Watford Head Coach Javi Gracia took a few minutes at full-time to stand on the edge of the box and applaud the 32,500 supporters who were still displaying their undying support, shouting, and singing through the end of the match at Wembley Stadium on Saturday after the Hornets lost the FA Cup to Manchester City.
Watford fans remained staunchly supportive of their team throughout the match, even at the worst possible moments, demonstrating that the greatness of a football club is not only marked by the skill and perseverance of its coach and players, but also by the undying devotion of its loyal fans. The majority of Watford’s loyal supporters stayed until the bitter end of Saturday’s unfortunate match, even once Man City’s 6-0 victory was uncontestable, to applaud their club for not giving up the fight in the face of imminent defeat.
But the real reason fans were applauding so loudly, cheering so wildly, and singing so optimistically went far beyond the Hornets’ magnanimous efforts in reaching the FA Cup final. Fans were also cheering on the team that continues to prove their worth, and has done so consistently throughout their historic, record-breaking fourth season in the Premier League.
“I am very proud of my supporters,” stated Javi Gracia following the FA Cup match. “It was difficult for them but they supported us until the end and I am very proud of this club. It is difficult for me to explain with words my feelings for them. I am very proud to be part of this club and very proud of them. It is difficult to accept this defeat, but we have enjoyed a lot this season and today we suffered together. Sometimes you have to live this experience, to lose these games to do it better in the future.”
Owner Gino Pozzo Thanks Watford Supporters
Watford owner Gino Pozzo, along with the team’s Chairman and CEO Scott Duxbury, published an open letter declaring their sincere appreciation to the club’s supporters on the Watford FC website following the historic match. The heartfelt declaration expressed the pride that the support of fans brought to the entire team.
“It was humbling not just to witness a sea of flags accompanied by proud voices everywhere across our half of the stadium, but then to also look around the Royal Box and notice the applause being offered towards the actions of our supporters.
This moment truly served to put into context just how far we have come together as a football club. We said right back in 2012 that if we are together then we can achieve great things. We have – and we will continue to do so.”
The declaration went on:
“The achievement of reaching an FA Cup Final and having a chance to compete for one of just three titles available to clubs inside the confines of this country should never be diminished by yesterday’s game itself or indeed the final scoreline. Of course we will all reflect on what could have been had circumstances been different at various points during the 90 minutes, but those thoughts will be lost over time. What will never be forgotten is how our supporters reminded us what a truly special club we all serve.”
Overall, the whole club – from the owner down to every last player – has expressed optimism in the face of this unfortunate defeat. Everyone at Vicarage Road is extremely proud of their very successful fourth season in the Premier League, which the club finished in 11th Place.
“This is just the start of the club’s journey competing against the best,” stated Gino Pozzo. “We may not always be able to be successful, like yesterday, but we will not go away and will return unbowed, with renewed vigour and determination, to improve on the feats of this season.”
Javi Gracia Recaps Key Moments in the FA Cup Match
Javi Gracia, the soft-spoken Catalan Head Coach of the Watford club, expressed his disappointment following the FA Cup defeat, although he remained steadfastly supportive of his players and their efforts.
“It was a very tough result,” he conceded. “It’s a difficult moment to recognize other things but my players deserve more recognition. Today we have lost, and City were better than us, but there was a moment in the game, different moments.”
While Gracia lamented the missed scoring opportunity by Roberto Pereyra early in the game, a move he felt marked the defining point in the match, he conceded that his team played an impressive first half.
“We started well, we created the best chance with Roberto Pereyra after ten minutes. You need to score that chance if you want to have some chance to win the game. After that, it is very difficult for us. I am happy with the first part of the game but after, City showed their quality in the spaces. They have very good players and I congratulate them.”
Gracia also attested to the skill and track record of the formidable opponent that is Manchester City, noting that this particular team presented exceptional challenges for the Hornets during this season.
“We did really well in the first part,” he recalled. “We played against them twice and in both games we have competed well. It was really tough but we tried. It was a good experience and I know in this moment it is hard for us to look at the future. But we are not satisfied with the defeat and it will be good for us in the future.”
Overall, Gracia’s most memorable quote from the post-game interview was “Sometimes you’ve got to lose to win.”
That particular message that focused on learning from the defeat and building a brighter future after these results was echoed by all of the players on the Watford squad. Andre Gray was among those that reiterated Gracia’s viewpoint and the staunch belief that Watford will become a better squad as a consequence of this opportunity to play – and lose – against Man City.
“That’s how we need to take it now and I’m sure we’ll come back next year a lot stronger,” the striker commented optimistically.
“We’ve got the summer now and then pre-season so we’ve got a lot of time to dust ourselves down. We’re professionals and if we want to be better than we were this season then we have to learn from it and move on. We’ve had one of our best seasons in the club’s history so we deserved to be here today. Now we need to try and step up and do even better than we did this season. We’ve got the right spirit now so it’s important to keep that and push ourselves on for next season.”
The 2018–19 season was Watford‘s 120th year of existence in football club history, as well as their fourth consecutive season playing in the elite Premier League after decades of wallowing in the lower divisions.
Their participation in the FA Cup final was also historic, as it was only the second time that the club ever had such an opportunity since their last appearance at an FA Cup match against Everton in 1984, a match they lost 2-0.
While the club finished in 11th Place at the Premier League table, Javi Gracia’s tightly-knit squad marked their best-ever record, tallying 50 points in the league, and defeating Woking, Newcastle, QPR, Crystal Palace, and the Wolves to make their way to the FA Cup finals.
A beaming Heurelho Gomes, the Hornets’ Brazilian goalkeeper, reiterates the club’s commitment to continue to grow as a club, rising above and beyond the FA Cup Final defeat at Wembley.
Gomes, who has been on the field during every match this season, notes the club’s impressive Premier League record points tally and the club’s memorable lead-up to the FA Cup final as an indication of the Hornets’ position as an up-and-coming leader in the league.
“We will go again,” Gomes stated matter-of-factly. “Maybe it will be even harder to get to the final next time, but it is possible. We just need to keep going as a club, to keep growing as a club. It shows where this club is going. A few years ago, we were in the Championship and nobody expected us to come here. We are still growing. Of course, the result is hard to take but we faced one of the best sides in the world.”
Gomes continued, “It has been an amazing journey. No one will forget the comeback against Wolves. What you can expect from this club is that we will keep going. We are fighters. We will get better. This season has been better than all the others so what I expect is us to carry on growing… I am so proud. I am so proud of what we have done this season.”
Like everyone at Vicarage Road, Gomes also pointed to the support of the club’s loyal fans as an inspiration to continue to make history. “I am so proud of our support,” he noted. “They were amazing until the end, until the final minutes, singing all the way through. That shows we are together.”
Watford defender Adrian Mariappa also commented on the amazing, undying support the Hornets received from their fans all the way to the bitter end at Wembley. While Watford suffered one of their most harrowing matches, the sea of yellow and red kept them afloat, even when they were 4-0 down, a motivating factor that contributes to the club’s untiring commitment to become ever greater each year.
“The fans were incredible even at 6-0 down,” noted Mariappa. “That’s what this club is all about. It is an honour to put the shirt on and play in front of those fans every week.”
A Commitment to Growth and Improvement
Given not only Manchester City’s impressive Premier League track record, but also the financial power behind the Man City club, which amounts to about £1.3 billion in investment from Abu Dhabi, one might say the Hornets found themselves in a David vs Goliath scenario at Wembley on Saturday.
The Watford club has managed an impressive comeback over its past four seasons in the Premier Leage, after Gino Pozzo purchased the club for a mere £500,000 in 2012, then spent £10m liquidating club debts that had all but paralyzed the team’s growth in prior seasons. The Pozzos also loaned the club the funds needed to renovate the East Stand, and made some key improvements at Vicarage road, but aside from that assistance, the club has been largely sustaining itself financially on its own steam.
Immediately after his purchase of the Watford club back in 2012, Gino relocated his family from Barcelona to London to become personally involved in overseeing every detail of his new club’s day-to-day operations. From the start, he placed his bets on the growth of Watford over the long haul, and devoted himself to ensuring the growth and success of his English club.
Back then, he told the media that, as a lifelong lover of English football, a style of playing that he described as “a completely different experience,” he was set on reviving the Hornets, and turning the club into the world-class competitor it was always destined to be.
“We really believe Watford are going to be our top project for the future – further down the road – because of the potential of English football,” he said in a 2012 interview, when discussing his family’s initial investment in the club.
Those words are ringing true today, as the club has made a remarkable comeback, rising above the ranks of the lower division in only two years, to mark its fourth season in the Premier League – unequivocally the most prestigious football league in the world – after it had once lost all hope of ever returning to the upper ranks.
Pozzo played his ownership game wisely, developing a long-term strategy for growth, and never once taking his eye off the ball in his pursuit of excellence at Watford. The team went through a series of eight head coaches over its first few seasons under Pozzo ownership. But each of these experiences brought the club one step closer to this new period of success that Watford is now enjoying with Javi Gracia as head coach.
“You definitely need a long-term approach and you have to be able to change your vision depending on how things develop,” Gino reiterated back when he began grooming his club to prepare them for their rise to the top. “There is a difference between being in the Championship and being in the Premier League,” he noted, always focusing on his Premier League aspirations for the team.
In order to provide the Watford club with the means to grow and win, to make their way to the Premier League and hold their spot there, Gino has invested strategically in the club, not only in his determined quest for the perfect head coach, but also in his determined quest for the perfect players. During his years as owner of the Watford club, the team has acquired a slew of valuable players that have managed to elevate the club’s ranking to the coveted Premier League, an honor that the club has been enjoying since the 2015 season. Some of these players include the season’s top performers, such as Troy Deeney, Abdoulaye Doucouré, Gerard Deulofeu, and Roberto Pereyra.
Gino also demonstrated his devotion to a long-term growth approach at Watford when he recently turned down an offer from New York-based holding company Prolific Media to purchase just over 30% of his shares in the Watford Club, demonstrating that he is indeed on board for the long haul. Even when the offer would have left him as majority shareholder in the club, Gino firmly established his passionate commitment to the club by holding on to his shares, keeping his grip securely on the club’s operations and growth prospects.
Gino has also made some key improvements at Vicarage Road, including the incorporation of a sensory room and cryotherapy chamber for players, as well as a renovation of the East end of the stadium to improve comfort for supporters.
Pozzo’s commitment may well be part of the secret of this club’s steady rise to the top. His support for the club goes beyond his administrative duties and strategic trading and recruit decisions. Gino’s indelible mark is all over every detail of the club’s day-to-day business. With his office squarely planted at the Vicarage Road training ground, Gino interacts with the head coach and players on an almost daily basis, emphasizing his support as well as his high expectations every step of the way.
Head coach Javi Gracia, who began coaching the squad at Vicarage Road in January of 2018, has implemented a coaching method that puts the unity of the squad at the center of the game, building team morale at every opportunity, and learning from each mistake made at every match, with a focus on continuous improvement. Under his watchful eye, the club shone their light during the 2018-19 season, even in spite of major losses to Premier League table-toppers such as Liverpool and Manchester City over the course of the season.
Gracia’s attitude has always been one of moving onward and improving on past performances. Watford’s Chairman & CEO Scott Duxbury perhaps most aptly summed up the club’s attitude in the face of this recent FA Cup defeat. “This is the start of what we want to do,” he told BBC Sport reporters just prior to the FA Cup match. “This is where we should be and will be competing. We are not going to wait another 35 years for another cup final.”
Related: Watford FC and Owner Gino Pozzo Get Set for the 146th FA Cup Championship
