Étienne Capoue is having a start to the season for Watford that is surely even shocking himself. The French footballer has been given more freedom and prominence by Italian manager Walter Mazzarri, and it’s working wonderfully well so far.
Capoue was very highly rated in France when he left Toulouse for Tottenham Hotspur in 2013, but a poor time with Spurs saw his name largely disappear from the football news.
Mauricio Pochettino wasn’t a fan and that sent the player to the Spurs wilderness. His brother Aurélien, himself a former footballer, has been speaking to the French newspaper and believes that Poch’s preference was in a way helpful.
After using a previous quote from Capoue saying that Pochettino didn’t explain his choices to him, L’Equipe quote the player’s brother as saying: “He probably understood that nothing would be given to him.
“I think he has grown in terms of character. Humanly, he has not changed but has matured. And he probably realised that nothing would be given to him.”
The new, perhaps more determined, Capoue is certainly having a much better spell under Mazzarri.
