Inducted as the new coach of Aston Villa, Unaï Emery makes his debut against Manchester United, a new chapter in his brilliant career, sometimes strewn with pitfalls, but so often crowned with success. A tricky step, which can definitely install the Spaniard among the greatest coaches of this century.
Forever, football stuck on Unaï Emery the label of the comeback, one evening of FC Barcelona – Paris Saint-Germain, in March 2017. A cruelly disrespectful image, of a coach who nevertheless knew success everywhere it’s old fashioned.
His four Europa Leagues embodying his greatest successes. The titles are also what best symbolizes Unai Emery. A true Stakhanovite, master tactician sometimes misunderstood, even mocked.
Affected by the events of Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, it is equal to that which is granted during the passage by Arsenal. Two passages where we will retain more the mockery of his accent than his sports results, yet relatively proven.
In Paris, he is the one who obtained the best victory rate under the QSI era (76%). At Arsenal, the rival with Mikel Arteta in terms of points per game, with a team on paper much inferior in terms of quality (1.85 for Emery; 1.93 for Arteta). What will come out of it? An outing to a press conference on the competition at PSG, based on bottles of water, and his way of greeting journalists at a press conference (“good evening”).
He who never takes the risk is never put at fault. For those who dare to take them, the result is often a double-edged sword. A lover of challenges, the Spaniard made the effort to learn French and English, to immerse himself in the local culture and his new environment. without reaping the rewards.
Luckily, Unai Emery isn’t one to give up, to settle for the bare minimum. Never stingy in terms of risk-taking, he did not hesitate when joining the ship Aston Villa, which nevertheless pitches dangerously.
Aston Villa was looking for a coach capable of taking him on a course, he probably found him. The Villans have not won a single trophy since 1996 on the national scene (Coupe de la Ligue) and 2001 on the European scene (Intertoto Cup). An eternity for one of the major clubs in England.
This is also the primary objective of the former manager of Villarreal who proclaimed it on Friday at a press conference:
« My dream is to win a trophy with Aston Villa… My second dream, my goal, could be to play with Aston Villa in Europe. »
– Unai Emery
🗣️ « My dream is to win a trophy with Aston Villa » 🏆
Unai Emery during his first press conference as Aston Villa manager 👔 pic.twitter.com/XLtG9zUWl1
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) November 4, 2022
With the new project symbolized by the arrival of the NSWE at the head of the club, the Aston Villa retrospective of the ambition and the mood of the service. All that remained was to place the right captain at the helm. Steven Gerrard failed in the mission, now place Emery’s experience.
With the effect so at his disposal, the Liverpool legend persisted with a 4-3-3, sometimes modulated into a 5-3-2 which did not work. Unai Emery arrives with the label of a specialist of a 4-2-3-1 much more adapted to the forces present, more structured too.
The one who said to watch the series Peaky Blinders to perfect his English during his time at Arsenal is also a romantic. The monuments in danger, that is well known. Valencia, Seville, Villarreal, for each of them, Unai Emery has successfully taken on the role of restaurateur.
If he lacked a little something with PSG and Arsenal, the Spaniard seems to have found a project that suits him, a club that lives up to his stature. From then on, Unai Emery embodies the ideal coach for Aston Villa, the remedy so much sought after by a club which has been restructuring since 2018.
By signing with Birmingham, Unai Emery also set himself a personal challenge: to restore his reputation on the Old Continent and in the Premier League. The Hondarribia native has a vengeance to take. It’s up to him to seize his chance.
Listen to Top 90, the 90min mission in which we debate on foot in the form of top lists! Rankings, combined XI, Frankenplayer, our opinions for each episode to establish the ultimate list at the end. In this tenth episode withAlexis Amsellem ,Davy Diamond etc Quentin Gepswe do our Top 5 of the teams that impressed us the most and the flop 5 of the cells that disappointed us the most in this group stage of the Champions League!
Click here for your podcast subscription!