10 Things You Don’t Know About Unai Emery
Spanish Manager, Unai Emery Etxegoien is back to the Premier League from La Liga Santander after his failed tenure at Arsenal to an excellent run in Villareal.
But given that the current Villareal manager is returning to the Premier League to join managers like Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, Erik Ten Hag, Antonio Conte, Mikel Arteta, and a plethora of others, how much do you know about him?
Naija News highlights Ten things you might not know about him.
1. Football is a family affair
Since both Unai’s father and grandfather were professional football players, the sport runs in his family.
2. His grandfather gave up the first goal ever in La Liga
The first game in La Liga’s history pitted Espanyol against Real Union Irun. In a game that Espanyol won 3-2, Antonio Emery, Unai’s grandfather, is remembered for being the one who allowed Pitus Prat to score the first-ever La Liga goal.
Antonio Emery played the first La liga match in 19293. He has Four Europa League victories
He won the Europa League with the Spanish team Sevilla FC three years in a row (in 2014, 2015, and 2016), and he won the fourth Europa League with Villareal against Manchester United in 2021.
4. He once used dice to decide his starting lineup
Emery was eager to show his team how much he trusted them as they played their first game against Deportivo when he led Almeria to their first-ever La liga Santander spot. He used a dice roll to determine his starting lineup, and it was successful as they won 3-0 that day.
5. He once coached the world’s most expensive player
Neymar, the most expensive player in the world, was once under his management at Paris St. Germain after moving there from Barcelona for almost £200 million.
6. His football career wasn’t particularly successful.
The majority of Unai’s playing career was spent in the division two of the Spanish La Liga, known as the Segunda Division of Spain.
7. His greatest managerial feat was winning Europa three times in a row.
With Sevilla, Emery achieved his greatest coaching successes, winning the Europa League three times in a row in 2014, 2015, and 2016.
Unai Emery Led Villareal to Europa League Victory8. He has journeyed across Europe
Unai appears to enjoy commuting as he has led teams in France, Spain, Russia, and now England for the second time.
9. He spent half of the season in Russian league
Emery travelled to the Russian capital in 2012 to assume control of Spartak Moscow. He only stayed at the club for circa six months before being persuaded to return to Spain and begin his illustrious reign as Sevilla’s manager.
Emery Coached Spartak Moscow for half a season10. He has written a book that has been released.
Emery found time to write a book about his managerial accomplishments in between leading training and assessing games from the sidelines. The book’s title is “Winning Mentality: The Emery Methodology,” and it was published in 2012.
This article was originally published on Naija News
