I am watching Aston Villa absolutely dismember Newcastle at Villa Park so far (albeit it still is early; they have a goal, have hit two posts and the Newcastle GK has one extraordinary save), and it has occurred to me that he has to be the best little known manager in soccer.
As a Barcelona fan, I love the fact that his career record against them is 1 win and many losses, but his overall success is extraordinary. After a playing career starting in the Basque Country where he was born and playing mostly in the Segunda Division, he retired to manage Third Division Lorca Deportivo and won promotion to the Segunda Division in his first season. He then left for Almería and in his first season they were promoted to La Liga for the first time in their history.
After one season of coaching there, he was hired by Valencia. Once a major power in European football, the club had fallen on hard times. Valencia was a financial mess, with debts totaling more than $400 Million. Emery finished 4th in his first season, returning them to the Champions League. He finished third each of the next two years, despite the team selling their three best players, forward David Villa, midfielder David Silva and striker Juan Mata in consecutive seasons.
Seeing no future there, he left Valencia for, of all teams, Spartak Moscow, and made the Champions League in his one season there before accepting the managerial job at Sevilla. Sevilla were in 12th place in La Liga when Emery took over. He managed to get them into 5th place and qualified for the next Europa League. They won it. They won the next two years as well, although Emery never got them above 5th in La Liga.
He left Sevilla for PSG, the death trap for managers. PSG, of course, is probably the most disappointing team in Europe year after year, winning French trophies while unable to win a European one which its Arab ownership so covets, despite spending far more than any other club. In 4 years, Emery won 9 French trophies but no European ones. He did beat Barcelona for the first time in his career in 2016, winning the first leg of the Champions League quarter final in Paris 4-0. Of course, that was a Pyrrhic victory which set the stage for the remarkable 6-1 Barcelona win in the second leg on the last play of the match goal by Sergio Roberto on a pass off a free kick by Neymar.
He spent the next two seasons at Arsenal. In his first season, Arsenal lost its first two matches but then won 11 in a row to start a 22 match unbeaten streak. However, it collapsed at the end of the season and finished 5th. It made the Europa League final but were beaten by Chelsea.
That off-season, Arsenal/Emery made two of the worst transfer decisions in history: signing CB David Luiz from Chelsea and striker Nicolas Pepe, for whom it paid an astronomical amount. Emery was sacked in November 2019.
In 2020, he was hired by Villareal. This has perhaps been his most amazing success story.
A team in a very small working class city owned by a local ceramics factory owner; a team payroll of $11.5 Million, lower than what Man U pays to Marcus Rashford; under Emery, it qualified for and won the Europa League, in his first season, beating Arsenal in the semis and Man U in the final.
In his second year at Villareal, he led them to a Champions League berth. They made it to the semifinals, beating both Bayern Munich in the round of 16 and Juventus in the quarters. They lost in the semis to Liverpool.
In October 2022, Aston Villa essentially purchased Emery from cash-poor Villareal. Under the fired Steven Gerard, Villa was in 16th place, 2 points above relegation. In his first 17 matches as manager, they have won 11 and moved up to 6th place. Villa Park is SRO for today’s match.
I don’t know if his personality is right for some top flight teams. By all accounts, he is not very likeable and wears out his welcome quickly. But, I can’t think of a manager who has done more with less…and done it so fast.
UPDATE: Villa lead 3-0 in the 85th minute. They have owned midfield, owned possession; allowed only 2 decent scoring chances; and passed as well in the final 3rd as any team I have seen this year. Ollie Watkins has 2 goals on perfect setups from teammates in the box.
As a Barcelona fan, I love the fact that his career record against them is 1 win and many losses, but his overall success is extraordinary. After a playing career starting in the Basque Country where he was born and playing mostly in the Segunda Division, he retired to manage Third Division Lorca Deportivo and won promotion to the Segunda Division in his first season. He then left for Almería and in his first season they were promoted to La Liga for the first time in their history.
After one season of coaching there, he was hired by Valencia. Once a major power in European football, the club had fallen on hard times. Valencia was a financial mess, with debts totaling more than $400 Million. Emery finished 4th in his first season, returning them to the Champions League. He finished third each of the next two years, despite the team selling their three best players, forward David Villa, midfielder David Silva and striker Juan Mata in consecutive seasons.
Seeing no future there, he left Valencia for, of all teams, Spartak Moscow, and made the Champions League in his one season there before accepting the managerial job at Sevilla. Sevilla were in 12th place in La Liga when Emery took over. He managed to get them into 5th place and qualified for the next Europa League. They won it. They won the next two years as well, although Emery never got them above 5th in La Liga.
He left Sevilla for PSG, the death trap for managers. PSG, of course, is probably the most disappointing team in Europe year after year, winning French trophies while unable to win a European one which its Arab ownership so covets, despite spending far more than any other club. In 4 years, Emery won 9 French trophies but no European ones. He did beat Barcelona for the first time in his career in 2016, winning the first leg of the Champions League quarter final in Paris 4-0. Of course, that was a Pyrrhic victory which set the stage for the remarkable 6-1 Barcelona win in the second leg on the last play of the match goal by Sergio Roberto on a pass off a free kick by Neymar.
He spent the next two seasons at Arsenal. In his first season, Arsenal lost its first two matches but then won 11 in a row to start a 22 match unbeaten streak. However, it collapsed at the end of the season and finished 5th. It made the Europa League final but were beaten by Chelsea.
That off-season, Arsenal/Emery made two of the worst transfer decisions in history: signing CB David Luiz from Chelsea and striker Nicolas Pepe, for whom it paid an astronomical amount. Emery was sacked in November 2019.
In 2020, he was hired by Villareal. This has perhaps been his most amazing success story.
A team in a very small working class city owned by a local ceramics factory owner; a team payroll of $11.5 Million, lower than what Man U pays to Marcus Rashford; under Emery, it qualified for and won the Europa League, in his first season, beating Arsenal in the semis and Man U in the final.
In his second year at Villareal, he led them to a Champions League berth. They made it to the semifinals, beating both Bayern Munich in the round of 16 and Juventus in the quarters. They lost in the semis to Liverpool.
In October 2022, Aston Villa essentially purchased Emery from cash-poor Villareal. Under the fired Steven Gerard, Villa was in 16th place, 2 points above relegation. In his first 17 matches as manager, they have won 11 and moved up to 6th place. Villa Park is SRO for today’s match.
I don’t know if his personality is right for some top flight teams. By all accounts, he is not very likeable and wears out his welcome quickly. But, I can’t think of a manager who has done more with less…and done it so fast.
UPDATE: Villa lead 3-0 in the 85th minute. They have owned midfield, owned possession; allowed only 2 decent scoring chances; and passed as well in the final 3rd as any team I have seen this year. Ollie Watkins has 2 goals on perfect setups from teammates in the box.
