Preben ELKJÆR LARSEN | 1985-1986

[brondbylove]

Preben Elkjær Larsen



Club: Hellas Verona
Position: CF*
Nationality: Danish
Age: 28 (11/09/1957)

Foot: R
Side: RF/BS

Length: 183
Weight: 73

Attack: 90
Defence: 36
Balance: 88
Stamina: 87
Top Speed: 85
Acceleration: 87
Response: 88
Agility: 86
Dribble Accuracy: 82
Dribble Speed: 86
Short Pass Accuracy: 74
Short Pass Speed: 77
Long Pass Acc.: 74
Long Pass Speed: 78
Shot Accuracy: 87
Shot Power: 87
Shot Technique: 92
Free Kick Accuracy: 72
Curling: 71
Header: 84
Jump: 85
Technique: 82
Aggression: 92
Mentality: 90
Keeper Skills: 50
Team Work: 79

Injury Tolerance: B
Condition/Fitness: 7
Weak Foot Accuracy: 7
Weak Foot frequency: 7
Consistency: 7

CARDS:
P15 - Goal Poacher
S01 – Reaction
S03 – 1-on-1 Finish
S14 – Quick Turn

SPECIAL ABILITIES
* Dribbling
* Scoring
* 1-on-1 Finish
* Lines

Immensely powerful striker through the eighties for the Danish national team and on club level most notably KSC Lokeren and Hellas Verona, with whom he won the club's only ever Scudetto in 1985. Formed along with Michael Laudrup on the national team arguably one of the best strike forces of that time and they became known worldwide as a fearsome couple when they, along with the rest of the majestic Danish team from 1986, tore the beastly defense of Uruguay apart in their second group game in the World Cup. Elkjær provided two assists and three goals and in that moment, he was arguably the World's greatest striker.

As a player, Elkjær was the perfect centre forward. Agile, pacy, strong and with a deadly finish on him, Elkjær imposed a major threat for any defense of that era. He would take the physical battles with anyone, be it Karl-Heinz Förster, Claudio Gentile or Antonio Camacho and he would usuably come out on top or at least cause so much trouble that his less remarkable team mates like Laudrup would have the space to slot it in the net. He was also a bit of a madman character, earning the nickname "The Mad One from Verona" during his spell in Italy.

[Fevernova]

I´d suggest:

DEF - 45-50 (He used to chase defenders when he lost the ball, and furthermore, he´d tackle them and try to steal the ball and head towards the oponents goal) (Rooney style)

DA - 83-84 (Very decent dribbler, considering his bulky physique)

HEADER - 84

JUMP - 80-81 (He relied more on his BB than his leap to score from headers)

CARDS - (Should add) P19 – Chasing back

He was one of the greates players of the world two years in a row, so he should be represented as closely as possible.

[zguc]

His DS is very, very underrated... look it game againts Uruguay on WC 1986...

[brondbylove]

I was just trailing back through my favourite section of this forum for the first time in ages and I came across this topic. To be blunt, I found that I had criminally underrated Elkjær, especially seeing how I praise him in the description for being one of the best forwards of his time - the stats didn't do that statement justice.

I've bumped up his general ability in accordance with the flaws pointed out by you and myself.

[Brezza]

Im not too overly familier with him..only seeing a few clips of him at for denmark but he does seemed like one of these forgotton legends who was among the best players in the world for a short period. Ive read some Van Basten/Van Persie/Ibrahimovic type comparison's from being quite good dribbler despite being quite bulky. not quite at their level technically, Larsen was clearly alot faster though.

Heres a bio from 4Dfoot.com and a goal compilation: ( including a great goal when just wearing socks )

Preben Elkjaer proved three things in his career: You don’t have to be short to be a sensational dribbler. You don’t have to be serious to be successful. And you don’t need shoes to score goals.



With his crazy dribbles, tank-like physique and clownish actions Preben Elkjaer was perhaps Europe’s most eye-catching player in the mid 80’s. He led both club and country to unprecedented success and finished twice on the podium of the Ballon d’Or. But how many football fans today are still familiar with Elkjaer?

Far too few. One place where they’ll never forget him though is the Italian city of Verona. It was there that Elkjaer achieved the greatest upset of not just his career, but the entire history of Italian football. In the 1984-85 season not the great Juventus, or AC Milan, or Inter, or Maradona´s Napoli, or even AS Roma managed to win the Scudetto. Instead, it was Elkjaer’s Hellas Verona. The Danish dribbler stole the show by scoring the iconic goal of that campaign against Platini´s Juventus. As he launched another solo, he lost his right boot, kept going, glided past another defender, and scored with his sock. The footage of this famous goal is included in the special video 4Dfoot created for this edition of Forgotten Footballer:




Elkjaer’s exploits changed Italian football. In the past, a single man had been responsible for appointing referees. An easy target for Italian-style influencing by rich presidents of big clubs. For the 1984/85 season, the Italian FA had replaced this practise with a system of random referee appointments. Coincidence or not – it was that year that Verona won the Serie A. Shocked by the result, the Italian FA quickly reinstated their referee-appointer, to the satisfaction of a few wealthy presidents. Since then, no minor side has ever won the Serie A again. It makes Elkjaer’s achievement with Verona all the more extraordinary.

Another place where Elkjaer is still remembered fondly is Denmark. Before he arrived on the scene, the Danes had never even qualified for a major tournament. With Elkjaer leading the line of a great generation, Denmark surprised the world with spectacular performances in both the 1984 Euro and 1986 World Cup. The Danes appeared to actually enjoy playing football, and Elkjaer symbolized their care-free attitude more than anyone. Where others were seen labouring hard to maintain a disciplined work-rate, Elkjaer appeared to laugh his way to success. The crowds loved him for it. His coaches didn’t. On one occassion, years earlier, the German disciplinarian Hennes Weisweiller informed Elkjær that he knew the player had visited a nightclub in the company of a bottle of whiskey and a lady. Elkjaer responded that it was all a lie. It had been a bottle of vodka. And two ladies.

This same boldness that he showed off the field enabled him to take on defender after defender on the field. In Mexico 1986, he scored a hat trick in Denmark’s 6-1 demolition of Uruguay and was voted third best player of the tournament. Denmark went home after the first KO game, but Elkjaer had left his impression on the world.

An impression that, sadly, hasn’t lasted as long as it should have.