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Preben Elkjær Larsen (born September 11, 1957 in Copenhagen) was a Danish professional football player, simply referred to as Preben Elkjær. He was a striker and his aggressive style of play was well combined with the calmness and vision of the younger Michael Laudrup when they played side by side on the Danish national team from 1982-1988.

Elkjær Larsen was known as a notorious smoker - to much dismay for his varying coaches. His playing style, though, was no short of breath, dominated by a rock-like determination. He never seemed to give up on a "lost" ball - from time to time resulting in a goal, when the opponent had deemed the ball over the line and out of play, only to see Elkjær chase it down.

Playing career

Elkjær Larsen's career started with Vanløse in Denmark in 1976, where he stayed for just one season, playing 15 games and scoring seven goals. He then joined 1. FC Köln in Germany. He made his international debut for Denmark, aged 19 years 284 days (on June 22, 1977), at home against Finland, scoring both goals in a 2-1 win for his country. After that, Elkjær moved to K.S.C. Lokeren in Belgium. He joined them in February 1978 and stayed there for five years, the longest period he spent at any one club during his career.

From 1984 to 1988, Elkjær Larsen played for Hellas Verona F.C. in Italy, and in his first season with the team, he played an intrumental role in winning the only Serie A title (the scudetto) in the history of Hellas Verona. On the international level, he played a prominent role in the , scoring two goals for the Danish team. The Danes looked promising, but they went out at the semi-final stage, losing to Spain on penalties. Elkjær most famously missed his penalty kick, sending the ball high over the goal. Elkjær Larsen then played in the 1986 FIFA World Cup, where Denmark surprised many observers before being once again knocked out by Spain. He won the adidas Bronze Ball as the third best player in the tournament. In 1988, Elkjær received the last cap for his country on June 14 1988, aged 30 years 277 days, when Denmark lost 2-0 to West Germany in the tournament. In total, he played 69 times for Denmark and scored 38 goals.

Elkjær Larsen's final club was Vejle back in Denmark. He came to the club as the biggest star in Danish football but he had a hard time living up to the high expectations of the crowds. He stayed at Vejle for two years until his retirement in 1990.

Civil career

After his retirement from playing, Elkjær Larsen in 1995 took on the job as head coach of Silkeborg IF in the Danish Superliga. On 19 November 1996, however, Elkjær announced his decision to head new TV sports channel TVS, a project formed in corporation between national TV stations DR and TV2, the Danish FA (DBU) and telecompany Tele Danmark. The station didn't become a succes, and was eventually closed.

Currently he is a Champions League commentator at Danish TV3+ with Brian Laudrup and host Peter Schmeichel.

Honours

Sources

1957 births | Living people | Danish footballers | FC Cologne players | K.S.C. Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen players | Danish football managers

Preben Elkjær Larsen | Preben Elkjær Larsen | Preben Elkjær Larsen | Preben Elkjær Larsen | Preben Elkjær Larsen | Preben Elkjær Larsen | Preben Elkjær Larsen | Preben Elkjær Larsen

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Preben Elkjær Larsen".

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