Behrami? He’s a bit of an animal

Valon Behrami has been itching to make his debut in a Watford shirt judging by the way he charged around the pitch at the Benteler-Arena stadium yesterday.

It is unclear if Behrami has history with SC Paderborn 07 from his days at Hamburg but there was certainly something irritating the summer signing in Watford’s second and final match in Germany. He fought a running battle with the home side’s Mahir Saglik for the 57 minutes he was on the field, conceding a succession of preventable fouls. In the unforgiving world of the Premier League his impetuosity will come at a heavier price, particularly against expert free-kick technicians. In his defence, he was on the receiving end of his fair share of rough treatment.

“That’s what we’ve been missing,” said Troy Deeney. “The German league is a bit softer so a few of those ones were not fouls. We had a few against us that didn’t go our way.”

Behrami’s battle with the Turk kind of typified the scenes with Besiktas earlier on in the week at the hotel. The fractious nature of the holding midfielder’s performance manifested itself in a booking and jeers and whistles from the home fans when he was substituted. This was supposed to be a friendly. It also came just under three weeks before Watford play Everton, whose aggressive midfield once earned the reputation of being ‘Dogs of War’.

“It’s good to have a combative midfield and those two [Behrami and Etienne Capoue] love putting themselves about a bit,” said Deeney. “He [Behrami] joined us late and is finding his feet, but the new lads are showing their quality now so I’m loving what they might look like in three weeks. They are really good midfielders, pressing high and put pressure on the strikers to work harder.”

Behrami was also thorn in the side of the Germans. “I’m too sure about him,” said Paderborn’s Nick Proschwitz, “but he’s definitely a great footballer. It’s [part of] football and you have those little niggles.”

Behrami screened the back four with Capoue instead of being deployed in more advanced role. That spot surprisingly went to Ben Watson. Behrami played the holding role well, breaking up the play up, putting his foot in and economical in position. One of the few times he did give the ball away, handing Craig Carthcart a hospital pass in the middle of the Watford half after overplaying, he threw his hand up in the air to apologise.

Deeney, meanwhile, threw the armband to Capoue when he exited the stage. “I passed it him as he’s in the middle,” explained Deeney.. “His influence in the team is massive. He’s come in and shown what he’s all about. He’s played for Tottenham and France so is no slouch. He’s a good pro and is getting the best out the rest of us.”

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