Only one player that started for Watford in their 2013 Championship play-off final is still at the club.
The 2013 Championship play-off final defeat was a tough one to take for Watford. The Hornets had finished the league in third place, after final day heartbreak defeat to Leeds United, which allowed Hull City to clinch the last automatic promotion spot.
In the play-off’s, the drama continued, as Gianfranco Zola’s men scored a 97th minute goal in the second leg of the semi-finals to beat Leicester City. Having conceded what looked like a harsh penalty at one end, Manuel Almunia saved the strike and Watford went up the other end to score a crucial winner.
That victory set up a Wembley final against Crystal Palace. The final itself was a game of extraordinarily fine margins. Having gone to extra time, 39-year-old substitute Kevin Phillips won the game for Crystal Palace from the penalty spot. Three years on, we take a look at what that Watford starting XI are up to today:
Officials shake hands with the players before the start of the 2013 play-off final between Crystal Palace and Watford at Wembley
Manuel Almunia
Manuel Almunia is the only player who started for Watford in their play-off final defeat to Crystal Palace that is no longer playing. The 39-year-old retired from the professional game whilst playing for the Hornets in 2014, due to concerns regarding his heart.
Lloyd Doyley
A bonafide Watford legend, only four men have played more games for the Hornets than former Jamaican international Lloyd Doyley. The pacy defender joined Watford in 1999, and remained at the club until 2015.
In that time, Doyley made 443 appearances and scored 2 goals, being involved in both the 2005/06 and 2014/15 promotion seasons to the Premier League.
Joel Ekstrand
One of a number of players playing for Watford on-loan from Udinese during the 2012/13 season, Joel Ekstrand made 32 appearances for the club during that campaign before joining the Hornets on a permanent deal. The ex-Sweden international joined Bristol City in the summer.
Marco Cassetti
Capped 5 times by the Italian national team, Marco Cassetti brought more than a touch of class to the Watford defence during his two seasons at Vicarage Road. Having started his career as a right midfielder, Cassetti became a classy central defender. Now aged 39, he is still playing professionally, now for Como in the Italian third tier.
Ikechi Anya
Ikechi Anya in action for current club Derby County
Ikechi Anya’s athleticism and enthusiasm down the right flank was crucial to allowing the Hornets to effectively play a 3-5-2 during his 4 years at Vicarage Road. Now a Scotland international, Anya has won 23 caps for the country of his birth, and was sold by Watford to current club Derby County in the last transfer window.
Nathaniel Chalobah
Versatile and gifted England youth international Nathaniel Chalobah has been touted for greatness since his mid-teens, and is now making good on that promise as a permanent member of the Chelsea first team.
The 2012/13 season was Chalobah’s first loan move away from Stamford Bridge, and he was very impressive in his 42 appearances for the Hornets. The midfielder has won 89 caps for England at youth level, which the FA believe is an all-time record.
Jonathan Hogg
Former Aston Villa youth player Jonathan Hogg joined Watford in 2011, and was a regular at Vicarage Road for 2 years. He made 80 appearances in his 2 seasons at the club, before requesting a transfer due to family reasons in 2013, when he joined Huddersfield Town.
Almen Abdi
A key man at Watford for 4 years, Almen Abdi won the club’s Player of the Season award for the 2012/13 season, during which he scored 12 goals in 38 games from midfield. He left Watford in the summer to join Sheffield Wednesday, and a number of supporters were disappointed by his departure.
Daniel Pudil
Like Abdi, Daniel Pudil joined Sheffield Wednesday on a permanent transfer from Watford in the summer, although he’d also been on-loan with the Owls the previous season, where he lost his second play-off final. During his three seasons at Vicarage Road, the Czech Republic international played 68 times for the Hornets.
Troy Deeney
Troy Deeney is still putting them away for Watford
The only man to start Watford’s 2013 play-off final that is still playing for the club, Troy Deeney is now an established Hornets great, with 99 goals for the club from 274 appearances, making him the fourth highest scorer in the club’s history.
The two-time Hornets Player of the Season is the current Watford captain, and the only player in the club’s history to have scored 20+ goals in three consecutive seasons.
Matej Vydra
Whilst it is Troy Deeney who is still turning on the style for Watford in the Premier League, back in 2012/13, you could be forgiven for thinking it was Matej Vydra who had the brighter future ahead of him. The Czech Republic international scored 20 goals in 41 games that season, picking up the Championship Player of the Year award.
The next season he was in the Premier League, but found himself in and out of West Brom’s team. He returned to Watford the following season, scoring 16 goals in 42 games as the Hornets won promotion, but was loaned to Reading the following summer. Now aged 24, Vydra is currently playing for Derby County, where he has scored 2 goals in 14 appearances.
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