Vernazza overcomes rejection to become Watford driving force

It does not take long to realise that Paolo Vernazza is not a man who likes to dwell on the past. He will talk about it if he has to, but the Watford midfielder would far rather discuss Sunday's FA Cup semi-final against Southampton.

However, while the past was "a foreign country" to L P Hartley, for Vernazza it is the other side of the hedgerow and harder to avoid. Every time he trains at Watford's London Colney base, the French accents drifting on the Hertfordshire wind remind Vernazza that he used to go through his paces next door with Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Robert Pires.

Indeed, not only is Watford's training ground adjacent to Arsenal's, until October 1999 it was Arsenal's and Vernazza, having joined the club several years earlier as a teenage trainee, knew it intimately. Thus it must have seemed a backwards step both physically and professionally when, 14 months after moving next door with the Gunners, he returned to join Watford having finally given up hope of breaking into Arsenal's first team.

Vernazza, now 23, does not see it that way. "I don't regret being at Arsenal or leaving when I did," he said as we chatted on the Nationwide side of the hedge. "I left because I was at a stage in my life where I needed first-team football. My chances at Arsenal were limited because they had world-class players there."

At the time Vernazza was quoted as being critical of the opportunities given to young players at Highbury, which may be one reason for his wariness when the subject comes up.

"It's not a question of nationality," he said, "if you are good enough you'll get in. Ashley Cole's a good friend of mine and he's got in and gone on to hold his own at international level. I still love the club – I've always been an Arsenal fan – but I'm happy here."

Naturally, Vernazza, who was born in Islington of an Italian father and English mother, would relish meeting Arsenal in the FA Cup final. First, Watford have to get past Southampton.

"It'll be a really tough game," he said. "Southampton have proved they can hold their own in the Premiership year after year and they are having a fantastic season."

There is another reason Vernazza prefers to look forward. In October 2001, just as he was beginning to justify Watford's £350,000 investment, the midfielder was stabbed by a burglar he disturbed in the early hours upon returning to the north London home he shared with his parents. Vernazza was injured in the thigh while Andrew Douglas, another former Arsenal trainee who was with him, received chest wounds so severe a priest was summoned to his hospital bedside.

Vernazza is reluctant to discuss the incident but he confirmed that Douglas, whose brother Stuart plays for Boston United, also made a full recovery and now plays for Chesham United in the Ryman League. Vernazza, who now lives in Barnet, said: "It's the sort of thing which would have an effect on you but I had good people round me, my family, people at the club, and it's done and dusted now."

He returned within two months, which he now thinks was too soon, but was not helped by a cartilage injury and a change of manager (unlike many Watford fans, he speaks well of Gianluca Vialli). In the last few months, though, the former England Under-21 international has been displaying the form he showed before the injury.

"He's doing all right after a slow start to the season," Ray Lewington, the Watford manager, said. "He's played some good games for us lately and been outstanding in some. When he's good, he's a very good player.

"He's a good passer. He knows the game, has a football brain and works extremely hard. Defending is not a strength, but he's really put the effort in to correct that side of his game and done better. His attitude's really pleased me."

There is one glaring fault to Vernazza's game. He has only scored two goals for Watford, the last in May 2001. "I'd like to see him score more goals," added Lewington. "It's in his armoury. He finishes well in shooting practices. It's just in certain situations he'd rather pass. If he can add goals to his game, he's a great midfield player.

"Being let go from a big club can be a shock to the system. Some players never recover. They feel cut off in their prime. Paolo's picked himself up and done very well. It must be strange being next door to Arsenal, but it does represent something he can try and get back to."

To underline the gulf represented by that hedgerow, Vernazza, like every other Watford player, took a 12.5 per cent cut in wages earlier this season to ease the club's financial crisis. "Players don't really watch what goes on outside the pitch but, when we were asked to take the cut, we made quite a quick decision," he said.

"They could have said no and the club might now be in administration," added Lewington. "Then they could have moped, let their heads go down and results slip. They didn't."

Vernazza added: "The best response is to do what we've been doing, go on an FA Cup run and climb the table. Each round been a bonus to the club." The income is still needed but for the players it is now about glory and, for Vernazza, the chance to create memories to dwell on.