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**Dunny** · February 24, 2013, 07:37 AM

A match to restore faith in football: Two clubs on the brink of extinction meet in 'the most talked-about League Cup final in years'

By JOE BERNSTEIN
PUBLISHED: 23:10, 23 February 2013 | UPDATED: 09:16, 24 February 2013

The presenter from Sky Sports gushingly promoted Sunday's game at Wembley between unfashionable Bradford City and Swansea City as 'the most talked-about League Cup final in years'.

Strangely, she is right. Instead of sponsors Capital One being embarrassed about a showpiece featuring clubs who have won one major trophy between them in 211 years combined, there is a genuine feelgood factor around Sunday's final.

As 35-year-old Bradford City goalkeeper Matt Duke, who started in the Sheffield pub league and later overcame testicular cancer during his professional career, put it: 'It's about achievement not money. I'd play if I was getting 100 quid a week. I've done that before and I'd do it again.'

Unlikely: Swansea and Bradford City will meet in 'the most talked-about League Cup final in years'

Long trip, Ashley? Swansea captain Williams has a snooze as Gerhard Tremmel toasts him with a coffee

This is a match to restore the British public's faith in football. Both clubs were on the brink of extinction a decade ago and have compelling stories to tell. Bradford, their modern history overshadowed by the fire in 1985 that killed 56 people at their Valley Parade stadium, have plummeted from the Premier League to League Two after surviving two spells of administration.

This cup run, in which they have beaten Premier League teams Wigan, Arsenal and Aston Villa, has lifted the whole city, including the large Asian community who previously felt excluded from football.

Swansea were in danger of being relegated from the Football League in 2003, having narrowly survived bankruptcy the previous year. Only a 4-2 win against Hull on the final day of the season preserved their status, since when the Swans have soared like eagles and now proudly sit in the top half of the Premier League.
Loading up: De Guzman dishes out some high-fives before boarding the coach

Role reversal: Swans defender Chico Flores took this photo on the team bus of club snapper Dimitris Legakis

Loyal: Swansea midfielder Leon Britton

Impressively, three players - Leon Britton, Alan Tate and club captain Garry Monk - remain from their fourth-tier days. 'We talk a lot about that Hull game, even now, because 10 years on we realise just how important it was,' said Britton. 'I dread to think what would have become of the club had we lost that day. I probably wouldn't have re-signed that summer had we been relegated to the Conference and neither would a lot of the other guys.

'But we survived, guys like Lee Trundle joined and it proved to be the kick up the backside the club needed. It's hard to say where we would be now had we lost, but we certainly wouldn't be in the Premier League and in a cup final.'

If Swansea win on Sunday, it will add to the reputation of manager Michael Laudrup, who won the European Cup at the old Wembley as a Barcelona player and who, as a manager, has been linked with the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid.

Bradford are the archetypal underdogs who were quoted by some bookmakers at 10,000-1 to win the trophy when they played their first round tie at Notts County in August. Ever the diplomat, Laudrup said: 'I understand that everyone except Swansea fans will want Bradford to win. I would, too. It's amazing we are in the final, but a miracle that they are there.'

Few Bradford players would argue. But as they step out at Wembley on Sunday afternoon, the number 56 embroidered into their tracksuits in tribute to the fire victims, 33,000 fans in amber and claret will roar their approval, some having come from as far as America, Australia and Brazil.

'It's the dream of every child and every footballer to play at Wembley,' said Duke, whose penalty saving heroics have helped Bradford win a world-record nine shoot-outs in a row, most notably against Arsenal in the quarter-finals.

Special occasion: Bradford City captain Gary Jones and Alan Connell pose for a photo earlier this month with Simon Carter, who designed their suits for the final

Hands on the prize: Bradford players pose with the Capital One Cup during Media Day

Fairytale: Matt Duke overcame testicular cancer

'This is a fairytale final and the reaction in Bradford has been incredible. I did a presentation at a school a couple of weeks ago and the kids knew who I was. That wouldn't have been the case last year.

'They pretend to be Bradford players kicking a ball about. In years to come they'll go to the stadium to support Bradford and some might even play for us. It would be nice to see.'
There are so many rags-to-riches stories in the Bradford ranks. Striker James Hanson, who scored the semifinal winner against Villa and known as 'Big Unit' because of his physique, worked in a supermarket for £6 an hour less than four years ago.
Captain Gary Jones was let go by Swansea without playing a game and spent 14 years in two spells at Rochdale before signing for Bradford last summer. He sees Swansea's climb up the leagues as an inspiration. 'If anyone had said when I left Rochdale that I'd be leading Bradford out at Wembley, I'd have said they were a bit loopy,' said Jones.

A positive side-effect of Bradford's cup runs has been the interest of the city's Asian community. A widely published picture of a young Bradford fan, Amina Qureshi, cheering her team against Villa while wearing a hijab has done more to improve race relations in the city than a thousand words.

Former player John Hendrie, a member of the 1985 team and now a club ambassador, said: 'The Asian community have bought into the club's achievement like never before and are sharing the euphoria. The club have been a catalyst for unity

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**Dunny** · February 24, 2013, 06:04 PM

Bradford City 0 Swansea 5: Minnows' fairytale crushed as Premier League big boys run riot to win Capital One Cup final

By Simon Stone, Press Association
PUBLISHED:17:51, 24 February 2013| UPDATED:19:17, 24 February 2013

Ten years after they teetered on the edge of oblivion, Swansea City will stride into Europe after a Capital One Cup final stroll against 10-man Bradford.
After beating three Barclays Premier League outfits on their way to Wembley, League Two Bradford found Swansea an altogether different proposition.
Nathan Dyer scored twice, Michu found the net before the break and Jonathan de Guzman's double confirmed the biggest win in final history as Swansea secured the first meaningful silverware in their entire existence.

Silverware: Swansea lift the Capital One Cup after their 5-0 thrashing of Bradford

Historic: Captain Ashley Williams and his team-mates celebrate winning Swansea's first major trophy

Drenched: The champagne sprays as Swansea players lift the Capital One Cup
Downbeat: Bradford City players look dejected after their defeat

Contrast: Swansea's Michael Laudrup lifts the cup while Bradford boss Phil Parkinson applauds supporters

MATCH FACTS

Bradford: Duke, Darby, McHugh, McArdle, Good (Davies 46), Atkinson, Jones, Doyle, Thompson (Hines 73), Wells (McLaughlin 57), Hanson.
Subs Not Used: Ravenhill, Reid, Connell, Turgott.
Sent Off: Duke (56).
Swansea: Tremmel, Rangel, Williams, Ki (Monk 62), Davies (Tiendalli 84), Dyer (Lamah 77), Britton, de Guzman, Routledge, Hernandez, Michu.
Subs Not Used: Vorm, Shechter, Moore, Agustien.
Booked: Ki.
Goals: Dyer 16, Michu 40, Dyer 47, de Guzman 59 pen, 90.
Att: 82,597
Ref: Kevin Friend (Leicestershire).

Indeed, the only blemish on an otherwise perfect day for Michael Laudrup's team was the row between Dyer and De Guzman over who should take the spot-kick after the latter had been felled by Matt Duke, which resulted in the keeper's dismissal.
It meant the big fairytale did not come true.
The little one did though. For, as Laudrup rightly pointed out, Swansea have emerged from the depths Bradford find themselves in now, one game away from going out of the Football League completely.
And now they can plan for a Europa League campaign which, 10 years ago, was as unlikely as Bradford being present for today's showpiece.
Bradford were led out by two mascots whose individual stories epitomised their favourite football team's scrap for existence.
But the joy in little nine-year old cancer survivor Jake Turton and 12-year-old Ryan Siddall, who is only alive after his father donated a kidney, was them actually being there to witness their team become the first fourth-tier side to play in a major Wembley final.

Flying start: Nathan Dyer put Swansea ahead in the 16th minute from close range

Opener: Dyer celebrates giving the Premier League side an early lead
How's that, boss? Dyer and Williams celebrate in front of manager Laudrup

Bradford should not feel any sense of failure that their finest achievement since 1911 ended in disappointment.

After overcoming Wigan, Arsenal and Aston Villa to reach this day of days, they ran into a fourth Premier League opponent who, to put it brutally, were just too good.
The scene was set inside the first minute, which Bradford spent chasing the ball as Swansea zipped it around with relish, before finally winning a corner.
Lethal: Michu doubled Swansea's lead with a deadly accurate strike into the far corner

Laudrup's men could make nothing of that. However, it soon became obvious Bradford were caught in the trap of damage limitation against a team not anxious to cough up possession at any point.

Swansea did not actually threaten Duke's goal until Ben Davies won a towering far-post header which he sent inches wide.
Nevertheless, it was probably down to a sense of relief at actually having something to push forward with that Bradford fatally committed so many men to attack soon afterwards.

I'm the man! Michu celebrates his goal just before half-time

Swansea broke with pace, Dyer to the excellent Wayne Routledge and on to Michu, two passes taking them from the edge of one area to the other.
Michu arrowed his shot for the far corner. Duke, penalty shoot-out hero against Wigan and Arsenal, dived despairingly to his left, failed to get a firm enough touch and allowed Dyer to slide in from an acute angle.
With only 16 minutes gone, it left Bradford staring at a very uncomfortable afternoon.
Cruising: Dyer all but ended the game as a contest with his second goal just after half-time

Jumping for joy: Wayne Routledge hurdles Dyer as they celebrate going 3-0 ahead

Leon Britton should have doubled Swansea's lead when Bradford cleared a corner invitingly into his path, but the sliced effort flew wide.
It was only a matter of time before the West Yorkshire outfit cracked again though.
The goal involved two nutmegs, Pablo Hernandez placing the ball through Gary Jones' legs before Michu curled it between Carl McHugh's to find the same bottom corner he had been aiming for earlier.

Penalty: Bradford City's goalkeeper Matt Duke brought down Swansea Jonathan de Guzman

Sent off: Duke is shown a red card by referee Kevin Friend
It's mine: De Guzman and hat-trick hunter Dyer argued over who would take the penalty

Phil Parkinson desperately needed to stabilise the situation.
Unfortunately, within 15 minutes of the restart it had careered completely out of control.
More intricate Swansea passing opened Bradford up, with Routledge providing the pass which Dyer stepped inside off before slotting home his second.
Slotted: De Guzman won the argument and tucked the penalty into the bottom corner

Even worse was to come for the flapping Bantams as Dyer slid a pass through to De Guzman, who nipped round Duke only to be taken down by the keeper.
Referee Kevin Friend quickly brandished a red card but the drama came with Dyer's furious reaction to De Guzman's refusal to stand down as penalty taker, even though his team-mate stood on the brink of becoming the first man in history to score a hat-trick in a final.
It was an argument that continued for the entire length of time it took Jon McLaughlin to replace Nahki Wells and thankfully for De Guzman, he kept his cool to score, with Dyer then offering his congratulations after his act of pettiness.
Final blow: De Guzman added a fifth goal in injury-time to complete a memorable afternoon for Swansea

Thankfully, Bradford avoided complete catastrophe, their loyal supporters cheering their first corner on 83 minutes and even a shot not long afterwards.
They stayed to cheer their team up the steps too, when most losers head straight off into the night.
By then De Guzman had his second and Swansea had the record - and, most joyously, the cup.

Flags: Phil Parkinson looks on as Bradford City fans continue to show their support despite being dominated

Matador: Spaniard Chico Flores celebrates, despite missing the game, before being taken down by Routledge

Brace: Two-goal Dyer celebrates with the trophy at Wembley

Gutted: Bradford City's Zavon Hines looking deflated after the resounding defeat
Despair: Bradford City captain Gary Jones applauds the fans after their crushing loss

Lifted: Swansea manager Laudrup is hoisted aloft by his team

Captain: Williams with the trophy

Glory: Swansea players celebrate

Bundle: Swansea City players pile up in celebration at Wembley

Following: Routledge shows the Capital One Cup to the Swansea fans

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**Paul Marin** · February 24, 2013, 07:28 PM

Why de guzman didn't let Dyer take the penalty?

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