blast from the past – BRIAN LAUDRUP

ONE of the finest footballers of his time whose career was eventually stalled due to an injury, Brian Laudrup will turn 47 on Wednesday. 

Brian, the younger brother of Qatar’s Al Rayyan coach Michael, was born on February 22, 1969, in Vienna, Austria. 

He played 82 games and scored 21 goals for the Danish national team and was an important member of the squad, which won the Euro 1992 and 1995 Confederations Cup.

Brian was an elegant, technical and creative player who was gifted with incredible pace and ball control. He used this talent, offensive capabilities and acceleration to dribble fast and beat players with relative ease to create openings for team-mates. 

During his short playing career, he represented a number of European clubs, including Bayern Munich, Fiorentina, AC Milan and Rangers, after starting with Brondby, with whom he won two Danish championships in the late 1980s.

But a much bigger success came when he won Serie A and Champions League with AC Milan in 1994. He also won the UEFA Super Cup during his brief stint with Chelsea and also FC Copenhagen in Denmark before ending his career at Ajax in 2000.