Laudrup Takes Swansea to First Major Trophy
Danish legend Michael Laudrup played a key role in Swansea City winning the first major trophy in the club's history. His success as manager showed that top results can be achieved even with limited resources.
Michael Laudrup won league titles in Italy and Spain during his playing career, and lifted the Champions League trophy with Barcelona. After earning one hundred caps for the Denmark national team, he retired from football in 1998 and began the second part of his career as a manager.
Laudrup started his managerial career at Brondby, where he drew attention by winning both the league and a cup. He then took Getafe to the Copa del Rey final and to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup. This period showed that the football philosophy he held had real substance.
At Getafe and Swansea, Laudrup applied a style of play built on possession. Because Getafe advanced in two cup competitions, they played more matches that season than Real Madrid and Barcelona. In the UEFA Cup, they beat Benfica 2-1 at the Estadio da Luz with only fourteen fit players in the squad.
These achievements raised Laudrup's profile. In 2012, Swansea City appointed him as replacement after Brendan Rodgers left for Liverpool. In 2013, the manager secured the club's first major trophy in its history, the League Cup.
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