nicknames: Chefen fra Lokeren (Lit: The Boss from Lokeren) and Den Gale Mand fra Lokeren (Lit: The Crazy Man from Lokeren), surpassing the 100-goal mark in official matches (98 in the Belgian First Division alone). Verona Twenty-seven-year-old Elkjær signed for Hellas Verona F.C. in Italy in the summer of 1984 and, in his first season with the team, he played an instrumental role as it won the Serie A title, the scudetto, for the first time in its history; he aided to that conquest with a solo left-flank run against Juventus (a 2–0 home win), where he lost his right boot, kept on running with the ball and ended up shooting home with his bootless right foot. That season, Elkjær was Hellas Veronas most costly player purchase. In 1984, Elkjær finished third and in 1985 second in the European Footballer of the Year awards, both times surpassed by Michel Platini, who played for Juventus. During his four-year spell at Verona, he never scored ten league goals in a season, but never netted fewer than seven goals, for a total of 48 official ones. Return to Denmark and retirement In 1988, Elkjær made a comeback in Danish football with Vejle BK. He came to the club as the biggest star in the country, and attracted great crowds to the club's matches. Aged 31, he suffered a number of injuries while at Vejle, and had a hard time living up to the high expectations of the crowds, eventually retiring two years later, having only appeared in a total of 26 matches combined. International career While playing youth football for Frederiksberg Boldklub, Elkjær made his debut for the Danish under-19 national team, in October 1975. He played a total 11 games and scored six goals for the under-19 national team, including three in three games at the 1975 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship. Elkjær made his debut for the under-21s in June 1976, scoring nine times in as many games; this included three goals in the quarter-finals of the 1978 European Under-21 Championship against Bulgaria, though Denmark were eliminated on the away goals rule. On 22 June 1977, aged 19 years and 284 days, Elkjær made his debut for the senior national team, scoring both goals in a 2–1 win against Finland. He played a prominent role in UEFA Euro 1984, scoring two goals in four games, which helped pave the way for