Wigan Athletic’s stunning FA Cup final win back in 2013 remains one of the tournament’s greatest upsets. Roberto Martinez’s side went into the game as massive underdogs against a Manchester City side that had won the Premier League the previous year. However, it was Wigan who went on to lift the trophy after substitute Ben Watson scored an injury time header from a corner.
Watson’s goal was the only one in the game as Wigan won the FA Cup for the first time in their history. Following the final, Wigan went on to get relegated to the Championship while City boss Roberto Mancini was sacked after they finished second in the Premier League. Now, over a decade on from Wigan’s shock triumph at Wembley, Mirror Football takes a look at what the 12 Latics stars who featured in the final are doing now.
Amazon deals: How you can watch Premier League matches for free this December FA Cup third round draw in full as Man Utd, Arsenal and Liverpool discover opponents Joel Robles Unlike Mancini, Martinez opted to stick with backup goalkeeper Robles for the final with Ali Al-Habsi left on the bench. The Spaniard was only on loan at Wigan that season and ended up reuniting with Martinez at Everton the following season after completing a permanent move from Atletico Madrid. The 33-year-old spent five seasons at Goodison Park, before spells at Real Betis and Leeds United .
He is currently plying his trade in Saudi Arabia with second tier club Al-Qadsiah, who sacked manager Robbie Fowler back in October. Emmerson Boyce Wigan’s captain on that day, Boyce is a bonafide Latics legend having spent nine years at the club since joining from Crystal Palace in 2006. The full-back retired from football in 2016 after a brief stint in League One with Blackpool and currently works as the Barbados FA’s technical director.
Paul Scharner The versatile Austrian international announced his retirement from football shortly after winning the FA Cup, having return to Wigan on loan that season from Bundesliga side Hamburg. The 43-year-old most recently worked as the director of SKN St. Polten’s youth department, but it was announced last month that he would be leaving the club.
Paul Scharner retired shortly after Wigan’s FA Cup win ( Image: AMA/Corbis via Getty Images) Antolin Alcaraz Another player who followed Martinez to Everton following Wigan’s relegation, Alcaraz spent two seasons on Merseyside before leaving to join Las Palmas. He then returned home to Paraguay in 2016 for stints at Libertad and Olimpia before announcing his retirement last month. Roger Espinoza Having joined Wigan from Sporting Kansas City just five months before the FA Cup final, Espinoza remained at the DW Stadium until January 2015.
He ended up rejoining the MLS side and continues to represent them to this day. James McCarthy The Irish international also joined Martinez at Everton later that year after the Toffees forked out around £13million for his services. Following six years at Goodison Park, McCarthy joined Crystal Palace before signing a four-year deal with Celtic in 2021.
However, the 33-year-old’s stint in Scotland has been hampered by injury problems and manager Brendan Rodgers has stated that McCarthy “will be looking to move on” in the near future. James McArthur left Wigan in 2014 to join Crystal Palace ( Image: Getty) James McArthur The Scotland midfielder spent one season with Wigan in the Championship before joining Palace in 2014. McArthur went on to spend the rest of his career at Selhurst Park, making more than 250 appearances for the club before retiring earlier this year.
Jordi Gomez The Spaniard is something of a cult hero at Wigan and briefly returned to the club in 2016 following spells at Sunderland and Blackburn. Since then, Gomez has played for Rayo Vallecano, Levski Sofia and Omonia but is currently a free agent. Callum McManaman The winger is now in his third spell at Wigan, having rejoined the club on a free transfer after leaving League Two outfit Tranmere Rovers.
Having struggled with injuries throughout his career, McManaman has also represented West Brom , Sheffield Wednesday, Sunderland, Luton and Melbourne Victory. Ben Watson scored Wigan’s late winner ( Image: The FA via Getty Images) Arouna Kone Seemingly still playing at the age of 40 with VK Weerde, Kone was the fourth and final Wigan player Martinez signed for Everton later that year. Following four seasons at Goodison Park, the striker made the move to Turkish club Sivasspor where he helped them win the 2022 Turkish Cup.
Shaun Maloney A key player during his four years at Wigan, Maloney returned to the club as manager earlier this year. Having retired from football in 2017 after stints at Chicago Fire and Hull, Maloney began coaching Celtic’s youth team before linking up with Martinez at Belgium. He left Belgium in 2021 for his managerial gig at Hibernian, but was sacked after just four months in the role.
Maloney then replaced Kolo Toure at Wigan in January, but failed to keep the Latics in the Championship. Ben Watson The only substitute Wigan used in the final, Martinez’s decision to replace Gomez with Watson in the 81st minute proved a masterstroke as the midfielder headed home the winning goal. Watson left Wigan in 2015 to join Watford and ultimately retired last year after featuring for Nottingham Forest and Charlton Athletic.
Ali Al-Habsi co-founded a road safety charity ( Image: GETTY) Al-Habsi, Gary Caldwell, Roman Golobart, Fraser Fyvie, Franco Di Santo and Angelo Henriquez also picked up winners medals despite not coming off the bench in the final. Goalkeeper Al-Habsi spent time at Reading, Al-Hilal and West Brom before retiring in 2020 and he now focuses on running road safety charity Safety First which he co-founded in 2012. Caldwell is currently managing League One side Exeter, while Golobart has been without a club since leaving Cypriot outfit Nea Salamina last year.
Fyvie now plies his trade for Scottish League One side Cove Rangers. Ex-Chelsea striker Di Santo is currently playing in Chile for Universidad Catolica, while former Manchester United player Henriquez is now in Russia where he plays for Baltika Kaliningrad. Manager Martinez, meanwhile, is now in charge of Portugal following stints with Everton and Belgium.
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From: mirroruk
URL: https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/wigan-facup-watson-kone-alhabsi-31619469
