Soren Lerby's remarkable feat, where he played for Denmark and Bayern Munich in the same day in different countries. It was 40 years ago on November 13th, 1984. The situation was unusual but Lerby, an attacking player, never wore shin pads and found himself in this unique position.
He played for his national team at Lansdowne Road in Dublin against Ireland for a World Cup qualifier. Meanwhile, Bayern Munich had a German Cup match at Bochum later that evening. Denmark only needed a point to reach the finals in Mexico, so Uli Hoeness, then Bayern's general manager and president, suggested Lerby play in both games.
Hoeness told Lerby he would pick him up after 45 minutes or less from his national team game. Lerby was in the best shape of his life at that time. He jumped out of the car to warm up four kilometers into the dressing room as traffic caused a delay on the way to Bochum's stadium.
Lerby played 57 minutes for Denmark before being replaced, then flew off to Germany on a private jet with police escort behind them. The flight went smoothly, but things changed after arriving in Dusseldorf. A long wait due to heavy traffic forced Lerby into making a quick change and jumping out of the car to run four kilometers to reach Bayern's dressing room.
Bayern coach Udo Lattek had already named his starting lineup by then, so Lerby was disappointed not to play from the beginning. However, he came in during extra time, and scored in the replay, which Bayern won 2-0. Despite the achievement being notable, Lerby has said it felt like just a good job after that.
This feat of playing for both Denmark and Bayern Munich on the same day was a product of his team's circumstances and the unusual management style at the time by Uli Hoeness.
He played for his national team at Lansdowne Road in Dublin against Ireland for a World Cup qualifier. Meanwhile, Bayern Munich had a German Cup match at Bochum later that evening. Denmark only needed a point to reach the finals in Mexico, so Uli Hoeness, then Bayern's general manager and president, suggested Lerby play in both games.
Hoeness told Lerby he would pick him up after 45 minutes or less from his national team game. Lerby was in the best shape of his life at that time. He jumped out of the car to warm up four kilometers into the dressing room as traffic caused a delay on the way to Bochum's stadium.
Lerby played 57 minutes for Denmark before being replaced, then flew off to Germany on a private jet with police escort behind them. The flight went smoothly, but things changed after arriving in Dusseldorf. A long wait due to heavy traffic forced Lerby into making a quick change and jumping out of the car to run four kilometers to reach Bayern's dressing room.
Bayern coach Udo Lattek had already named his starting lineup by then, so Lerby was disappointed not to play from the beginning. However, he came in during extra time, and scored in the replay, which Bayern won 2-0. Despite the achievement being notable, Lerby has said it felt like just a good job after that.
This feat of playing for both Denmark and Bayern Munich on the same day was a product of his team's circumstances and the unusual management style at the time by Uli Hoeness.
Soren Lerby's got some serious skills to be able to handle that kind of thing, you know? Playing for Denmark and Bayern Munich on the same day? It's not every day you see someone doing something like that. And can you imagine having to do all those changes of clothes in a rush? That's crazy 
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. And it's also a reminder of how much has changed in sports management and logistics since then. Not everything was smooth sailing back then, you know? Traffic, planes, and all that 
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️ Still can't believe Soren Lerby pulled off this 40 yr old record 
anyway it's pretty crazy how Soren Lerby managed to squeeze in playing for Denmark and Bayern Munich on the same day, 40 years ago! 
what a feat ! he was in top shape and all, but i gotta feel bad for him not getting to play from the start at Bayern 
at least he scored tho 
and it's wild that Uli Hoeness' management style was just so... unconventional 
. It's also pretty cool to think about what his training routine must've been like leading up to that day 
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