10 Players Who Did Nothing At Chelsea (But Excelled For Their Country)

3. Brian Laudrup

While his brother Michael Laudrup might be universally acclaimed as the one of the best players of all time, kid brother Brian wasn€™t too shabby either considering he holds the record of four Danish Player of the Year awards. The former Bayern Munich and AC Milan midfielder is revered in his native Denmark for what he did for his country, but as far as Chelsea are concerned, he was but a waste of time and space. Upon signing for Chelsea in 1998, he immediately tried to renege on his contract before even kicking a ball in vain for the Blues. The Chelsea hierarchy were understandably aghast and threatened to bring their new recruit to FIFA and UEFA if he didn€™t honour his contract.

''I would have thought twice about signing for Chelsea if I had known. When I first discussed terms with Chelsea in February, nobody told me about this system. I feel from my own point of view that I don۪t like it. I can be man of the match in one game and then not even on the bench the next. It is a bad system, what I need to maintain a good level of fitness is to play all the time.۪۪ - Brian Laudrup, September 1998.

Laudrup made just eleven appearances for the Blues before leaving midway through the season for Copenhagen. The reason for Laudrup€™s high stock in Scandinavian football is largely due to his influential role in Denmark€™s heroic success in the Euro 92 Championships. Having proved to be a pivotal cog in the Danes€™ remarkable victory, he was voted a shared fifth in the 1992 FIFA World Player of the Year. He would go on to help his country qualify for Euro 96, and scored three goals in the group stage although they progressed no further. He took part in just one World Cup during his career, but he shone nonetheless, displaying performances of sheer class in 1998 as he scored two goals and accumulated three assists as Denmark reached the quarter-finals. Selected alongside his brother as one of the 16 players in FIFA€™s €˜Team of the Tournament€™, and having guided the Danes to their best ever result at a World Cup, it was a perfect end to a magnificent international career for Laudrup, bowing out with 21 goals scored from 82 matches.