Swansea’s 2012/13 Legacy: Can They Rediscover the Magic?
The disgruntled Swansea City mascot looks on as the players have a huddle without him just before kick-off in the Premier League match versus Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
The Laudrup and Michu Era:
It was the summer of 2012. The Swans were about to start their second Premier League season and since Brendan Rodgers left the club to join Liverpool, it is understandable that the fans were slightly less optimistic compared to the mood set during the promotion campaign just two seasons prior.
But something else was happening behind the curtains. The recruiting team started working on hiring a new manager and bringing in some fresh faces to the club. The board opted for Michael Laudrup, a former Danish legend who managed Mallorca the previous season.
Although Laudrup was one of the key figures that brought success to the Swans that season, one name pops out – Michu. The Spaniard was brought to the club alongside some other notable names like Jonathan de Guzmán, Pablo Hernández, Ki Sung-yueng, and Chico Flores, but was still considered the main reason why Swansea managed to win the League Cup and finish 9th in the Premier League that season. The aforementioned names turned out to be vital performers alongside Michu in the legendary 2012/2013 campaign, and while some of them left the club a season or two later, they will always be remembered as Swansea’s golden boys from the beginning of the 2010s.
Michu’s Standout Contribution:
The reported transfer fee that Swansea paid to Rayo Vallecano was £2.3 million pounds. While transfer fees both in the Premier League and outside of it were quite lower compared to those we tend to read about today, paying only around two million pounds for a player who managed to score 15 league goals from midfield the season before was still quite impressive.
Michu went on to play 42 games in all competitions and managed to score 22 goals in the process. Out of those 22 goals, 18 were scored in the Premier League. It’s again worth emphasizing the magnitude of Michu’s impact on the whole squad. Scoring 18 league goals from midfield for a squad that was deemed to be in the relegation battle that season is more than impressive. Casual fans are used to players like Haaland and Salah scoring over 25-30 goals per season but keep in mind that those numbers were not that common in the Prem ten years ago.
Current Outlook for Swansea City:
Swansea City has been struggling for the past couple of seasons, especially after losing the final game of the Championship playoffs in 2021 to Brentford. It’s hard to predict what the current season will look like for them, but after drawing against Birmingham at home at the start of the campaign, losing to WBA in the second round, as well as a recent draw to Coventry City, it’s safe to say that this will be yet another wild ride for the Swans.
At the moment, Swansea City sits in the 18th place on the list of clubs that are favorites to win the League. The odds are not in their favor, and while it’s completely fine for the fans to be hopeful to get to the playoffs, it’s still understandable if the club spends yet another season in the second tier of English football during their rebuild period.
