Laudrup goes back to his roots

Brøndby IF coach Michael Laudrup speaks to uefa.com's Svend Frandsen

After a nervous first leg when KS Dinamo Tirana looked to be springing a surprise and preventing the dream all-Scandinavian showdown for a UEFA Champions League first group stage place, Brøndby IF, led by Danish footballing hero Michael Laudrup, are through to play Norwegian champions Rosenborg BK. Brøndby had needed a late Ruben Bagger goal to win the home tie against Dinamo, but a 4-0 win in Albania ensured Laudrup's team a third qualifying round match against a team led by his predecessor, Aage Hareide.

Huge exectation
The expectation at Brøndby is huge after Laudrup stepped down as assistant coach of the Danish national team to return to the club where he began his career as a junior. Indeed, Laudrup, along with his father, Finn, a former Danish international, inspired Brøndby to make their mark on the domestic stage at the beginning of the 1980s before he set off on a spectacular European football journey which saw him play for S.S. Lazio, Juventus FC, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF under the guidance of some of the most talented coaches in Europe.

Back home
But now Laudrup is back where it all began with all the responsibility and pressure that comes with sitting in the 'hot seat' - although at a side smaller than many expected one of the most famous names in football to begin his club coaching career. "I thought it was good to make one step at a time and to join one of the biggest clubs in Scandinavia was the right move," he said. "It was too early for me to go to one of the big countries in Europe and as a family man I did not think this was the proper time to leave Denmark. Moreover, I know the club so well, so I thought it was perfect to come here."

A football legend
With Laudrup enjoying almost legendary status in Denmark, the pressure is on the veteran of the nation's 1986 FIFA World Cup campaign to produce the kind of results he did as a player. "I have played for some of the biggest clubs in Europe where every Sunday and Wednesday your opponents would like to play the game of the year against you, and the same is the case here because we are always the favourites wherever we play in Denmark," said Laudrup. "You simply have to accept it, otherwise you should choose a club playing at another level."

Class and vision
Laudrup hopes he can transmit the class and vision he possessed as a player and lead Brøndby into another golden era just like his friend and mentor Morten Olsen did when he led the club to the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup in 1991. That run put the small Copenhagen suburb on the European football map, and victory against Rosenborg will confirm that heady status once again.

'Times have changed'
However, Laudrup has said it may take some time before Brøndby reach that level again. "Times have changed ," he admitted. "You used to have the UEFA [European] Champions Clubs' Cup, the [UEFA] Cup Winners' Cup and the UEFA Cup. Today it is much more difficult because you have only two competitions, so it is even harder for teams from small countries to succeed, even though Feyenoord won the UEFA Cup last year. I think that we just have to take it step by step and see what happens."