The Laudrup Legacy

An awful lot of managers seem to be losing their jobs...so real to life!

JasonRM: Thanks lad

Red Devil: Cheers pal, I hope the two of them achieve great things!

Walter: Awesome indeed

Jamesg237: The managerial merry-go-round is as infuriating as it is fun to write about

Just four days after the departure of the usually steadfast Jurgen Klopp, Borussia Dortmund have appointed their new manager, and in doing so has surprised quite a few pundits and fans around the world. Their chosen successor to the charismatic German is none other than the Great Dane himself, Brian Laudrup.

Widely considered one of the greatest footballers the world has ever seen, Laudrup won no less than thirteen trophies during his professional career, jaunting his talents for the likes of Bayern Munich, AC Milan, Rangers, and Chelsea over the years as well as racking up 82 caps for the Denmark national team.

The man’s pedigree as a manager is, however, nonexistent. Though he has worked with a number of youth academies across Denmark, Laudrup has never even coached at a professional senior team, and his lack of backroom experience may be a serious pitfall for Dortmund’s chances this year. However, the man’s football ability is undoubted, and perhaps that can pull him through and get the results.

At first, Brian had always been quoted as saying he wanted to stick with youth coaching and improve the nation’s prospective players. He said he found more joy in that, and that there was less pressure to get results and a greater emphasis placed on improving players, an aspect of coaching which he says he greatly enjoys.

He may have to turn to young players quite quickly to start getting results, however. Star players Ilkay Gundogan, Nuri Sahin, Marco Reus, and Jakub Blaszczykowski are all out with long term injuries, seriously crippling the new manager’s plans for any long term tactical renovations; short term starting elevens are the bigger focus.

Laudrup has now signed a one year contract with Borussia Dortmund. He will have to get to work very quickly to secure the futures of his star players before rivals come in to sign them and strengthen his flailing squad before the season starts if der BVB is to have any chance of competing with Bayern Munich for the Bundesliga title.

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Good luck with Dortmund, strong squad in a tough league.

Dortmund haven't done well so far in real-life. Lets hope Laurdrup does a much better job of it. Good luck.

Wut. Here I was, thinking Brian wouldn't manage a club....

A bit of a risk for dortmund there, because Klopp was adored by the fans, he was carried on hands and broke the trend Munchen and won the title twice + also twice the DFB-Supercup.

Im curious how cuickly Laudrup can succeed to forget Klopp and make the fans shout your name!

TVDLC123: Thanks pal, I think it's going to be quite a fun adventure!

Jamesg237: Yeah they've done absolutely abysmally in the league this year, sadly I don't get Bundesliga games on TV so I can't really say why, especially as they've done quite well in the Champions League. Hopefully Brian can keep them toward the top of the Bundesliga in my save

Feliks: Yes, some plans have been changed

Red Devil: Klopp was quite a legend indeed, but after losing so many players, who can blame him for wanting to leave? Hopefully Laudrup can step into these massive shoes and continue the trend of success at the club

Brian should do good things. Has he got high working w youngsters from all that experience with Danish youth?

It's going to be a big challenge for Brian, replacing Klopp, I'm excited to see how he gets on!
Well written update as always Neal

Good luck at Dortmund!

Good luck man!

I love Dortmund! Great choice of club Neal!

Walter: Of course, one of his greatest talents will be working with the youth!

pompeyblue: It'll be a challenge to replace such a great manager, but I promise you, great things are coming from Brian

Justice: Thanks!!

AaronHJFT96: Cheers!!

Josh_MU: Me too, they're a great team to watch, hopefully we'll do better than they are in reality this year

Today, Borussia Dortmund unveiled Brian Laudrup as their new manager in a customary press conference, and he has spoken about why he decided to join this club as well his plans for a major renewal at Dortmund in an effort to rejuvenate the squad and bring them back into the fold of top teams.

“This is massive for my first proper managerial job,” he told the gathered German press. “I want to see what I can achieve with the pressure to win on my shoulders, pressure to thrive under. The culture is to try to win trophies every year, and I want to continue that winning style.”

He continued, “At first I was a little bit unsure when Michael [Zorc, the club’s sporting director] told me about the club’s interest in me, but once we started talking about the philosophy and the ideals that the club have I was sold. I have very similar concepts on how a team should play and a club should grow, and I think this will be the start of a very strong journey for me.”

Laudrup refused to talk about any potential transfer targets by name, but did cause quite a few rumors to be set off when he started talking about the “tactical renovation” he had in store for the team. “In past years the team has used very similar tactics to what I like, but I think, looking at our personnel and going with the evolution of football, there will be some minor tactical changes over the coming weeks.”

He went on to say, “There are a lot of players who have a lot to prove. Nobody’s position in the first team is safe; if someone is not willing to work for the team, or is not willing to be tactically flexible, then they will be gone very quickly, and I will bring in a player who will do what the team needs.”

Some rumors, based on these quotes, have surfaced that some attacking players may be on the out to bring in more central midfielders; after a few days of training, the talk coming out of Signal-Iduna Park is that the pacey Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang may be one of the players axed to add more depth to midfield and that Shinji Kagawa may again be expected to play wide right.

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Having just returned to Dortmund from his Manchester United nightmare, Shinji Kagawa may yet again have to play on the wings while Dortmund deal with massive injury woes as well as a new tactical system to adjust to.

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The press conference ended with questions about the inevitable; Marco Reus, and his refusal to sign a new contract with der BVB. Laudrup remained diplomatic but straightforward with his response, saying simply, “Right now he is a Borussia Dortmund player, under contract with the club. I hope it stays that way for some time to come.”

Dortmund’s preseason is coming up fast, with their first friendlies coming up soon in just a few weeks. With the potential new tactics and signings trying to gel with the new manager and impress him for a spot in the first team, it’s bound to be an interesting set of friendlies ahead for the German side, and an interesting season ahead to boot.

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