Søren Lerby
Encyclopedia
Søren Lerby, is a Danish
former football player, manager, and licensed agent. As a player, he spent the bulk of his career in Dutch football
, winning five Eredivisie
championships with Ajax Amsterdam
as well as the 1988 European Cup
and two further Eredivise titles with PSV Eindhoven. He also won two German Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich, and played one season for AS Monaco in France
. He played 67 matches for the Denmark national football team
from 1978 to 1989, and represented Denmark at the 1986 FIFA World Cup
and two European Championship
tournaments.
, later in the evening a DFB-Pokal
match with Bayern Munich against VfL Bochum
.
Lerby always played with his "socks down" - short socks or long socks rolled down but always without shin pads. This was quite uncommon of the day and would be illegal today.
, the son of former Danish under-21 football international
Kaj Lerby. Søren played his youth football with local clubs B 1903, Taastrup IK and Fremad Amager. He got his senior debut with Fremad Amager, as he 13 games and scored three goals in the top-flight 1975 1st Division
season. He and Fremad Amager teammate Frank Arnesen
moved abroad to become professional footballers in November 1975.
They switched to the Dutch
club Ajax Amsterdam
, with Lerby only being 17 years old. Lerby's first home game was a 4-1 against Go Ahead Eagles
on 11 April 1976. He won three Dutch Eredivisie
league titles in his first six years at Ajax, namely the 1976-77, 1978–79, 1979-80 championships. In the summer of 1981 he was named the new team captain, succeeding newly-departed Frank Arnesen. In the two seasons Lerby was captain, Ajax won a further two Dutch championships with high goal differences.
He moved to Germany
in 1983, where he was looking to replace German midfielder Paul Breitner
at Bayern Munich. Here he remained for three years, winning two German Bundesliga championships and two DFB-Pokal
cup trophies. His career continued for French
team AS Monaco from 1986 to 1987.
Lerby moved back to the Netherlands in 1987 and was reunited with Frank Arnesen, now at Ajax' rivals PSV Eindhoven. He was a part of the 1988 European Cup winning PSV squad, also including fellow Danes Jan Heintze
and Ivan Nielsen
, Frank Arnesen being out with an injury for the final against S.L. Benfica. He ended his active career in 1990.
in October 1973. He debuted for the Danish under-19 national team
in April 1974, and represented the team at the 1974 and 1975 European Under-19 Football Championships
. He also played three games for the Danish under-21 national team
.
While at Ajax, he made his senior Danish national team debut against the Republic of Ireland
in May 1978, scoring one goal in the 3-3 draw. Lerby was selected for the Danish national team at the 1984 European Championship
, where he played full time in Denmark's four matches, and scored a goal in the semi-final against Spain
, which saw Denmark eliminated on penalty shoot-out. At the 1986 FIFA World Cup
he played full time in Denmark's four games, where he scored a goal in Denmark's 6-1 win against Uruguay
. He was a part of the Danish squad for the 1988 European Championship
.
. With a spell of undistinguished results, including a combined 6-3 UEFA Cup
elimination by his former club B 1903, Lerby effectively ended his managerial career and became a FIFA
-licensed sports agent
(Essel Sport Managements).
from 1981 to 1996. Together they have the son Kaj, named after Søren's father Kaj Lerby. Søren Lerby was later married for a second time, with Arlette van der Meulen, and with her he had a second son and a daughter. He now lives in the Netherlands again, in the small village of Laren
.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
former football player, manager, and licensed agent. As a player, he spent the bulk of his career in Dutch football
Football in the Netherlands
Football is the most popular Sport in the Netherlands. Football was introduced to the Netherlands by Pim Mulier in the 19th century when in 1879, at the age of 14, he founded Haarlemsche Football Club...
, winning five Eredivisie
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
championships with Ajax Amsterdam
Ajax Amsterdam
Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax , also referred to as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam or simply Ajax , is a professional football club from Amsterdam, Netherlands...
as well as the 1988 European Cup
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
and two further Eredivise titles with PSV Eindhoven. He also won two German Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich, and played one season for AS Monaco in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. He played 67 matches for the Denmark national football team
Denmark national football team
The Denmark national football team represents Denmark in association football and is controlled by the Danish Football Association , the governing body for the football clubs which are organized under DBU...
from 1978 to 1989, and represented Denmark at the 1986 FIFA World Cup
1986 FIFA World Cup
The 1986 FIFA World Cup, the 13th FIFA World Cup, was held in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia had been originally chosen to host the competition by FIFA but, largely due to economic reasons, was not able to do so and officially...
and two European Championship
UEFA European Football Championship
The UEFA European Football Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA . Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current...
tournaments.
Playing style
A left-footed midfielder, Lerby was a player who was always committed and a leader of the team. His commitment is testamented by the fact he chose to play two competitive matches in two different countries on a single day on 13 November 1985. First in the afternoon a World Cup qualifier with Denmark in Republic of IrelandRepublic of Ireland national football team
The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....
, later in the evening a DFB-Pokal
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal or DFB Cup is a German knockout football cup competition held annually. 64 teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga. It is considered the second most important national title in German football after the Bundesliga...
match with Bayern Munich against VfL Bochum
VfL Bochum
Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as simply VfL Bochum, is a German association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia.-Founding to World War II:...
.
Lerby always played with his "socks down" - short socks or long socks rolled down but always without shin pads. This was quite uncommon of the day and would be illegal today.
Club career
Søren Lerby was born in CopenhagenCopenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, the son of former Danish under-21 football international
Denmark national under-21 football team
The Denmark national under-21 football team has played since 1976 and is controlled by the Danish Football Association. Before 1976, the age limit was 23 years.-U-21 European Championship:*1978 – Quarterfinals*1980 to 1984 – Did not qualify...
Kaj Lerby. Søren played his youth football with local clubs B 1903, Taastrup IK and Fremad Amager. He got his senior debut with Fremad Amager, as he 13 games and scored three goals in the top-flight 1975 1st Division
Danish 1st Division 1975
-League standings:-References:*...
season. He and Fremad Amager teammate Frank Arnesen
Frank Arnesen
Frank Arnesen is a former Danish football player and currently sporting director at Hamburger SV. Arnesen was Director of Football at English football clubs Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea....
moved abroad to become professional footballers in November 1975.
They switched to the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
club Ajax Amsterdam
Ajax Amsterdam
Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax , also referred to as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam or simply Ajax , is a professional football club from Amsterdam, Netherlands...
, with Lerby only being 17 years old. Lerby's first home game was a 4-1 against Go Ahead Eagles
Go Ahead Eagles
The Go Ahead Eagles are a football club from Deventer, Netherlands, currently playing in the Eerste Divisie. The club's home stadium is De Adelaarshorst. To date, the club has won the national championship four times...
on 11 April 1976. He won three Dutch Eredivisie
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
league titles in his first six years at Ajax, namely the 1976-77, 1978–79, 1979-80 championships. In the summer of 1981 he was named the new team captain, succeeding newly-departed Frank Arnesen. In the two seasons Lerby was captain, Ajax won a further two Dutch championships with high goal differences.
He moved to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in 1983, where he was looking to replace German midfielder Paul Breitner
Paul Breitner
Paul Breitner is a former German football player. One of Germany's most controversial players, he was capped 48 times for his country.-Playing career:...
at Bayern Munich. Here he remained for three years, winning two German Bundesliga championships and two DFB-Pokal
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal or DFB Cup is a German knockout football cup competition held annually. 64 teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga. It is considered the second most important national title in German football after the Bundesliga...
cup trophies. His career continued for French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
team AS Monaco from 1986 to 1987.
Lerby moved back to the Netherlands in 1987 and was reunited with Frank Arnesen, now at Ajax' rivals PSV Eindhoven. He was a part of the 1988 European Cup winning PSV squad, also including fellow Danes Jan Heintze
Jan Heintze
Jan Heintze is a retired Danish professional football player, a left-sided defensive midfielder and defender who started and ended his career in the Netherlands with PSV Eindhoven, where he was a part of the PSV team which won the 1988 European Cup...
and Ivan Nielsen
Ivan Nielsen
Ivan Nielsen is a Danish former professional football player, who most prominently played professionally for Dutch clubs Feyenoord Rotterdam and PSV Eindhoven, winning the European Cup with PSV...
, Frank Arnesen being out with an injury for the final against S.L. Benfica. He ended his active career in 1990.
International career
While a youth player with Taastrup IK, Lerby was called up for the Danish under-17 national teamDenmark national under-17 football team
The Denmark national under-17 football team was founded in 1964 as a under-16 team. In 2001, it was changed to a under-17 team.-Competitive record:The Danish under-17 squad will make its World Cup debut at the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Mexico....
in October 1973. He debuted for the Danish under-19 national team
Denmark national under-19 football team
The Denmark national under-19 football team was founded in 1950 as a under-18 team. In 2001, it was changed to a under-19 team.-Competitive record:...
in April 1974, and represented the team at the 1974 and 1975 European Under-19 Football Championships
UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship
The European Under 19 Football Championship is an annual football competition organised by the sport's European governing body, UEFA. The competition has been held since 1948. It was originally called the FIFA junior tournament, until it was taken over by UEFA in 1955...
. He also played three games for the Danish under-21 national team
Denmark national under-21 football team
The Denmark national under-21 football team has played since 1976 and is controlled by the Danish Football Association. Before 1976, the age limit was 23 years.-U-21 European Championship:*1978 – Quarterfinals*1980 to 1984 – Did not qualify...
.
While at Ajax, he made his senior Danish national team debut against the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland national football team
The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....
in May 1978, scoring one goal in the 3-3 draw. Lerby was selected for the Danish national team at the 1984 European Championship
1984 UEFA European Football Championship
The 1984 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in France. West Germany also bid for the hosting of this event. It was the seventh European Football Championship, held every four years and endorsed by UEFA...
, where he played full time in Denmark's four matches, and scored a goal in the semi-final against Spain
Spain national football team
The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque...
, which saw Denmark eliminated on penalty shoot-out. At the 1986 FIFA World Cup
1986 FIFA World Cup
The 1986 FIFA World Cup, the 13th FIFA World Cup, was held in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia had been originally chosen to host the competition by FIFA but, largely due to economic reasons, was not able to do so and officially...
he played full time in Denmark's four games, where he scored a goal in Denmark's 6-1 win against Uruguay
Uruguay national football team
The Uruguayan national football team represents Uruguay in international association football and is controlled by the Uruguayan Football Association, the governing body for football in Uruguay. The current head coach is Óscar Tabárez...
. He was a part of the Danish squad for the 1988 European Championship
1988 UEFA European Football Championship
The 1988 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in West Germany. West Germany won the right to host the tournament with five votes ahead of a joint bid from Norway, Sweden and Denmark, who gained 1 vote, and a bid from England. It was the eighth European Football...
.
Non-playing career
Between 9 October 1991 and 10 March 1992 he spent some time as coach with Bayern Munich, as successor of Jupp HeynckesJupp Heynckes
Josef "Jupp" Heynckes is a German football coach and former player. As player he belonged to the core of the team of Borussia Mönchengladbach in its golden era of the 1960s and 1970s where he won many national championships and the Cup as well as the UEFA Cup...
. With a spell of undistinguished results, including a combined 6-3 UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
elimination by his former club B 1903, Lerby effectively ended his managerial career and became a FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
-licensed sports agent
Sports agent
A sports agent procures and negotiates employment and endorsement contracts for an athlete.In return, the sports agent generally receives between 4 and 10% of the athlete's playing contract, and 10 to 20% of the athlete's endorsement contract, though these figures vary...
(Essel Sport Managements).
Personal life
Søren Lerby was married to Dutch singer and actress Willeke AlbertiWilleke Alberti
Willeke Alberti is a Dutch singer and actress, the daughter of entertainer and singer Willy Alberti.-Biography:...
from 1981 to 1996. Together they have the son Kaj, named after Søren's father Kaj Lerby. Søren Lerby was later married for a second time, with Arlette van der Meulen, and with her he had a second son and a daughter. He now lives in the Netherlands again, in the small village of Laren
Laren
is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Located in the region called 't Gooi, it is the oldest town in that area. It is one of the richest towns in the Netherlands, along with its neighbour Blaricum...
.
Honours
- Dutch EredivisieEredivisieThe Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
championships (7):- 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, with Ajax
- 1988 and 1989, with PSV
- German Bundesliga championships:
- 1985 and 1986, with Bayern Munich
- German DFB-PokalDFB-PokalThe DFB-Pokal or DFB Cup is a German knockout football cup competition held annually. 64 teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga. It is considered the second most important national title in German football after the Bundesliga...
trophies:- 1984 and 1986, with Bayern Munich
- 1988 European CupUEFA Champions LeagueThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
, with PSV