Pablo Gomez
Published: 2015-04-14
Total Pages: 336
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The story of how a group of Spaniards came to Swansea and challenged, with remarkable success, the conventions of British football. Foreword by Roberto Martinez During the 2002-03 season, Swansea City FC was at the very bottom of the English leagues. The club occupied the last position of the four professional categories. The financial situation was also desperate and the club was on the ropes. Salvation came in the form of a new philosophy, the team began to play possession based football, influenced by the acquisition of Spanish players. "Football is a results business, but I don't believe the result can ever make your style of play irrelevant. To me it is important that the route to the result is attractive," writes Roberto Martinez, the architect of much of the new style of play. The beginning was not easy the whole squad had to adapt and commit themselves to playing the new Swansea way. Guillermo Bauza, another of the Spaniards who proudly wore the Swansea shirt, remembers that the fans were cautious of the new style and it was not readily accepted in some quarters: "When the fans watch a typical English football match, they know what to expect, they know when to cheer the team on. But with so many passes they became disoriented." The fans, the Jack Army, also have a starring role in this story. They stubbornly dug their heels in and finally wrested control of the team from the hands of a tycoon who seemed hell bent on the team's destruction. It is partly through their dedication that Swansea is considered an example of a well-run club with harmony between fans, players and managers. Together they pulled this Welsh team from the catacombs of English football to be crowned kings at Wembley with their stunning conquest of the League Cup in 2013. This book includes a foreword by Roberto Martinez and the diary Angel Rangel wrote during the Swans first year in the Premier League."