after three seasons at silkeborg, laursen moved to italy in august 1998, to play for hellas verona in the second-tier serie b league. the contact with verona was mediated by former verona player and silkeborg manager preben elkjær. laursen was plagued by a knee injury for the majority of his first season at verona, where the club won promotion to the top-flight serie a championship. laursen established himself in the verona starting lineup during his second season in italy. he became known as lionheart laursen among the verona fans, describing his courage and great ability to time his headers.