual
References
- ^ ISBN 1-85291-665-6.
- ^ a b c d Martin Laursen at DanskFodbold.com
- ^ a b c d e f "LAURSEN (Martin Laursen)". FootballDatabase.com. Archived from the original on 4 February 2009. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Martin Laursen at Soccerbase
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l (in Danish) Martin Laursen – Alle hold (Alle kampe) at Danish Football Association
- ^ a b Ravn, Michael (23 September 2009). "Martin Laursen på Stjernepladsen" (in Danish). Silkeborg IF. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
- ^ (in Danish) Ib Pilegaard, Martins pavestolte forældre, B.T., 16 June 2004
- ^ Soccernet
- ^ Greg Ptolomey, English Angle: To The Bitter End – Aston Villa Lose Martin 'Lionheart' Laursen, Goal.com, 15 May 2009
- ^ a b Hellas Verona FC SpA bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2001, PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A. (in Italian)
- ^ (in Danish) Brian Haagen Hansen, Martin Laursen nu Danmarks dyreste, B.T., 11 August 2000
- Ritzaus Bureau, 27 March 2001
- ^ "ECCO LE ULTIME NOVITA' DI MERCATO". Hellas Verona FC (in Italian). 29 June 2001. Retrieved 8 April 2010.
- ^ (in Danish) Steen Uno, "Martin Laursen begyndte for blot tre uger siden hos", B.T., 27 July 2001
- ^ "Milan sign Laursen". Forzamilan.com. 27 July 2001. Archived from the original on 18 October 2010. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
- ^ Milan sign Laursen, BBC Sport, 31 July 2001
- ^ Misha Miladinovich, Giacomo Giusti and Alberto Novello, Italy 2001/02, RSSSF, 11 January 2003
- ^ Parma AC SpA Report and Accounts on 30 June 2002 (in Italian), CCIAA
- ^ Italian Cup 2002/03 Archived 5 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine at A.C. Milan
- ^ 2003/2004 Title Archived 5 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine at A.C. Milan
- ^ Players to Watch – Martin Laursen, BBC Sport, 26 May 2004.
- ^ GALLIANI: 'BEST YEARS OF OUR LIFE CONTINUE ...', A.C. Milan, 25 May 2004
- ^ a b c d e f g "Villa Legends – Martin Laursen". Aston Villa F.C. Archived from the original on 18 August 2009. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
- ^ a b "Laursen agrees new deal at Villa". BBC Sport. 17 January 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g Paul Brown, Loving Life Archived 22 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Aston Villa F.C.
- ^ (in Danish) Pia Schou Nielsen, Martin Laursen Årets Spiller, Danish Football Association, 17 November 2008
- ^ Laursen hangs up his boots, Sky Sports, 15 May 2009
- ^ "Laursen's Big Decision". Aston Villa F.C. 29 January 2009. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
- ^ "Martin Laursen stopper i BSV". bold.dk. 14 June 2012.
External links
- Martin Laursen national team profile at the Danish Football Association (in Danish)
- Aston Villa profile
- Martin Laursen – FIFA competition record (archived)