ANTHONY KNOCKAERT was on the wrong end of one of the most dramatic moments in English football history.
Now the former Leicester, Brighton and Fulham winger is hoping to cause a seismic shock in the French Cup for struggling Valenciennes.
Knockaert, now 32, is best remembered for having a stoppage-time penalty saved in the Foxes’ Championship Play-Off semi-final second leg against Watford in 2013.
The Hornets went straight down the other end and SunSport columnist Troy Deeney scored to send them to Wembley.
Fast forward 11 years and Knockaert is one game from playing at the Stade de France in the final of the French Cup.
But his current team Valenciennes are massive underdogs for this evening’s semi-final against a Lyon side captained by former Arsenal star Alexandre Lacazette.
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After a dreadful season, the club controlled by Southampton owners Sport Republic sit bottom of Ligue 2 and are all but certain to be relegated to the third tier.
Yet after some kind draws against non-League opposition, Valenciennes have reached the last four of the French Cup for the first time since 1970.
Knockaert said: “If anyone didn’t want to play a match like this, they should quit football, change sport! In terms of desire, we will be at 100 per cent.
“Of course, that’s not everything. We will have to stick to the boss’ plan. We don’t have room to make the smallest mistake, we know we will pay dearly.
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“We have to give them the absolute minimum and, in attack, make the most of the shots we have and hope to be 100 per cent efficient to pull something off there.
“We will have to surpass ourselves, to have the match of our lives.”
Lyon, owned by Crystal Palace’s biggest shareholder John Textor, are hot favourites and have a number of players with Premier League experience in their ranks besides Lacazette.
Former England defender Ainsley Maitland-Niles joined on a free from Arsenal last summer after spending a season on loan at Southampton, Valenciennes’ sister club.
Croatian centre half Duje Caleta-Car is on a season-long loan from the Saints at Lyon, while Said Benrahma and Orel Mangala arrived on temporary deals in January from West Ham and Nottingham Forest. Ainsle
Former Liverpool centre back Dejan Lovren is in his second spell at the club.
So is skipper Lacazette, and he is taking nothing for granted against Valenciennes after Lyon’s defeat by Nantes at the same stage last season.
The former Arsenal and France centre forward said: “We still have a lot of regrets from last season, and we don’t want to repeat the same mistakes.
“We need to play. Last year we had that fear. This time we have to play to avoid regrets like last year.
“They (Valenciennes) are the smallest of the four teams (left in the competition), but it is still a semi-final and we have to respect them.
“We understand that with the atmosphere and environment, if we are serious, things will go well, but we have to be careful.
“It is pleasing to be here today, but we want to reach the final for everything we have experienced since the start of the season.
“We need to stay focused on the objective. I think in these kinds of matches there is no need for grand speeches. All players will be motivated to give their best.”
Knockaert has plenty of top-flight experience himself after helping THREE different teams achieve promotion to the Premier League.
He joined Leicester from French club Guingamp in 2012 and after that extraordinary play-off disappointment, played a leading role as they went up as Championship winners the following season.
But a contract stand-off led to him joining Standard Liege on a free transfer in 2015, which meant he missed out on Leicester’s incredible Premier League triumph.
Knockaert went back to England to join Brighton in 2016 and was Championship Player of the Year in 2016/7 when a runners-up finish saw the Seagulls return to the top flight for the first time in 34 years.
While at the Amex, he opened up about family tragedies and his struggle with depression. Older brother Steve died in 2011 from a heart attack and father Jamie passed away from cancer in 2016.
Knockaert spent the 2019/20 season on loan at Fulham and helped the Cottagers win promotion via the Play-Offs, beating Brentford in the final at Wembley.
After further loan spells at Nottingham Forest, Greek club Volos and Huddersfield, the winger and Fulham agreed to cancel the remainder of his contract.
In September 2023, he joined Valenciennes, a club in North East France close to the Belgian border and less than an hour’s drive from his birthplace of Roubaix, near Lille.
Taylor Moore, the former Bristol City defender and England Under-19s captain, is among his team-mates.
But Valenciennes have had a nightmare in Ligue 2, winning just two games all season, and sit rock bottom 18 points from safety with just eight game to go.
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The cup run has given Knockaert, the team and their fans something to enjoy.
And he knows as well as anyone that anything can happen in football.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
