Brian Laudrup looked back with fondness on his memories of the William Hill Scottish Cup at yesterday’s fifth round draw.
The Danish international spent four successful years with Rangers between 1994 and 1998 and Laudrup, who won the Cup in 1996, had nothing but praise for the oldest tournament in club football.
Speaking at yesterday’s William Hill Scottish Cup fifth round draw, Laudrup said: “I think that the cups in Britain as a whole is something different, really. There’s so much tradition, you see upsets every season more or less, and it is one of those cups where even smaller teams can have a real go at the bigger ones.
“For me (playing in the Scottish Cup) was very tough. Every game was really tough and I really enjoyed myself. Playing in a final was always something I looked forward to and hoped for in my career, and I was very fortunate to play in finals in both Denmark and Scotland.“
The 1996 Scottish Cup Final is often referred to as “The Laudrup Final” for the Dane’s performance at Hampden that day. Rangers defeated Hearts 5-1, with Laudrup scoring twice and setting up the other three goals. It was a memorable day for the former Bayern Munich and AC Milan player in a final that is remembered for his performance, rather than Gordon Durie’s hat-trick.
He said: “I think Jukey (Gordon Durie) is still quite upset that he didn’t get the Man of the Match award! Having said that, it was a tremendous atmosphere on the day and the game turned out very well for Rangers. It’s a day I’ll never forget, definitely.”