In an amazingly candid piece on his website, Andrea Orlandi has spoken about training at the club this summer whilst without a club, and his take on the recent goings on in SA1
Andrea Orlandi always came across as someone whose main attribute was either his technique or his reading of the game. Clearly a cultured player - he spent time at Barcelona during his development - it's perhaps no surprise then that he's capable of stringing a few words together in a more than organised fashion.
His column on am14.net (which until now I was completely unaware of) is absolutely excellent, and the whole thing is worth a read (link) but I'm sure most people will be interested to see what he had to say about Swansea in particular. The words "glowing reference" spring to mind...
I started to train on my own in July waiting for an offer to arrive. When I saw that time was ticking on I decided to text my friend Gary Monk, Swansea’s coach to see if he would let me train with the under 21s team, and he immediately agreed. So I spoke with him in the morning and in the afternoon I was on the plane on my way to London. I went to Brighton, picked up my car and drove to Swansea.
The people who know me will know what my opinion is about the club, the fans and all the employees. They treated me like I had never left, I was able to use all the facilities, I ate with the first team, the physios treated me… Everybody welcomed me with open arms. From the kit man (woman in this case) to the gardener, they all made me feel like I was at home. If the second team wasn’t training, the physical trainer Sam Huggins would work with me one to one on hard physical sessions. It is a very special club. I spent 5 years there that will never be forgotten.
During those days I saw myself all over the world. I was very close to sign for the MLS team Vancouver Whitecaps, I had an offer from Turkey and one from Greece, a couple of Championship teams… And suddenly Jose Riga rang me and said that he wanted to talk to me face to face. Talking to the coach in person is unusual. I didn’t think twice, I got in the car and drove up to Blackpool to have a meeting with him, and here I am!
I wrote earlier about Monk. He was my team mate in Swansea and I believe that sacking Laudrup and getting Monk to replace him was the best decision the club has made. I was very excited about Laudrup. I admired him as a footballer and I liked everything about him. But I got very disappointed. Sometimes you get a shock when you meet people who are your idols. It happened to me with Gullit and also with Jordi Lardin, a very good winger who played for Espanyol.
I cannot say much about Laudrup as a person, always correct and diplomatic, as I never got to know him enough to be able to judge him at that level. But as a coach he was a great disappointment and I promise I am not saying that with resentment, that is a word that doesn’t exist in my vocabulary. On the other hand, I think he did me well by showing me the door from Swansea because my time there was over and I am convinced of that given the experience of that pre-season in 2012.
Now the team is in the hands of someone who loves the club, who really works hard and who studies the opposition and tries to become better. You can be sure I know what I am talking about.
Firstly, how nice is that? He clearly has a serious level of affection for the club, and it's nice that we look after ex-players. We've seen (with players like Bodde) in the past that the club are willing to support players through difficult times, and I'm glad we helped Orlandi out.
As to the stuff about Laudrup, Orlandi really doesn't mind saying what's on his mind! I don't think there would be any malice on his part as Orlandi can have had no complaints (and evidently didn't) about being moved on, and given he'd have grown up at a time when Laudrup was an absolute megastar in his corner of Spain it is surprising that he hasn't got entirely positive things to say about the Dane.
Despite a couple of iffy results of late, I'd agree wholeheartedly with Orlandi. I feel a lot more confident about the direction of the club long-term than I did at this stage last year, even though we were involved in European competition. At that point, our football (in general) was deteriorating, and there didn't seem to be any answer to our poor form. With Monk in charge, we've seen a return to a snappy, pressing game and it's hard to see how it won't benefit us in the long term.
It's a long old season, but if Orlandi is right (and I think he is) we'll be just fine. And hey - he knows what he's talking about!