The Basque coach, who is leaving Villarreal to join Aston Villa, awaits his second stint in the Premier League and his fourth adventure outside of Spain
“Villarreal has given me the opportunity. We have risen to the opportunity.” “It’s a personal and professional decision. When the opportunities are there, you have to seize them,” Unai Emery said at his farewell press conference for Villarreal on Tuesday. “I thank Emery for everything, but he left us with a different foot,” said Fernando Roig, president of the entity.
The coach from Gruipuzcoa leaves the Yellow Submarine after two and a half seasons of absolute success in the city of Castellón. In his first season, Villarreal finished seventh in the league and won the Europa League in a thrilling final against Manchester United, decided on 22 penalties. It was Villarreal’s first title, which also meant he qualified for the Champions League the following season.
A Champions League that was a dream for Villarreal, a city of only 50,000 inhabitants, from which they have not yet awakened. Unai Emery led the team to the semi-finals of Europe’s biggest competition, leaving ocean liners like Bayern Munich behind and Liverpool sweating on the brink of the grand final. An epic and unexpected journey that also shows the greatness of football.
“Get out of the comfort zone.” It is a phrase that Unai Emery has rooted in his personality. The Basque has had a very varied career and this acquisition for Aston Villa is not his first challenge away from home, certainly not his last. His career full of challenges leaves us with a clear picture of the Gipuzkoan, that of emigrating after sporting success in the constant search for challenges.
His first adventure came after traveling through Valencia. In the set of the capital of the Turia, he experienced two remarkable first seasons, placing the team third, classified for the Champions League. In 2011, the club went through a major reconversion phase. The departures of David Villa, Mata and Silva weakened the squad and the team fell into a slump that ended with Emery’s non-continuity after his great work in the early seasons.
The Hondarribia coach signed for Spartak Moscow, a team that was playing in the Champions League at the time. He barely lasted two months at the helm of the Russian team, sacked for poor results. In 2013, he took the reins of Sevilla, his most successful phase as an elite coach. He won three Europa League titles in a row, making the Sevilla side the most successful club in the competition. They also reached a Copa del Rey final, but were defeated by FC Barcelona. After this successful and excellent trip in Nervión, Emery again set his sights on a foreign club, this time a giant team like PSG.
His time on the Paris team will always be remembered for Barcelona’s 6-1 comeback in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16. However, the Basque won Ligue 1, two League Cups, two French Cups and two French Super Cups. After two seasons in Paris, Emery moved to London to sign for Arsenal.
With the Gunners, he finished the campaign in 5th place and a finalist in the Europa League. After one season and a poor start to the next, Arsenal sacked the Spanish manager. The following season he finally signed with a Villarreal team which he is now leaving after experiencing a historic and sportingly lofty podium, to return to the Premier League and take on another important challenge outdoors.
It is even the second chance for the Basque coach to leave Villarreal. In September 2021, Newcastle bet everything on the Spaniard, but at that point Emery decided to decline that dizzying offer. “Villarreal CF is my home and I am 100% committed,” de Bask said on the occasion. Now Unai Emery is up against a 15th-placed Aston Villa in the Premier League, but with a resource that has yet to be harnessed, a context in which Emery moves like a fish in water.
In 2013, he took over the reins from Sevilla to experience his most successful podium as an elite coach. He has won three Europa Leagues in a row, making the Sevilla team the most successful club in this competition. They also reached a Copa del Rey final, but were defeated by Barcelona. After this successful and excellent trip in Nervión, Emery again set his sights on a foreign club, this time a giant team like PSG.
His time in the Paris team will always be remembered for Barcelona’s 6-1 comeback in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16. However, the Basque won Ligue 1, two League Cups, two French Cups and two French Super Cups. After two seasons in Paris, Emery moved to London to sign for Arsenal.
With the gunners, he finished the campaign as fifth in the Europa League and finalist. After one season and a poor start to the next, Arsenal sacked the Spanish manager. The following season he finally signed with a Villarreal team which he is now leaving after experiencing a historic and sportingly lofty podium, to return to the Premier League and take on another important challenge outdoors.
It was even the Basque coach’s second chance to leave Villarreal. In September 2021, Newcastle bet everything on the Spaniard, but at that point Emery decided to decline that dizzying offer. “Villarreal is my home and I am 100% committed,” he said on that occasion. Now Emery takes an Aston Villa that is 15th in the Premier League, but with a resource that has yet to be harnessed, a context in which this coach moves like a fish in water.
Source: La Verdad
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