Swansea City legend boasts rare Cardiff City feat | OneFootball

Despite being a Swansea City legend, Alan Curtis is also well-respected at Cardiff City thanks to a three-year spell at Ninian Park as a player

After spells as a player, coach, and even multiple tenures as the club's caretaker manager, Alan Curtis is seen as a Swansea City legend.

However, Curtis boasts a rare feat, and while he is a Swansea City legend and the club's honorary president, he is also well-respected at bitter rivals Cardiff City following a three-year spell with the Bluebirds as a player.

Given the fierce rivalry between the two clubs, it's a unique situation to see a Swansea legend respected by Cardiff supporters too, but the three years he spent at Ninian Park in the late 80s have helped to make him a popular figure on both sides of the divide.

Of course, Curtis isn't alone in crossing the divide, with the likes of John Toshack and Robbie James also being popular with both sets of supporters, but the Rhondda-born Swansea legend is just one of a few who have managed to play for both clubs to be remembered so fondly.

Alan Curtis boasts rare Swansea City, Cardiff City feat

Curtis began his senior career at Swansea in 1972 and made 248 appearances for the Swans over the course of the next seven years before joining Leeds United in 1979.

However, his stay at Elland Road was a short one, and he returned to the Vetch Field in 1980, helping Swansea win promotion to the top-flight in 1981, and was a key player as the club enjoyed some of their greatest ever days.

Swansea finished sixth in the 1981-82 First Division after topping the league at Christmas, a remarkable achievement for John Toshack's side, and Curtis scored one of the most iconic goals in the Swans' history in their 5-1 win over Leeds United on the opening day of the campaign, a result which set the tone for a successful season and made the rest of the country take notice of them.

Swansea suffered back-to-back relegations after the heights of 1982, and Curtis departed for Southampton in 1983, but that wasn't to be his last spell in Welsh football.

After three years on the South Coast with Southampton, which included a spell on loan at Stoke City, Curtis made a shock return to Wales, this time with the Swans' bitter rivals, Cardiff City, in 1986.

Being from the Rhondda Valleys, Cardiff were arguably Curtis' local side, but having become a legend at Swansea, it's fair to say it didn't go down well with either set of supporters at the start.

He told Wales Online in 2019: "It was my first season at Ninian Park, we didn't have a very good team and I took the brunt of the criticism from the supporters, I guess.

"The first time I played for Cardiff against the Swans I actually got booed by the two sets of fans! I'm not sure that's happened to any player before in football."

However, Curtis would soon win the Cardiff City faithful over to become a popular figure and the Welsh international spent three seasons in his nation's capital, making well over 100 appearances before departing in 1989.

It's not very often that someone can be popular with both Swansea and Cardiff supporters, but Curtis managed it, and he remains one of Swansea City's biggest legends to this day.

Alan Curtis returned to Swansea City after Cardiff City spell

Curtis returned to Swansea in 1989 after leaving Cardiff, spending one last season with the Swans before retiring from professional football in 1990.

After three spells with the club as a player, Curtis became an important member of Swansea's coaching staff and was appointed the club's first-team coach in 2012 by Michael Laudrup.

Just like they had done during Curtis' playing days, Swansea became a real force in the top flight with him on the coaching staff, and he helped lead the club to their first-ever major trophy, winning the EFL Cup in 2013.

He also led the club as a caretaker boss on a number of occasions, picking up a number of notable Premier League results, such as a win away to Arsenal in March 2016 when Francesco Guidolin was in hospital, and a late win away to Crystal Palace after Bob Bradley had been sacked.

However, Curtis also held roles such as Swansea's community office, youth coach, head of youth development, first-team coach, assistant manager, and loan player manager, helping him to earn the tag of 'Mr Swansea City'.

At the age of 65, Curtis announced his retirement in 2019 and took up the role of honorary club president, before being awarded an MBE in the 2021 New Year's Honours for services to Welsh football.

While it's at Swansea that Curtis is a real club legend, he's still fondly remembered at Cardiff City too, a rare feat that shows just how well-respected he is in Welsh football.