Swans show super swagger

Bradford 0 Swansea 5

This was always a day when landmarks were going to be set — after all, League Two Bradford were hoping to become the first club from the fourth tier ever to win a major trophy, not just in England but anywhere in Europe.

But in the end, having had goalkeeper Matt Duke sent off in the second half, the team who knocked out Aston Villa, Arsenal and Wigan met their match as Swansea swept to a victory that guarantees them Europa League football next season and guarantees Laudrup will be the centre of attention whenever a manager at a big club is sacked in future.

It wasn’t just that the former Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventus and Ajax legend guided Swansea to the first major trophy in their history — in their centenary season by the way; it was the manner in which they did it.

Two goals from Nathan Dyer, two from Jonathan De Guzman and one from the imperious Michu don’t go anywhere near to explaining just how impressive and how dominant Swansea were, playing the kind of football that Arsene Wenger craves at Arsenal but doing so with a winning edge that he has been unable to deliver down in London.

Other managers, such as Roberto Martinez and Brendan Rodgers, have set the template for the Swansea style but there is no doubt that Laudrup, who had taken charge at Brondby, Getafe, Spartak Moscow and Mallorca before arriving in Wales, has been able to take it to another level in a season in which the Swans have also challenged in the top half of the Premier League.

There have already been rumours that Real Madrid have been watching the 48-year-old closely; but with Chelsea, Manchester City, Everton and even Arsenal potentially in the hunt for a new manager — in either the short or long-term — there could be opportunities arising in England, too.

Until then, however, perhaps it is fairer to concentrate on the Swansea story that has seen them rise from the bottom of the Football League — they were actually 92nd in the pyramid early in the 2002-3 season following a defeat to Boston United — to the heights of a major final at Wembley in the space of a decade.

Their victory yesterday was the first time a team from outside of England had ever lifted the League Cup and Swansea are the first Welsh club to lift a major trophy since 1927 when Cardiff were FA Cup winners. So no wonder Laudrup found the experience matched his memories of winning league titles and European titles in Italy and Spain.

“I don’t think I can compare this with something I’ve done before, for the simple reason that it’s one thing to win a cup or trophy with Barcelona, Real Madrid or Juventus but to win it with a smaller team like Swansea is absolutely fantastic,” he said.

“It’s their first major trophy ever; it’s up there with the best things I’ve done because it’s completely different. To lift the trophy is great but the way we did, 5-0, was special.”

The result was never in doubt from the moment Dyer slid in to put Swansea ahead in the 16th minute after Michu’s shot had been saved by Duke; and it was underlined before half-time when Michu himself produced a classic finish, steering the ball into the far corner of the net with almost no backlift.

The third goal, after 57 minutes, was a decisive one; coming from a sweeping counter-attack that ended with Dyer cutting inside onto his left foot and curling home a wonderful strike. But it was not the last.

Duke was rightly sent off for bringing down De Guzman, who scored from the penalty spot; and only the blot on Swansea’s copybook was a tantrum from Dyer who would have liked the opportunity to grab himself a Wembley hat-trick but couldn’t wrench the ball from his teammate’s grasp.

Poor Bradford, who had been so outstanding on their emotional run to Wembley, didn’t even manage a shot on target or a corner until the 86th minute; and they conceded a fifth in injury time when De Guzman’s clever finish ensured this was the greatest winning margin in a League Cup final ever.

“We would love to have made more of a game of it,” admitted Bradford manager Phil Parkinson. “But conceding the goals when we did made it very difficult. But Swansea are , an exceptional side so it’s no shame to lose. All credit to our guys for getting to the final.”

For Laudrup, who won the European Cup with Barcelona at Wembley in 1992 and played in a 1-0 victory for Denmark there against England in 1983, this victory completed a personal hat-trick of success at the home of football.

The next time he returns it would be no surprise if he was managing a top-four club instead of Swansea; but that’s for the future. For now he is happy to keep building a team that is clearly going places.

“Look, you play for 10 months to enjoy three days of celebration,” he said. “So let’s just enjoy what we’ve achieved because it’s great to have won a trophy. The first time is always very special. It’s just huge.”