Following Steven Gerrard’s firing, Aston Villa has chosen Villarreal’s manager to serve as its new head coach.
The former England captain was fired after just 13 of his 40 matches in charge of Villa Park, which resulted in a 3-0 loss to Fulham last Thursday. Gerrard had moved to Villa Park from Rangers 11 months earlier, when he had helped the team win their first Scottish league title in ten years.
Aston Villa fired Steven Gerrard this week after Unai Emery, a Spaniard who previously managed Arsenal, joined Villarreal in 2020 and guided the team to Europa League victory and the Champions League semifinals.
Emery earned a Ligue 1 championship with Paris Saint-Germain before joining the Premier League, along with two French Cups and two French League Cups. Along with his fourth title with Villarreal, he also won three Europa Leagues with Sevilla, making him the competition’s all-time most successful manager.
After being hired on a temporary basis, Aaron Danks helped Villa defeat Brentford 4-0 last weekend to earn their first victory in five games. For the visit to Newcastle on Saturday, Danks appears to be in charge, with Emery taking over three days later.
Before Emery was appointed, Jamie Carragher spoke on Monday Night Football.:“I think it would be a fantastic appointment. I’m a huge fan of Unai Emery. He’s had a lot of success with teams just below the elite, almost fighting against the biggest clubs.
“It didn’t go quite so well with him at Arsenal but if you look what he did at Villarreal – Europa League winners and you look at how far they pushed Liverpool in the Champions League. He was brilliant at Valencia, always getting them into the Champions League places.
“I don’t think he’s the type of manager for Barcelona and Real Madrid – and I don’t mean that in a disrespectful way – but for a Valencia and an Aston Villa and for clubs who are trying to compete against teams who have more money, he gets his teams really organised and he’s a super coach.“Maybe not for the biggest names in the planet but, for Aston Villa right now, I think he’d be a great appointment.”
In 2021, Unai Emery and Villarreal defeated Manchester United in the Europa League final. Emery succeeds Steven Gerrard, who was fired this week. Emery was the manager of Arsenal from 2018 to 2019.
After completing the necessary paperwork for a work permit, the 50-year-old will start in his new position on November 1. As a result, his first game in command will be against Manchester United on November 6 at home.
By Brian Simiyu
