On November 10th 2007, I stood on the terraces of New Lodge, home of Billericay Town FC, a Conference League side from Essex as they played what, for them, was a historic First Round FA Cup tie against Swansea City, a side managed by current Wigan manager Roberto Martinez, and with club stalwarts Leon Britton, Angel Rangel and club captain Gary Monk all in the starting line-up; players who continue to represent the Welshmen. And Swansea struggled that day, narrowly victorious by two goals to one after falling behind and struggling to deal with the intense atmosphere of the minnow ground. Back then they were a side plying their trade in the third tier of English football. How far they have risen is spectacular and remarkable.
Swansea have taken English football, and now the Premier League, by storm, playing with a style and swagger that has been likened to the great Barcelona; a footballing philosophy passed through from the Martinez era to Brendan Rodgers and now Michael Laudrup, with each generation building on the previous one, strengthening the side and adding to its dimensions. The Swans play football the right way, and have been a breath of fresh air to the League in the last two seasons, showing that to survive, and be successful in the highest division, there is no need to simply 'park the bus', but instead get the ball down and play with confidence and assurance.
And that is exactly what they did yesterday, as in their Centenary year, they were finally able to celebrate winning their first major trophy. Against a lowly League Two side in Bradford City, some weaker willed sides may become complacent, and assume that their higher status would see them over the line, but Swansea, in respecting their opponents and their achievement in reaching the final, treated it like any other game, and simply went out and smothered their opposition in the style that they have demolished several Premier League teams. The team from Wales suffocated and drained the life out of the Yorkshire men with comfort and ease, ripping them apart at free will with the confidence of a side that keeps growing and growing.
Laudrup has clearly taken the club on to another level, largely due to his success in the transfer market, signing players in bargain deals and moulding them in to his attractive style of play. The signing of the season Michu, has been a revelation, blossoming into an outstanding centre forward capable of scoring all sorts of goals, whilst the likes of Jonathan de Guzman and Pablo Hernandez have brought an extra injection of flair. Noticeably, also this season, is a new found steel in the side, as they are able to contain as well as dominate sides with their ability to retain possession for large percentages of the game.
A recent poll undertaken by Real Madrid fans placed Laudrup as the outstanding 74% favourite to be their next manager when Jose Mourinho inevitably leaves for pastures new; an astonishing statistic in favour of a manager of such a supposedly small club in Wales. Surely it would be an irresistible lure for the Dane, who represented Los Blancos himself as a player in his illustrious career.
But though the Swans have continued to progress after losing both Martinez and Rodgers to bigger clubs, it is hard to imagine who could come in and take Swansea even further or whether they could recover from losing Laudrup, or their talisman Michu. They have lit up the Premier League, and we can only hope that the Swans keep on flying, and never return to those dark days of away games at Billericay Town.
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