Michael Laudrup needs no introduction. The best footballer to have come out of Denmark, he won four La Liga titles for Barcelona, following it up with one with Real Madrid. He also won league titles with Juventus and Ajax.He retired as an active player in June 1998 and in 1999 was voted the Best Foreign Player in Spanish Football over the
preceding 25-year period. He was named by Pelé as one of the 125 Greatest
Living Footballers at a FIFA Awards ceremony in 2004. Now the coach of leading Qatar club Lekhwiya, Laudrup took some time off from his busy schedule to speak to Gulf Times Sports Editor Anil John in an exclusive interview.
Q: You have been in Qatar a few months now. What are your impressions about football in the country?
A: I think it’s a different kind of football, of course, from that I am used to from Spain, from the English Premier League. I think it’s a country that wants to improve in football and all the things they are doing. I see a country where, football wise, they are trying to improve the way they do things.
Q: Do you think they should do something specific in the build-up to the FIFA World Cup in 2022?
A: I think with the Aspire programme and with the young players coming up, they are trying to build for the future which is looking towards 2022. There are different parts to it. First obviously is the national team they want to build, developing young players. Then comes the Qatar Stars League. So it’s a balance. They should find the connection between the two. This season is very important for the national team because of the Gulf Cup and the Asian Cup.
Q: You have played for Barcelona and Real Madrid. What do you think the QFA should do to improve football?
A: They need knowhow from outside. As a football country they are quite new. You can’t build a football culture in 10 years. That is why you have people coming from outside. People here in charge in the football federation, they know they need this knowhow. What can they do? I think they should see the number of foreigners in the league. I think they should allow teams to have four or five foreigners in each team. I think if good Qatari players get to play with good foreign players they get better. Four or five foreigners in the team, that would be interesting.
Q: Who has impressed you most in the Qatar Stars League?
A: I don’t think I can say if there are one or two players who impressed me. I think I am more focused on my team. Always trying to improve, figure out what’s working good and how can we improve the team. My job is to get as much out of each player as possible.
Q: Sebastian Soria has shown indifferent this season in the league…
A: We are talking about strikers. They live for goals, they are disappointed with themselves if they don’t score. You need to stay close to these players.
Q: You have seen the weather and the conditions in Qatar, and also heard a lot about the controversy over the timing of the World Cup in 2022. What do you have to say about this?
A: I think it would be important to find answers for all these things because I don’t think it’s good that everybody is talking about what is going to happen in seven and a half years. If there are any problems, I think those responsible should sit down and discuss about these things. Otherwise it will go on. I think there will be solutions in a short time.
Q: FIFA chief Sepp Blatter has said there’s no way the World Cup will be played in summer…
A: I’ve heard that before, because the temperature is so hot. I’ve already experienced it myself. It’s not so easy to shift to winter from summer because we have the big leagues – Spanish, Italian, Bundesliga, the EPL. What do they do? Ok it’s Blatter who said this, he is President of FIFA. But how do we solve this problem? As I said before, you need to find answers to all these question people are asking. Otherwise the critics will continue and that’s not good for everyone.
Q: Should the major European clubs compromise for the Qatar 2022 World Cup?
A: I think it’s very difficult to have an opinion about this, because, again, how do we change the leagues? We cannot just stop for two months. What about the Champions League? Football is big business. Where is the most money in football? It’s in Europe because the biggest leagues are there. It’s big money. You need to find a solution, if you want to change to winter from summer.
Q: Would you personally prefer a winter World Cup?
A: I’ve been here in July – it’s very difficult. It’s so hot. But again when FIFA gave the World Cup to Qatar they knew the weather was like that. You can say why now they are talking about changing from summer to winter. I don’t think the weather has changed in Qatar in 10 years! Why is it news that – ah it’s so hot in June and July!
Q: What are your coaching ambitions? Do you aspire to coach any particular team?
A: I’ve been already a coach for 10 or 11 years. I have completed 30 years in football – as a player since 1981 and a coach after I retired. It’s a long time. I don’t know if I will have more experiences.
Q: But you surely will have an ambition about what you want to achieve in a particular period of time…
A: I don’t have that right now. I’ve always said as a player you are part of a group of 22 or 25. As a coach, there is only one position in each club. I live in the present. In football, I have seen it hundreds of times, things can change quickly. I don’t know. I think this is a good experience for me with Lekhwiya. This is the ninth country where I am living. The experience has been very nice.
Q: Do you think your job as a coach is a continuous learning process?
A: Always. As a player and as a coach it’s always a learning process. You can never be 100 percent educated. You can never say I can’t improve. You can always improve. Football is no different from life. You can learn something new on a daily basis. I am quite open-minded. I never see myself as 100 percent educated because perfection does not exist.
Q: What about your family? Do they enjoy being in Qatar?
A: I have my wife living with me here. The children are all grown up. My two boys are playing football in Denmark. The smaller one is 23 and is playing with the junior team. He has also played in the Champions League, so it’s good for him. The other son is playing in the second division, while my daughter at university in France.
Q: How do you spend time in Qatar?
A: I am at home, reading, doing things related to the club, training etc. Days go one by one, at the same time it’s a new country, new culture. I go around, drive around to see things.
