Leicester City In 100 Players: Laurie Cunningham
One of the most naturally gifted players ever to play for Leicester City was Cunningham. Even though he had passed his prime during his spell at Filbert Street between October 1985 and May 1986, his record in the game was truly outstanding. At his best he was a classy left winger with explosive pace, great flair and great skill.
Released by Arsenal as a 16-year-old, he signed for Second Division Leyton Orient in July 1974 and in March 1977 Johnny Giles signed him for West Bromwich Albion for a fee of £110,000.
A month later he won the first of his six England Under-21s caps. He had a very impressive two full seasons at the Hawthorns helping the Baggies to finish third in the old First Division in 1979.
Apart from displaying his phenomenal skills, Cunningham’s time at the Hawthorns is also remembered for playing alongside Cyrille Regis and Brendon Batson, the first time that three black players regularly appeared together in the same side in the English top flight.
A month after winning the first full England cap in May 1979, in a home international match against Wales, Laurie moved to Real Madrid for nearly £1M where, in his three seasons at the Bernabéu Stadium, he helped Los Blancos to win the Spanish league and cup double, the Spanish Cup again, and reached the European Cup Final against Liverpool.
Hindered by injuries he then had loan spells at Manchester United and Sporting Gijon, before signing for Olympique de Marseille in 1984, who then loaned him to Leicester in October 1985 at a time when Gordon Milne’s side were struggling against relegation from the old First Division.
He made an immediate impact on his debut, in a 3-0 victory over Man Utd at Filbert Street in November 1985 and in his 15 appearances, he played an important part in the Foxes avoiding relegation, impressing the fans with skilful ball control and by his ability to produce some electrifying attacking performances, despite some further injury problems.
Laurie’s loan spell expired at the end of the season. He later had spells at Rayo Vallecano, Charleroi and Wimbledon before returning to Vallecano for a second time in 1988. Tragically he was killed in a car crash in Madrid on 15 July 1989.