Anthony Knockaert's journey to the top with Brighton & Hove Albion punctuated by hardship
It was the second leg of the playoff semi-final between Watford and Leicester City in the 2012/13 campaign. Watford goalkeeper Manuel Almunia stood between the goalposts. Leicester City attacker Anthony Knockaert placed the ball on the penalty spot. 96 minutes of the playoff semifinal second leg had passed and the tie was level on aggregate.
A spot in the playoff final at Wembley - which would take the teams one step closer to the riches of the Premier League - was on the line. As Knockaert stepped up to take the spot-kick, Vicarage Road as a whole held its breath.
He mustered a weak penalty down the middle and Almunia saved it, pushing the ball straight back to the Frenchman. Knockaert tried to dink the rebound, but Almunia parried again. Watford launched their own counter-attack and incredibly scored through Troy Deeney to send the crowd into raptures. With 96 minutes and 30 seconds on the clock, Knockaert was poised to send Leicester to the playoff final. 23 seconds later Watford scored as the camera zoomed in on a distraught Knockaert, surrounded by scores of euphoric Hornets fans.
Soon after the match, Knockaert apologised to the Leicester fans through Twitter, “I'm really sorry for the fans of Leicester. I'm very sad for everyone. Thank you very for your support all the season. I love Leicester.”
Speaking about the game in 2014, Knockaert said, “It was a bad moment for me and my family, but I also felt really bad for the supporters and the club. It was important to move on quickly. A week later, I was thinking about the new season. I don’t live in the past. It’s only football, and you have to put things in perspective. My life could have been a lot worse at that point. Mentally I’m someone who is very strong. You have to move on.”
The following season, though, Leicester gained promotion and Knockaert was a key contributor. However, his first season in the top flight did not pan out the way he would have liked. Manager Nigel Pearson afforded him only nine Premier League appearances which included just three starts.
Knockaert was deemed surplus to the Leicester squad who staged their escape from relegation. In 2015 he made the move to Belgian club Standard Liège.
After an impressive first half of the season in Belgium, England came calling yet again. Brighton Hove and Albion secured his services for around £2 million, a fee which would eventually prove to be a bargain.
Promotion heartbreak would trouble Knockaert again on his return to the Championship, though. Brighton were in the top two a large part of last season. A 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough on the final day pushed them into third place on goal difference and into the playoffs. Sheffield Wednesday defeated the Seagulls 3-1 on aggregate which meant that Brighton had perished in the playoffs in thrice in four years.
Despite all the drama that transpired, Chris Hughton’s men, led by Knockaert, bounced back this past season and secured direct promotion in 2017 as they finished second behind Newcastle United. The Frenchman was crowned as the Championship player of the season courtesy of his 15 goals and eight assists.
Though professionally successful, the 2016-17 season was still not easy for Knockaert. He lost his father in November due to a long illness. This demise was not the first one he had to go through. He had lost Steve, his older brother at the tender age of 17 after a heart attack.
His Brighton teammates helped him recover from the loss. Midfielder Steve Sidwell dedicated a goal scored against Bristol City to his teammate. Manager Hughton cancelled training and the squad made the trip to Leers, Knockaert’s hometown to pay their respects.
“I’ve told my team-mates: ‘If I was playing for any other club in the world, I don’t think they would have done that for me,’” Knockaert said. “Them coming all the way from England to France to come to my dad’s funeral was something I’ll never forget, and I still don’t know even now how to thank them.
“Now, for me, they are not just teammates but friends for ever. I owe this football club a lot. That’s why I give every single bit of my life on the pitch and they deserve it because this club is something special.”
Brighton secured promotion by beating Wigan Athletic in April 2017. Soon after the match ended, celebrations commenced at the Amex Stadium. Knockaert was seen wearing a white T-shirt in the tunnel. It had his father Patrick’s photograph and a message which read, “To Daddy. We did it for you. RIP.”
When asked about it the Frenchman said, “I’m thinking a lot about my dad. He’s been amazing in my life, the main man, and I wish he was here today with me to see all this and celebrate. But that is life. Every day I work so hard for him and if things go right for me, it’s because he gives me the power to fight. Because of what happened I have an even bigger desire to work hard and show he was believing in me. I do it all for him.”
Knockaert’s career has not followed the script he would have liked. He was on the wrong end of one of the craziest moments in football history. Two pillars in a man’s life, his elder brother and father left him in a state of melancholy. In spite of that, he came through and led his team to the summit of English football.
Stories like these which tell that at times family, friends and the brotherhood among fellow professionals trump the purely footballing aspects of the game.