1. Unai Emery Etxegoien was born on 3 November 1971 and is a Spanish football manager and former player who is the manager of Premier League club Aston Villa.
30 Facts About Unai Emery
1. 2.
Unai Emery is widely regarded as one of the best managers in the world.
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Unai Emery began at Lorca Deportiva, where he achieved promotion to the Segunda Division in his first season.
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Unai Emery then joined Almeria, whom he led to promotion to La Liga for the first time in the club's history.
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Unai Emery subsequently moved to Valencia, leading the team to top-three finishes.
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Unai Emery finished Europa League runner-up in his first season, before being dismissed in November 2019.
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Unai Emery was hired by Villarreal in July 2020, where he won the Europa League in his first season and guided the club to a Champions League semi-final run in the following season.
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Unai Emery is a native speaker of the Basque language.
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In July 2021, the Unai Emery family completed a takeover of Real Union, and his brother Igor became club president.
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Unai Emery, a left-sided midfielder, was a youth graduate of Real Sociedad, but never really broke into the first team.
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Unai Emery retired with Lorca Deportiva at the age of 32, after one season in Segunda Division B In 2002, he signed for Burgos but was one of several players released before making a single competitive appearance due to lack of funds.
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Unai Emery immediately helped the club achieve promotion to the second division for the first time in its history, as well as beating top-level side Malaga in the Copa del Rey.
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Unai Emery was awarded the Miguel Munoz Trophy as coach of the season.
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In May 2010, Unai Emery renewed his contract for another year.
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Unai Emery returned to Spanish football on 14 January 2013, replacing the sacked Michel at the helm of Sevilla.
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On 12 June 2016, after Unai Emery expressed his desire to leave Sevilla, the club announced that they would be parting ways.
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On 28 June 2016, Unai Emery signed a two-year deal, with the option of a third, to succeed Laurent Blanc at French quadruple-holders Paris Saint-Germain.
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Unai Emery led PSG to second place in their group of the Champions League, behind Arsenal.
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On 28 April 2018, Unai Emery announced his decision to leave the Parisian club at the end of the season with a year left on his contract.
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On 23 May 2018, Unai Emery was appointed head coach of Arsenal.
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Unai Emery agreed to a two-year deal, with the club having the option to extend his deal for a further year.
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Unai Emery brought into the defence David Luiz from rivals Chelsea and Scotsman Kieran Tierney from Celtic, as well as midfielder Dani Ceballos on loan from Real Madrid.
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On 29 November 2019, following a series of poor results and a winless run of seven games, Unai Emery was sacked by Arsenal.
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Unai Emery was replaced on an interim basis by Freddie Ljungberg and later on a permanent basis by Mikel Arteta.
25.
On 23 July 2020, Unai Emery was announced as the new head coach of La Liga club Villarreal, succeeding Javier Calleja on a three-year deal.
26.
In November 2021, Unai Emery was approached for the vacant managerial spot at Newcastle United following their Saudi-led takeover.
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Unai Emery criticised the mentality of his players after the game.
28.
The five wins, one draw and one defeat in April 2023 led to Unai Emery being awarded Premier League Manager of the Month.
29.
The summer of 2023 saw major changes in Aston Villa's infrastructure as Sevilla's sporting director Monchi, who had previously worked with Unai Emery, was appointed as President of Football Operations, as well as Damian Vidagany as Director of Football Operations.
30.
On 27 May 2024, Unai Emery extended his contract until 2029.