Former Leeds United And Watford Boss Eyed For La Liga Job
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Former Leeds United and Watford boss Javi Gracia could be in line for a job in La Liga as Espanyol are eyeing him to take over.
The 55-year-old Spaniard started his coaching career in his homeland with Villarreal’s youth team and managed a host of lower league Spanish teams.
Gracia managed Russian outfit Rubin Kazan and Qatari side Al Sadd as well, and first came to England back in 2018, with Watford.
The Hornets were in the Premier League back then and Gracia helped Watford finish eleventh in the league table in the 2018/19 campaign.
However, things did not go according to plan, and he was sacked early next season.
Leeds United brought Gracia back to England in 2023, with then sporting director Victor Orta a huge fan of his work.
Gracia later admitted that seeing Orta leave Elland Road hurt him as much as losing the job of Leeds boss did.
One former Leeds United skipper claimed that the Whites fans despised the Spaniard, who was sacked with four games to go in the 2022/23 campaign.
After that, Gracia was out of work for more than 30 months before Watford eventually appointed him earlier this term.
The 55-year-old lost only five of his 20 league games in charge, putting the Hornets in a strong position to fight for the Championship playoffs.
Former striker Sam Parkin lauded Watford for appointing Gracia, stressing that appointing the Spaniard was their best decision in the last few years.
Gracia, though, walked away unexpectedly from Vicarage Road, and the Hornets have next to no chances of fighting for their Premier League dream as they are eleven points behind sixth-positioned Hull City.
The ex-Leeds and Watford boss is yet to take a new job since his Hornets departure in February, but he could be back in the game soon.
According to Spanish journalist Juan Velazquez, Espanyol see Gracia as a potential candidate to be their manager next season.
It has been suggested that the Barcelona-based club have decided to sack their current boss, Manolo Gonzalez, at the end of the current campaign.
Espanyol have not won a single La Liga game in the calendar year, as their last win came back in December, against Athletic Bilbao.
The former Leeds boss managed the likes of Valencia, Osasuna, Malaga and Almeria before, and now it remains to be seen whether he will return to manage another significant Spanish club after the quality he showed at Watford, but failed to show at Elland Road.
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