Martin Laursen
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| Martin Laursen | ||
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Martin Laursen | |
| Date of birth | July 26, 1977 | |
| Place of birth | Fårvang, Denmark | |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | |
| Playing position | Centre Back | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Aston Villa | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| Horn-Fårvang IF | ||
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1995–1998 1998–2001 2001 2001 2002–2004 2004– |
Silkeborg IF Hellas Verona Parma → A.C. Milan (loan) A.C. Milan Aston Villa |
35 (1) 58 (3) 0 (0) 22 (2) 10 (0) 65 (7) |
| National team2 | ||
| 2000– | Denmark | 49 (1) |
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1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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Martin Laursen (born July 26, 1977 in Fårvang, Denmark) is a Danish professional football player who plays as a defender for Aston Villa. Laursen has been capped 48 times and scored two goals for the Denmark national football team, whom he has represented in the 2002 FIFA World Cup and two European Championship tournaments.
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[edit] Biography
Laursen started his senior career with Danish club Silkeborg IF, whom he helped steer to second place in the 1997–98 Superliga season. After three seasons at Silkeborg, he moved to Italy to play for then Serie B outfit Hellas Verona in August 1998. The contact with Verona was mediated by former Verona player and Silkeborg manager Preben Elkjær. Laursen was plagued by a knee injury for the majority of his first season at Verona, where the club won promotion to the top-flight Serie A. Laursen conquered a place in the starting line-up during his second season in Italy, and he made his debut for the Denmark national team in a friendly match against Portugal in March 2000. He was a part of the Denmark squad at the 2000 European Championship (Euro 2000), though he did not play a single game due to injury.
[edit] A step up
Seeking a high profile move, Parma, who already jointly owned Laursen with Verona, made a successful bid for his services. Following only three weeks of training at the club, Laursen was eventually picked up by A.C. Milan in a £8.7 million bid, who needed depth in their squad due to injuries. Laursen started out strong for his new club, scoring two goals in his first four league matches, but as Milan's regular defenders came back from injury, he saw his playing time diminishing.
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. Laursen scored his first goal for his country in September 2003, in the Euro 2004 qualifying tournament, an all-important goal in injury time of the penultimate qualification match. 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.
Though winning silverware with A.C. Milan in 2003, Laursen failed to appear in the 2002-03 UEFA Champions League final. Due to the presence of Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Nesta, Laursen failed to establish himself in Milan's first team in the long run.
[edit] Premiership move
On May 21, 2004, he was bought by English Premiership side Aston Villa F.C. for £3 million, on a four-year contract. He played a solid Euro 2004 for Denmark, again playing full time in all Denmark's games, before he moved to play for Aston Villa. His debut with Villa came against Southampton F.C. on August 14, 2004, a match which ended 2–0 in Villa's favour.
Laursen's time at Villa however has proven frustrating. He made a few encouraging performances on and off, during the 2004–05 season, but the knee injury that has plagued him earlier in his career returned and kept Laursen at playing a single match for Aston Villa during the 2005–06 season. After a re-occurrence of the knee injury during the summer 2006 off-season, his playing future at club and international level was seen to be in doubt. He underwent a full rehabilitation in Bologna, where he spent most of the 2005–06 season, and returned to the Aston Villa side in August 2006.
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 due to yet another knee injury. This season, Martin Laursen looks to be fulfilling his potential. The former AC Milan player has been at Villa since 2004, but a recurring knee injury saw him spending lengthy spells on the sidelines.
The Danish international has finally returned to form, and has been an integral part of Martin O'Neills plans. Cool on the ball, and great in the air, Laursen has distinguished himself as one of the leagues top defenders.
Laursen has become a somewhat prolific goalscorer for Aston Villa during the 2007–08 season, scoring 6 goals from centre back including three goals against Tottenham Hotspur, two of which came in a thrilling 4–4 draw at White Hart Lane, the other coming in a 2–1 home victory for Aston Villa over Tottenham Hotspur.
Laursen agreed terms on a new 2 and a half year deal with Aston Villa on 17 January 2008 [1] He was voted the Supporters Player of the Year in 2008, following his impressive form in the 2007/2008 season.
[edit] International goals
- Scores and results list Denmark's goal tally first.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2003-09-10 | Copenhagen, Denmark |  Romania |
2-2 | 2-2 | UEFA Euro 2004 Qual. |
| 2 | 2007-09-12 | Aarhus, Denmark |  Liechtenstein |
2-0 | 4-0 | UEFA Euro 2008 Qual. |
[edit] Honours
- All with A.C. Milan
- Coppa Italia: 2002-03
- UEFA Champions League: 2002-03
- European Super Cup: 2003
- Serie A: 2003-04
[edit] References
- ^ Laursen agrees new deal at Villa. BBC Sport.
[edit] External links
- Danish national team profile
- FootballDatabase career stats
- Martin Laursen career stats at Soccerbase
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