page_title: Swansea City A.F.C.
section_title: Premier League and Europe (2011–2018)
hierarchical_section_title: Swansea City A.F.C. / History / Premier League and Europe (2011–2018)
caption_attribution_description: Michael Laudrup at a press conference as manger of Brøndby IF in 2006.
context_page_description: Swansea City Association Football Club is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1912 as Swansea Town and joined the Football League in 1921. The club changed their name in 1969, when they adopted the name Swansea City to reflect Swansea's new status as a city. Swansea have played their home matches at the Liberty Stadium since 2005, having previously played at the Vetch Field since the club was founded.
  In 1981, the club was promoted to the original Football League First Division. It was during the following season they came close to winning the league title, but a decline then set in near the season's end, before they finished sixth, still a club record. It was from here the club suffered a relegation the season after, returning to the Football League Fourth Division a few seasons later, and then narrowly avoided relegation to the Football Conference in 2003.
context_section_description: By being promoted to the Premier League for the 2011–12 season, Swansea became the first Welsh team to play in the division since its formation in 1992. Swansea signed Danny Graham from Watford for a then-record fee of £3.5 million. They defeated Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City, the eventual champions, at home during the season. Swansea finished their debut Premier League season in 11th, but at the end of the season Brendan Rodgers left to manage Liverpool. He was replaced by Michael Laudrup for the 2012–13 Premier League season, which was the club's centenary season. Laudrup's first league game ended in a 0–5 victory over Queens Park Rangers away at Loftus Road. Swansea then beat West Ham United 3–0 at the Liberty Stadium, with Michu scoring his third goal in two games. This saw Swansea top of the Premier League; it was the first time since October 1981 the team had been at the summit of the top tier.
  On 15 October 2012, the club announced a profit of £14.2 million after their first season in the Premier League. On 1 December, Swansea picked up a 0–2 away win against Arsenal, with Michu scoring twice during the last minutes of the game, in Swansea's first win at Arsenal in three decades. Michu ended the season as the club's top scorer in all competitions, with 22 goals.
  On 24 February 2013, Swansea beat Bradford City 0–5 in the League Cup final en route to the biggest win in the final of the competition. This triumph, in a record victory, was Swansea's first major piece of silverware and qualified them for the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League. Swansea finished the season in ninth place in the Premier League, improving upon the league standing achieved in the previous season. On 11 July, Swansea paid a club record transfer fee of £12 million to secure the signing of striker Wilfried Bony from Vitesse Arnhem; Bony was the leading goalscorer in the 2012–13 Eredivisie with 31 goals and was named Dutch Player of the Year.
  Swansea enjoyed initial success in Europe, beating Spanish side Valencia 3–0 at the Mestalla Stadium in September 2013. On 3 November 2013, Swansea lost the first Welsh derby in the Premier League to Cardiff City following a 1–0 defeat. In February 2014, Laudrup was dismissed from the club after a poor run of form. Defender Garry Monk, a Swansea player since 2004, was named as his replacement. In Monk's first game in charge, Swansea beat Cardiff 3–0 at the Liberty Stadium on 8 February 2014. Despite holding Rafael Benítez's Napoli to a 0–0 draw in the first leg of the Europa League Round of 32, Swansea exited the competition after losing 3–1 in the second leg at the Stadio San Paolo on 27 February 2014.
  In January 2015, Wilfried Bony was sold to Manchester City for a record sale of £25 million, with add-ons reportedly leading to £28 million. This deal eclipsed the record fee received from Liverpool for Joe Allen at £15 million. At the time of the sale, Bony was the club's top scorer with 34 goals in all competitions, and the Premier League's top scorer for the 2014 calendar year, with 20 goals. Swansea City finished eighth in the Premier League at the end of the 2014–15 season with 56 points, their highest position and points haul for a Premier League season, and second highest finish in the top flight of all time. During the season, they produced league doubles over Arsenal and Manchester United, becoming only the third team in Premier League history to achieve that feat.
  On 9 December 2015, manager Garry Monk was sacked after one win in eleven matches. The club, after a period with Alan Curtis as caretaker manager for the third time, chose the Italian former Udinese Calcio coach Francesco Guidolin. During the 2016–17 preseason, Swansea City came under new ownership by an American consortium led by Jason Levien and Steven Kaplan, who bought a controlling interest in the club in July 2016. Chairman Huw Jenkins remained at the club. On 3 October 2016, Guidolin was sacked and replaced by American coach Bob Bradley. The selection of Bradley marked the first time a Premier League club had ever hired an America
caption: Michael Laudrup led Swansea to the Europa League and a top half finish in the Premier League
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