Guillem Balague: "Swansea model is perfect"

Spanish pundit claims "If Swansea were in La Liga, they'd be top ten there too"

It's been regurgitated in soundbite form many times since we were promoted, how well run the club is and how other clubs may come to look to Swansea as a blueprint for a modern, sustainable football club, but it's been a while since I heard someone coming out waxing lyrical about the Swans.

Balague was at the Liberty Stadium recently to promote his new book "Pep Guardiola: Another Way of Winning", and held court answering questions from Swansea fans keen to learn what he thought, or indeed knew of goings on at Swansea City. As well as seemingly being a fan of the way things are done around here, he also hinted that Real Betis midfielder Jose Canas (who has excellent hair) would, as far as he's aware, be joining Swansea in the summer. Fellow Spaniards Angel Rangel and Chico Flores were in attendance, and it'd no doubt please the existing Spanish contingent to see another Iberian recruit brought in.

“The biggest thing Swansea have done is ask themselves, ‘What kind of club are we? It applies to the manager they pick and the players they buy. Even when things go wrong they stick by it, and that’s the admirable thing. Footballers see that too, and that is a big attraction for them.  

Guillem Balague. Smooooth.

“My club is Espanyol and this season after (Mauricio) Pochettino left to join Southampton, Javier Aguirre replaced him. It has gone well under Aguirre and people are saying this is the way forward, but next season maybe the quality is not the same because a few players leave and then people say this is not the way to go and we must change.  

“It’s not good for the long-term vision of the club, but Swansea don’t think like that. The vision and philosophy remains the same, and Huw Jenkins deserves a lot of praise for that. The other thing that is so good about Swansea is that the money that comes in goes back into the club and the numbers are in the black. How many clubs can say that?  

“The club is run very well, and every club should run it this way. But those clubs get too greedy and use money they don’t have – it’s not how you run a business. Swansea are a great example of how to run a football club.” Guillem Balague

Tutumlu (R) with the President of Iraqi Kurdistan. As you do.

Balague went on to say that he thinks the Swans will do well in Europe. As most fans would agree, he thinks we'll need a couple of new faces to bulk the squad out, but he thinks there could be a couple of options available on a free. If he's aware of some suitable names, you'd better bet Laudrup is too. With the press reporting his chief scout is this week in attendance of the Champions League semi-finals and the Europa League semi-final between Fenerbache and Benfica, it seems that Swansea's flag is flying higher than ever before. Evidence of this comes in a reference made by scout Bayram Tutumlu - he's stated that he's become accustomed to receiving calls from players keen to work with Laudrup. One player called and said that Laudrup was his father's hero - this prompted Laudrup to call the player who swiftly signed. I wonder who that is...

Balague continued:

“I would love to see Swansea playing a Spanish team in the Europa League next season. That would be a great match to watch, I think they will do well in the Europa League though.  

“Swansea will need some clever signings for next season, and there are players who are coming to the end of their contract who could do a great job here. Their reputation has really grown since they got into the Premier League, but winning the cup has made the big difference. Obviously the interest is even bigger in Spain because Michael is there. 

 
“If Swansea was in La Liga they would certainly be in the top ten. You can see the tactical cleverness in what they do. and I think that will serve them well in Europe next season.” 

So, as long as we make a couple of signings, that's one pundit who thinks we may do alright in Europe next season. Our style would, on the face of things, seem to suit the European game, but the proof is in the pudding and it's going to be a leap into the unknown for the vast majority of the Swansea squad, with a few recently acquired exceptions.

A young Leon Britton is held aloft by Swans fans following
their dramatic 4-2 win over Hull City in 2003.

With the club venturing further and further into the unknown, it's imperative we maintain as many tangible links with the past as possible. The easiest way of keeping a squad grounded must surely be to have recent near-tragedy in the backs of player's minds, and I'm sure the Swans preference for ex-players as coaches has something to do with this. U21 manager Kristian O'Leary has talked of Alan Curtis giving a rousing speech ahead of the famous Hull win, and it hit home because you could see how much it meant to Curtis, who had, at that point, already spent so long at the club. Of the players on the field that day, only Leon Britton regularly features these days, however O'Leary was playing that day and is U21 manager, Alan Tate is still in the squad, and Alan Curtis (who wasn't playing but deserves mention) is still involved as First Team Coach.

While some would possibly say it's a "small town mindset", I see nothing wrong with the Swans using the recent past as a tool to galvanise the squad - it's often been said that those who have known true poverty are never happy in their pursuit of money - but with the club being run efficiently and responsibly off the field there seems no danger in allowing the Swans to adopt an attitude similar to that of the "permanent underdog". We can't ever expect to compete with clubs able to spend £50million every summer, but with a steady, calm approach off the field, and a team full of players being urged to play until they drop just in case we end up back where we were ten years ago, we could have stumbled on to a winning formula.