In 2010, a young right-winger made his La Liga debut for his hometown club. Kiko Femenia was 19 years old, a star of the Hercules academy, taking his bow in the world’s biggest league. You can still see the footage of the game on YouTube, although be warned that it’s a difficult and occasionally harrowing watch.

With his first touch, Kiko loses his balance and gets beaten to the ball. With his second, he gets tackled. With his third, he stumbles over the ball and loses possession. “Kiko, find the right ball, for f--- sake,” his manager Esteban Vigo urges from the sidelines. “What’s happening?”

It gets worse. As Kiko struggles to get any kind of foothold in the game, it becomes clear from the Hercules bench that he’s struggling. “Kiko! Keep breathing!” his team-mates shout out to him. As Vigo begins to lose patience with the teenager, the other substitutes urge him: no le cambies. Don’t take him off. Bent double, gasping for air, in a situation he can’t control and feeling a helplessness he can’t explain, Kiko is a young man in the middle of a waking nightmare.

The good news is that it’s a story with a happy ending, albeit one with a few twists and turns along the way. Kiko stayed on the pitch, gradually came to his senses, and went on to play a full part in the rest of the game. Now, nine years later, and on the verge of his first FA Cup final, he can look back with pride on how he came through an experience that could have finished him.

“It’s true that this match is not one I remember with a lot of affection,” he says now, on a glorious May afternoon at Watford’s training ground. “I was promoted from the second division with Hercules. It was the club of my home town, and I had strong feelings for it. I felt a lot of pressure.”

Ranking the 20 greatest FA Cup finals Show all 21 1 / 21 Ranking the 20 greatest FA Cup finals Ranking the 20 greatest FA Cup finals Ranking the 20 greatest FA Cup finals LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 27: The FA Cup Trophy is seen prior to The Emirates FA Cup Final between Arsenal and Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on May 27, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images) Getty Images Ranking the 20 greatest FA Cup finals 1997: Chelsea 2-0 Middlesbrough A game that will go down in the history books for Roberto Di Matteo’s thunderbolt inside a minute. Ruud Gullit became the first black manager to win a major English trophy. Getty Images Ranking the 20 greatest FA Cup finals 1993: Arsenal 2-1 Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday’s most recent FA Cup was lost after extra time and a replay. Ian Wright and Chris Waddle took the game to extra time before Andy Linighan’s header in the final moment. Getty Images Ranking the 20 greatest FA Cup finals 2002: Arsenal 2-0 Chelsea A closely fought match was separated by two stunning strikes to the top corner. Individual brilliance from Ray Parlour and Freddie Ljungberg. Getty Images Ranking the 20 greatest FA Cup finals 1976: Manchester United 0-1 Southampton Finishing sixth in the second division, Southampton were massive underdogs heading into the match against third in the top flight Man United. Bobby Stokes left-footed volley was the winning goal on 83 minutes. Getty Images Ranking the 20 greatest FA Cup finals 2017: Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea An early goal from Alexis Sanchez amid offside claims was cancelled out by Diego Costa. Just three minutes later, Gunners had their record 13th title secured by another Aaron Ramsey Wembley goal. Getty Images Ranking the 20 greatest FA Cup finals 1980: West Ham United 1-0 Arsenal West Ham hero Trevor Brooking scored the only goal after 13 minutes in the last FA Cup Final to be won by a team outside the top flight. Getty Images Ranking the 20 greatest FA Cup finals 1966: Everton 3-2 Sheffield Wednesday Everton reached the final without conceding a goal, but Wednesday were two up with half-an-hour to play. The Toffees became the second side ever to come from two goals down and win the final. Getty Images Ranking the 20 greatest FA Cup finals 2014: Arsenal 3-2 Hull City (AET) Hull City were two goals up inside eight minutes against Arsenal but could not hold on. Goals from Santi Cazorla and Laurent Koscielny took the game to extra time before Aaron Ramsey stabbed home to break Hull hearts. Getty Images Ranking the 20 greatest FA Cup finals 2016: Crystal Palace 1-2 Manchester United (AET) Alan Pardew danced on the touchline when Jason Puncheon put Palace up but Juan Mata took the game to stoppage time before Jesse Lingard thumped into the top corner, securing United’s 12th FA Cup. Getty Images Ranking the 20 greatest FA Cup finals 1973: Leeds United 0-1 Sunderland Leeds were a dominant force in English football when second division Sunderland became the first tem outside the top flight to lift the trophy since West Brom in 1931. Getty Images Ranking the 20 greatest FA Cup finals 1990: Crystal Palace 3-3 Manchester United (AET) In the first all-seater final at Wembley, Ian Wright and Mark Hughes bagged braces for their respective clubs in an enthralling match that resulted in a replay – won 1-0 by United. Getty Images Ranking the 20 greatest FA Cup finals 2013: Manchester City 0-1 Wigan Athletic Ben Watson’s 91st minute header against Premier League champions from the previous year made Wigan the first ever club to win the FA Cup be relegated in the same season. Getty Images Ranking the 20 greatest FA Cup finals 1979: Arsenal 3-2 Manchester United The ‘Five-minute Final’ embodies the sentiment that frantic finishes are a staple of the FA Cup. Arsenal threw away a two-goal lead with four minutes left and Alan Sunderland still grabbed the winner. Getty Images Ranking the 20 greatest FA Cup finals 1989: Liverpool 3-2 Everton (AET) Five weeks after the Hillsborough disaster, Liverpool and Everton met in the FA Cup Final. A 90th minute Toffees equaliser took the fixture to extra time at 1-1 before a brace from substitute Ian Rush won the cup for Liverpool. Getty Images Ranking the 20 greatest FA Cup finals 1988: Liverpool 0-1 Wimbledon Wimbledon’s one and only FA Cup triumph came courtesy of a Lawrie Sanchez header. The club had only been in the Football League for 11 years when they beat the reigning English champions. Getty Images Ranking the 20 greatest FA Cup finals 2001: Arsenal 1-2 Liverpool The first FA Cup Final held at the Millennium Stadium was enthralling as Michael Owen scored two in five minutes to cancel out Freddie Ljungberg’s opener, winning the game at the death. Getty Images Ranking the 20 greatest FA Cup finals 1981: Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 Manchester City A final pebble dashed with incredible strikes was clinched by an all-time great FA Cup goal. Ricky Villa’s jinking run into the box and finish will never be forgotten by Spurs fans. Getty Images Ranking the 20 greatest FA Cup finals Coventry City 3-2 Tottenham Hotspur (AET) John Motson described this game as, “the finest Cup Final” when commentating. Behind twice, Coventry levelled and dragged the game into stoppage time. ‘Gary Mabbutt’s Knee’ is now a Coventry fanzine after the Spurs man’s own goal gifted Sky Blues the win in dramatic fashion. Getty Images Ranking the 20 greatest FA Cup finals 1953: Blackpool 4-3 Bolton Wanderers Coming back from 3-1 down to win in stoppage time is motivation enough for this final to be considered an all-time great. The match was dubbed ‘The Matthews Final’ for Stanley Matthews’ performance, despite teammate Stan Mortensen scoring a hat-trick. Getty Images Ranking the 20 greatest FA Cup finals 2006: Liverpool 3-3 West Ham (3-1 on pens) Seconds from securing a first FA Cup trophy since 1980, West Ham could not have imagined they would find themselves despairing on the Millennium Stadium turf. Steven Gerrard struck a 30-yard half-volleyed thunderbolt to take the game into extra time where the Reds would win on penalties. Getty Images

The Spanish press later speculated that Kiko had suffered from an anxiety attack. “The stadium was full, and coming on for the first time I was very, very nervous,” he admits. “But I’d say it wasn’t anxiety. It’s not something I’ve experienced since. It was just nerves. With time I got over it, and it’s helped make me the player I am now.”

Certainly there are no qualms now over Kiko’s big-game temperament, as he prepares for his first Wembley final. In his second season at Watford, and now a rapid right-back, the 28-year-old from Alicante has quietly developed into one of the club’s most effective weapons: secure at the back, yet with a lightning turn of speed that can turn defence into attack within a matter of seconds.

‘Only’ Manchester City stand in the way of the greatest day in Watford’s history and their first European campaign since 1983. And while it’s 30 years since Watford beat City, Kiko has tasted success much more recently against a Pep Guardiola team. After all, his very next game for Hercules after the nightmare against Athletic Bilbao was at the Camp Nou against Barcelona.

There, against a team featuring Lionel Messi, David Villa, Xavi and Andres Iniesta who would go on to win the Champions League at Wembley the following May, Hercules claimed a famous 2-0 victory. “The secret is to be together, to be united,” he says now when asked about how best to topple the giants of the game. “Defend together, attack together. Manchester City is a much more complete team than Barcelona right now, and have very quick players. They can do us a lot of damage if we’re not together, defending well.

How to combat the combined threats of Leroy Sane and Riyad Mahrez, Bernardo Silva and Raheem Sterling? “We know it will be very difficult,” Kiko says. “They are obviously one of best teams in the world at the moment. But at the end of the day, it’s one game. Anything can happen. And we have the weapons to beat them. It’s very much possible.”

Manchester City won the Premier League title on Sunday ( AFP/Getty )

Of course, he has every reason to feel bullish. Watford have just completed another strong Premier League campaign, with Kiko finally showing the form that convinced both Barcelona and Real Madrid to take him on after leaving Hercules. Neither move worked out, but during his two years in the Barcelona B side, and then 18 months at the Madrid Castilla, he got a taste of what it took to reach the very top.

“I didn’t have much contact with Guardiola, because I wasn’t with the first team most of the time,” he remembers. “But I respected the way he kept very close to his players, the way he builds a relationship with them. He tries to drive into you that you have to play with a calm mentality. He’s always transmitting a good energy. That’s what I remember best about Guardiola.

“But things happen, and you need to find a way out. I went to Real, where I didn’t play as much as I’d hoped. But those moves, those experiences, have made me the strong player I am today, and changed the way I see football. It’s been a huge learning curve for me. I’ve learned from my errors. So I don’t have any regrets.”

Femenia believes Watford can shock City ( AFP/Getty Images )

Seeking game time, Kiko dropped down to Alcoron in the Second Division, before winning promotion with Alaves in 2016. By now he was playing more frequently at right-back under Mauricio Pellegrino, and in 2017 he reached his first major club final, the Copa del Rey against Barcelona.

“It was an amazing day,” he remembers. “Alaves, like Watford, had a great season. And in the final we were able to stand up to Barcelona. It was 1-1, but then Messi came on and scored to make it 1-2. But we competed. We gave them a game. I want that same mentality with Watford in the final. We shouldn’t feel that we are inferior.”

And so in 2017, the Premier League came calling. Injuries hampered his progress in the first season, but in this campaign, under the careful tutelage of his fellow Spaniard Javi Gracia, he has flourished. He enjoys the faster pace of the Premier League, the more direct style, the way every game is competitive right to the end.

Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

“I’m a completely different player to the one I was when I was playing in Spain,” he admits. “That’s what the Premier League demands. It forces you to adapt. The first season was difficult. This second season, I’m feeling a lot better. I’ve got to know the city, the club, how it functions. I’m a lot more relaxed and comfortable.”

He still misses Spain sometimes, the weather and the paella, but London is beginning to grow on him. “There’s a lot to see,” he says. “There are theatres and cinemas. You can buy anything you want.”