Defender Lucía León says that the Watford squad boasts a whole range of different qualities going into the new season.
The Golden Girls have returned to the Barclays Women’s Championship after a one-season absence. The Hertfordshire club face Durham in their opening fixture of the season at Grosvenor Vale on Sunday afternoon.
Watford manager Damon Lathrope has added 11 players to his squad over the summer including Dominican Republic international defender León. When speaking exclusively to FAWSL Full-Time, León highlighted the whole range of talents that Watford boast in their ranks this season.
“It is a really good mix of youth and experience,” León said. “There are experienced players like Gemma (Davison) and we have really good up and coming players like Michelle (Agyemang) who is one to look out for, she has a lot of potential.
“Everyone brings their own qualities whether that is technically, physically or if they are a leader. We really are a complete team, you can find something special in each and every one of us. It is a really good environment to be in.”
León has returned to England following a spell playing in the Spanish top flight with Real Betis. She sees similarities with the bottom end of the finetwork Liga F and the Barclays Women’s Championship.
She said “The Championship is probably the equivalent of the bottom six or seven teams in the Spanish league.
“For me, being in the WSL for a season-and-a-half with Spurs then going to Spain and coming back here, I don’t know what it is going to be like. I have watched games but you never know what it is going to be like playing in it.
“We have played some friendlies and I feel like we have different qualities to some of the other teams in the league in the way that we play. I’m super-excited to see how we do.”
León will come up against Durham for the first time in more than four years this weekend. A lot has changed in that time but she expects Durham’s unique identity to be the same.
“I’ve faced Durham a couple of times in the Championship before but I have been asking my teammates about them,” León said. “I’ve been told that they are a physical, direct team who will try to score at every opportunity. They will also defend with physicality.
“We have been studying them so we know what we are going to face. I expect it to be similar to what I have faced before; physical, direct and they will look to punish mistakes.”
Watford’s Barclays Women’s Championship fixture against Durham kicks-off at 12pm on Sunday afternoon. Tickets remain on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.
