Who is Xisco Muñoz? The Hornets’ Hero taking the Championship by storm

Walking into the Watford job is often a poisoned chalice. Xisco Munoz may have been an unknown entity when he arrived at Vicarage Road; but now he is a household name in Hertfordshire.

So how, in his short managerial tenure, has he imprinted the Xisco identity on an unstable Watford squad? And how will it bode for them in their quest to immediately return to the Premier League?

Xisco. Fresh trim, stylish – even his name oozes elegance. A winger in his playing days, the Mallorca-born coach was mainly known for the latter stages of his career in Georgia. A club legend in Tbilisi, he scored 62 league goals in 98 games for Dinamo.

His days at the top level mostly came in Spain. Spells at Valencia, Betis, and Levante in La Liga culminated in his final playing spell at Gimnastic in the Segunda Division.

Coaching was always part of his vision though. After retiring at Gimnastic in 2016, he immediately became assistant to then manager Vicente Moreno, who is now in charge of Espanyol.

A short spell as interim of local Catalonian side Pobla de Mafumet in 2017 ended his coaching roles for three years, before returning to his second home in Georgia as the number two to Felix Vicente.

Dinamo Tbilisi are still the dominant force in the Erovnuli Liga, and with Xisco as assistant, they picked up another league title in 2019.

Vicente departed shortly afterwards, being replaced by Kakhaber Chketiani. The Georgian was again dismissed, and Xisco was put in charge of proceedings at the Blue-White.

He had an immediate success with a cohort of Spanish compatriots starring – they won the league in December.

So we now know the path of Watford’s new head coach – an abstract way of getting yourself a top Championship job, but effective in his case. But why was he needed in Hertfordshire?

We all know Watford’s strategy. They are the perennial offenders of new manager bounce culture.

Since first achieving promotion in 2015, the Pozzo’s have hired nine new managers (including the double hiring of Quique Sanchez Flores), with an average of 1.5 managers per season. This isn’t including the caretaker management of Hayden Mullins, either.

Take it back further to when they first took over in 2012, they have hired 13 managers/Head Coaches. But it has worked for them.

Psychologically, for a manager to go into the Watford job, you must know that you are always skating on thin ice. Even when you’ve achieved relative success – Javi Gracia for example – you will not be afforded any time in which to rebuild.

So it will have come as no surprise to Watford fans when Vladimir Ivic was given his marching orders in December. Despite this though, Watford weren’t in an unhealthy position. 5th in the league, but they’d only won nine of his 20 matches.

Ivic’s philosophy was built on defence – which proved unpopular with the fans, with the style uneasy on the eye.

The odds suggested Slaven Bilic, Eddie Howe and Marco Silva were in the Pozzo’s consideration – but the name of Xisco Munoz was the 1-33 shoe-in due to his attacking philosophy and recent success in Georgia.

He won his first match in charge on Boxing Day, five days after taking over from Ivic. A magnificent 1-0 win over champions elect Norwich would announce him dutifully to the Hornets’ faithful, with star-boy Ismaila Sarr bagging the only goal.

And it’s been nothing short of a masterful appointment from the board. Not only have Watford gone from fifth to second, but their style of play, togetherness and character have seriously improved.

This was typified yesterday in their win over Cardiff in South Wales.

The Bluebirds were by far the better side in the opening quarter of an hour, and earned themselves the lead through an own goal. Josh Murphy was a threat throughout the first period and crossed for Francisco Sierralta to turn into his own net.

Watford could have easily capitulated. Despite their excellent run of form, Cardiff are equally on fire under new manager Mick McCarthy, both offensively and defensively.

When you give a McCarthy team an early lead, you’d generally expect a level of solidity for an least the next ten to 15 minutes.

But as the old adage goes, you’re most vulnerable to concede when you’ve just scored.

Watford worked the ball well with Sarr, before crossing into the box. Cardiff half-cleared. The ball fell to Nathaniel Chalobah with serious work to do – but with some quick feet amongst a crowd of bodies, he fired sumptuously past Dillon Phillips.

It’s a symbol of the Xisco identity at Vicarage Road – and it wasn’t the first display of vigilance from the Hornets.

After the brief flurry early on, the game petered out into your atypical Championship fixture on a cold, windy March afternoon. Vastly aerial, the Watford side had looked to have  a well-deserved point on the road.

With seconds dying, Watford won a free-kick on the edge of Cardiff’s penalty area. Full-back Adam Masina stepped up, and fired home through Phillips’ fingers.

The pandemonium in the dugout was almost deafening – like a small crowd of fans. The players all ran to the coaching staff – a sign of togetherness.

Masina’s strike ensured a 10th win in 16 matches for Munoz – bolstering Watford’s automatic promotion hopes and denting Cardiff’s playoff dream.

The Xisco culture is starting to gain serious momentum in Hertfordshire. We know it probably won’t last – but an urge to Watford fans is to enjoy this ride.

The performance from his side showed character, togetherness and strength. In a turbulent environment like Watford Football Club, that is an achievement in itself.

Whatever happens this season, Xisco has proven himself to be a good coach at this level. From Spain, to Georgia, to Watford – Xisco Munoz – the motivator, rolls on.

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