Alan Curtis

Swansea University has conferred an Honorary Degree on Swansea City Football Club legend Alan Curtis.

Mr Curtis was presented with the award today (Monday 18 July) during the graduation ceremony for the College of Arts and Humanities.   

Alan Thomas Curtis was born in Pentre, Rhondda in 1954.  Football was already in his family in that his uncle was the Wales international footballer Roy Paul.

Alan Curtis Alan had won a Wales under-18 cap even before his trial at Swansea after completing his A-levels in 1972. He established himself as a first-team regular with the Swans and made 40 appearances in the 1973-74 season, switching from outside-left to a centre-forward position during the 1975–76 campaign.  The move worked out so well that he remained a striker for the rest of his career. In the following promotion winning season he scored 34 goals in 46 games to become the division's top-scorer. After a brief period at Leeds United, he returned to Swansea City, helping them gain promotion to the top Division and then scoring 10 goals in that highly successful first season helping Swansea to a sixth place league finish.

Despite his commitment to the Swans, Alan Curtis has had nothing short of a varied and prolific playing career, helping to shape the fortunes of Southampton, Stoke and winning the Welsh Cup with rivals Cardiff City in 1988. He has also represented Wales, scoring six goals in 35 international games.

As well as being an ace on the field, it was clear early on that Alan was passionate about coaching.  He was appointed Swansea's first-team coach by new manager Michael Laudrup in July 2012 and continued his role as first-team coach under manager Garry Monk.  In December 2015, he became caretaker manager and successfully steered the club through a difficult period following some poor results, thus building the platform that saw the club survive the threat of relegation by ten points and six places.

Throughout his 44-year career, Alan Curtis has supported Swansea City through some turbulent times, and played his part in the meteoric rise of the Swans from the fourth to the top division of English football.  And it is because of his energy and commitment to the game and the faith he has in his beloved football club, that he is simply recognised by Swans fans as ‘one of our own’ and by Swansea players as ‘The Legend’. 

 

Presenting the award to Mr Curtis was Mr Raymond Ciborowski, Registrar and Chief Operating Officer at Swansea University.  He said: “Alan is synonymous with Swansea City. In fact, he's simply known around the club as 'The Legend'. And although there is a tendency towards hyperbole in the reporting of football there is real substance in describing Alan in this way.

“First and foremost, of course, a footballing Legend has to have possessed outstanding technique on the pitch, sublime skills, or trademark strengths which contribute to a tremendous playing record of achievement at a high level over a long period of time. But he has to have much more than that.  He has to possess personal qualities that earn him widespread respect from team mates, opponents, and fans; he has to have modesty, integrity, and time for people; and he commits himself to a club for a large part of his life, through thick and thin, good times and bad.  Above all, perhaps, a legend has that little extra – the X factor, if you like - which enables him to represent the very essence of his club, defining it for an era and sharpening its sense of identity.  Alan Curtis fits that description perfectly.

On receiving his award, Mr Curtis said: “I am thrilled that Swansea University has seen fit to award me this Honorary Degree.  I am very proud over the years to have been part of Swansea City Football Club and witnessed its rise to the ranks of the premier league.

“It gives me great pleasure to see Swansea becoming more prominent on the world stage, not just in football but through major developments such as the University’s new Bay Campus and high profile plans for the redevelopment of the city.

“Football has been such a huge part of my life and forms a key part of the culture of Swansea. I hope to be able to contribute to the fortunes of Swansea City for as long as I can. I am delighted to receive this Degree from the city’s University in recognition of a career that I have loved, and for me, a life-long devotion to the game.”