John Mikkelsen Lauridsen (born 2 April 1959) is a retired Danish professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder, gifted with field vision and able to shoot with both feet.

Born in Ribe, Jutland, Lauridsen played his youth football in Gredstedbro and Vejle Boldklub, before he made his senior debut in the Danish 1st Division with Esbjerg fB in 1978.

Also that summer, he was supposed to travel to England to sign for Ipswich Town, but the ferry did not make the journey due to bad weather conditions, and the deal fell through.

Shortly after, football agent Fernand Goyvaerts phoned the player with an offer from Spain's RCD Español, which he accepted,[1] joining the Catalans in early 1982 and becoming a full-time professional.

He contributed with a career-high 41 appearances in the 1986–87 campaign as his team finished in a best-ever third in La Liga,[1] and also helped it reach the final of the following year's UEFA Cup – eight games, 304 minutes, two goals – which ended in a penalty shootout defeat against Bayer 04 Leverkusen; he played in more than 250 competitive matches for the club during his seven-year spell, as one of only two foreign players – the other being Cameroon's Thomas N'Kono.