Lars Elstrup

Lars Dahl Elstrup Date of Birth: Mar 24, 1963

Although Luton Town had dipped into the foreign player market before, the signing of an established Danish international for a club record fee of £850,000 in 1989 took transfers up to a completely different level, although this record would stand for a further 30 years at Luton Town.

Born in the small village of Råby, outside of Randers, Lars started playing football for his village team, IF Fjorden, coached by his father, before joining his brother at Randers Freja, whilst juggling part time work at Danske Bank. Lars excelled and with the introduction of professionalism in the Danish leagues prior to the 1986/87 season, Lars moved to Brøndby who had embraced professionalism and became a powerhouse of Danish football. Quickly impressing at Brøndby, Lars turned heads in Europe signing for Feyenoord, spending two unhappy seasons in the Netherlands, before re-establishing himself with Odense, breaking into the Danish National Team. It was from Odense, where he was signed by the Town ahead of the 1989/90 season.

Lars' first season at Kenilworth Road was beset by injury but in the 1990/91 campaign supporters could finally see that he was a class act with his speed, intelligence and finishing ability, notching 18 goals during the season, which greatly assisted the Town in staying in the First Division.

Sadly, with his two year deal completed, a new contract was unable to be agreed, with Lars turning down deals at both Luton Town and Leeds to return to Odense, for £250,000. Following which Lars retired from the game at the age of 30, citing a chronic knee injury, but in reality struggling with mental health issues.

Lars led an interesting life following his career in football, initially changing his name to Darando after joining the anarcho-Buddhist Wild Goose sect, offering seminars on new age topics and having persistent battles with mental health. His story, mental health battles and career, including his role in Denmarks' Euro 1992 triumph was published in a book by Journalists Carsten Fog Hansen and Jens Rasmussen.