When it comes to career paths, Michael Laudrups playing career is hard to beat.
After rising to prominence in the Danish league with KB and then Brondby at the start of the 1980s, the playmaker would spend six seasons in Serie A with Lazio and then Juventus, at a time when the Italian league was easily the best in the world.
Shortly before the 1990s were ushered in, the Dane would make the move to Barcelona to play under his childhood hero Johan Cruyff, becoming a pillar of the Barca Dream Team before making the controversial move to Real Madrid in 1994, before short stints with Japanese side Vissel Kobe and Ajax.
Laudrup on the best players he played with
Over these 17 years, Laudrup played with some of the games greats; his partnership with French icon Michel Platini at Juventus being just one of the highlights.
It was special to play alongside him, he was the best European player at the time, Laudrup recalls speaking exclusively to FourFourTwo. Whether he was the best Ive ever played with is a question I cant answer. I dont like comparisons.
How do I compare Platini to Peter Schmeichel, for example? Or with Romario or Ronald Koeman?
I could easily pick out 25 fantastic players I played with. I can say, however, that the best opponent I played against was Diego Maradona.
Back then, the pitches were harder to play on and Maradona usually had three or four opponents around him, getting kicked as well, but he was so quick on his feet and if he was hit, hed be up again immediately.
I remember a game against him at Napoli before the match, we were waiting to go onto the pitch, 21 players standing there, and then Maradona stepped in.
There were around 80,000 in the stadium and after about six minutes, one of our defenders fouled him. When he stood up, I noticed his boot laces werent tied.
I said to him, Hey Diego, your boot laces, youve not tied them properly.
He said, Ah yeah, youre right.
He played six minutes with his laces undone, like hed forgotten, as if he was playing on the street! Fantastic."
