Swansea manager Michael Laudrup said winning the Capital One Cup with the Welsh club is ‘absolutely at the top’ of his achievements.
Swansea manager Michael Laudrup said winning the Capital One Cup with the Welsh club is ‘absolutely at the top’ of his achievements.
In a one-sided affair on Sunday, Swansea demolished League Two club Bradford City 5-0 to win the first major trophy in their 101-year history.
As a player, Laudrup won league titles in Spain, Italy and the Netherlands in a much-vaunted career that included spells with Juventus, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Ajax Amsterdam, but the former attacking midfielder took special pride in Swansea’s win at Wembley.
“I’m very proud of my team today, I think it was a great performance,” Laudrup said.
“As a player I had the luck to play in the biggest teams in different countries.
“Swansea is not the biggest team in the Premier League but we are here winning a trophy and that is fantastic.
“To win a trophy with a smaller club is outstanding.”
Compared to his playing career, Laudrup’s time as a manager has not been as successful, as the 48-year-old Dane had only previously claimed four titles as head coach of Danish club Brondby in the early 2000s.
Laudrup led Getafe to the final of Spain’s Copa del Rey in the 2007-08 season but lost, so success with a club like Swansea, who almost dropped out of England’s football league system in 2003, stands out in the Dane’s managerial career.
“As a manager it’s absolutely at the top, winning a trophy for the first time in 100 years,” Laudrup said.
“The first trophy is always special, and now next year in Europe… it’s a nice experience.”
Bradford City manager Phil Parkinson bemoaned his side’s inability to compete with Swansea, however, the 45-year-old former Reading midfielder claimed there are plenty of top-flight teams that cannot handle Laudrup’s men.
“I am disappointed obviously,” Parkinson said.
“We were not able to make a game of it but Swansea are an outstanding team.
“We found it tough but a lot of Premier League teams find it tough against Swansea.”
Bradford City entered the League Cup final having already knocked off Arsenal, Aston Villa and Wigan and Laudrup had stressed to his players the importance of taking the lead against the fourth-tier club.
“They had never been behind against Premier League teams, so we had to move the ball at good pace and we have to score the first goal,” Laudrup said.
“And after getting (the) second goal it was a little easier.”
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