Soccer:Swansea have confirmed the appointment of former Denmark international Michael Laudrup as their new manager following Brendan Rodgers's departure to Liverpool earlier this month.
The former Brondby, Getafe, Spartak Moscow and Real Mallorca boss has penned a two-year-deal with the Welsh club.
A statement read: “Swansea City are pleased to confirm the appointment of Michael Laudrup as the club’s new manager. Contracts were completed at noon today on a two-year deal.”
Laudrup, 47, won five Spanish league titles with Barcelona and Real Madrid in the early 1990s and was one of the players of his generation, but has yet to replicate that success as a manager.
However, former team-mate Jan Molby believes Laudrup believes an opportunity at the Liberty Stadium could be the opening he has been looking for.
“If you look at his CV, he did very well with Brondby with a young group of players, got them playing the right way,” the former Liverpool midfielder said.
“Then you look at his next three jobs: Getafe, I thought he did well but fell out with the owner, had a great run in the Europa League, almost knocked out the mighty Bayern Munich.
“Moscow, I think he just landed in a country where it was impossible with language difficulties, they just didn’t allow him to do what he wants to.
“And from the moment he set foot in Mallorca they were just beset with financial problems that he never quite got over. This is the opportunity now, he has to make a mark as a manager.”
While Swansea - who retained their top-flight status with an 11th-place finish - have confirmed their new manager, the club’s hopes of completing the signing of Gylfi Sigurdsson appear to be over.
Swansea had agreed a €8.4 million fee with Hoffenheim for the Iceland midfielder, who scored seven goals in 17 appearances during his loan spell in south Wales, as well as personal terms. But Rodgers’s exit for Anfield led Sigurdsson to admit he had reservations about making a permanent switch to the Liberty Stadium.
And it is understood that the deal will not go ahead, which will alert Rodgers, who has admitted an interest in signing the former Reading man should he not complete his move to Swansea.
