There are a few rare instances in the English football league where the team isn't actually from England. Swansea are one of those instances alongside their Welsh counterparts Wrexham, Cardiff City and Newport County.
The Swans were admitted to the football league in 1920 but spent their first 50 years there bouncing between the third and fourth tiers before a four year spell where they were promoted three times to reach the top tier for the first time in 1981. Up until 2013 though the Jacks had never lifted any major silverware in England with their biggest success being the EFL Trophy in 1994 and 2006.
Nothing was expected to change in the 2012/13 season either. Swansea had only been promoted a season before and despite a solid campaign, finishing 11th, they had lost their manager, Brendan Rodgers, to Liverpool. Michael Laudrup was appointed as his replacement and the Swans got off to a flying start winning their first two games of the season 5-0 and 3-0 to be top of the English football leagues for the first time since 1981.
However, that season was all about the Jacks epic cup run which started in the second round at home to Barnsley. Thanks to goals from Danny Graham and Luke Moore the Swans were able to see off the Tykes 3-1 to set up an away tie with Crawley Town in the next round. They took an early lead through
Michu but by just after the hour mark, the Reds had completed a comeback to lead 2-1. Danny Graham levelled the scores with 15 minutes to go but it looked as if it was going to extra time until future manager Garry Monk scored an injury time winner to send Swansea through.
The Welsh side would then have to go on the road again, but this time to Anfield to play previous manager Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool. The Jacks would have the last laugh though who took the lead through
Chico Flores before doubling their advantage when
Nathan Dyer turned in a
Pablo Hernandez cross.
Luis Suarez pulled one back for the Reds but whilst pushing for an equaliser they were caught on the counter attack and Jonathan de Guzman wrapped up the game in the final minute of the 90.
An own goal from Seb Hines in the quarter-final helped see Swansea past Middlesbrough, to set up a two legged semi-final against Chelsea. A Branislav Ivanovic horror show allowed the Welsh side to take a big lead back to the Liberty Stadium after both Michu and Graham capitalised on his mistakes to win the game 2-0.
Michu had a golden chance to extend their advantage at the start of the second leg but ultimately the Jacks would defend admirably and grind out a 0-0 draw. The game also featured the infamous incident of Eden Hazard kicking a ball boy who was time wasting ending the day early for the Belgian who received his marching orders from Chris Foy.
Swansea would face League 2 side Bradford City in the final, who themselves had made an equally miraculous run to the final. The Bantams had knocked out Notts County, Watford, Burton Albion and Wigan Athletic in the first four rounds before pulling off their most impressive feats by beating Arsenal on penalties in the quarter-finals and Aston Villa 4-3 on aggregate in the semis.
The final however, was not a close contest at all. Dyer gave Swansea the lead just 16 minutes into the match and Michu doubled the score five minutes before the break to give the Swans a real vice grip on the final. It was over just 3 minutes into the second half when Dyer notched himself a brace and put the Welsh side 3-0 up.
Things then when from bad to worse when de Guzman was brought down in the box by Matt Duke. The keeper was shown a straight red card and the Dutchman stepped up to bury the penalty he had just won.
The rout was completed in the first minute of injury time when de Guzman got his second and made it 5-0. Captain Ashley Williams and Monk lifted the cup together to give Swansea their first piece of major silverware and become the first non-English club to win the League Cup.
