Martin Laursen

A.C. Milan In July 2001, Laursen was loaned out to Serie A rivals A.C. Milan, who needed depth in their squad. He started out strong for his new club, scoring two goals in the first four rounds of the 2001–02 Serie A season, and played 22 league games in his first season with Milan. UEFA Champions League and European Super Cup in 2003, and the 2004 Serie A championship. Due to the presence of Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Nesta, When Milan bought Dutch international defender Jaap Stam in May 2004, Laursen left the club shortly thereafter.

Aston Villa Laursen during a Premier League match against Birmingham City on 20 April 2008.

On 21 May 2004, Laursen was bought by FA Premier League side Aston Villa for a fee of £3 million, on a four-year contract. His debut with Villa came against Southampton on 14 August, a match which ended 2–0 in Villa's favour. Laursen's time at Villa initially proved frustrating. He put in a few encouraging performances on and off, during the 2004–05 season, but the knee injury that plagued him earlier in his career returned and kept Laursen at playing only one Premier League game for Aston Villa during the 2005–06 season. He underwent a full rehabilitation in Bologna, and returned to the Villa side in August 2006. Villa hired Martin O'Neill as manager in August 2006, and he and Laursen came to an understanding of giving Laursen the freedom to train as he wanted, which helped prevent further injuries.

In December 2008, Laursen was injured again. 24 May saw Aston Villa's final game of the season at home to Newcastle United. Prior to kick-off, Laursen appeared in front of the Villa Park crowd and gave a speech where he thanked the fans and wish them well for the future. Following this, he was inducted into the "Villa Legends" section of Aston Villa's official website.

Retirement Laursen returned to Denmark following his retirement, settling in Vedbæk.

Managerial career In September 2011, Martin Laursen took the job as head coach of Søllerød-Vedbæk in the Danish 2nd Divisions in order to start a managing career. He resigned on 14 June 2012 after steering the club clear of relegation.

Career statistics

International goals Scores and results list Denmark's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Laursen goal.

Honours Milan Serie A: 2003–04 Coppa Italia: 2002–03 UEFA Champions League: 2002–03 UEFA Super Cup: 2003

Individual Danish Football Player of the Year: 2008 Aston Villa Supporters' Player of the Year: 2008