Unai Emery has marked four years at Aston Villa, having replaced Steven Gerrard, and he has already achieved the two goals he set when he arrived in November 2022. Villa now travel to the Nou Camp to face Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday night, having won the Europa League in May and ended a 30-year trophy drought.
When Emery was unveiled, he said: “My dream is to win a trophy with Aston Villa. It’s my challenge.” He added that a second dream was to play with Villa in Europe, but he stressed that the club had to focus only on the next match because it was not in a good position in the table at the time.
Those goals are now behind him, which has fuelled speculation about his next step, whether with Villa or elsewhere.
Villa’s response to speculation
Villa reacted angrily, even threatening legal action, when Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher suggested Emery wanted to manage an elite club and linked him with Manchester United. Villa, however, see themselves as a club ready to join the elite after challenging the biggest sides in the Premier League and Europe for the past two years, with Emery leading that push.
Carragher’s claim that the Spaniard would be open to leaving was naive, given how much control Emery holds at the club and the success he has delivered. Emery signed his most recent contract in May 2024, which runs until 2029, so Villa are protected. A new deal is still expected following the Europa League triumph.
Benchmark against Barcelona
Emery turns 55 on Tuesday, and he will face Barcelona in his home country. He has taken Villa up the pecking order, but they are not yet at the top. The signing of Johan Manzambi from Freiburg showed that Villa remain well placed to attract talent.
Villa still lost several players during the summer to traditionally bigger clubs, including Emi Martinez, Morgan Rogers, Ezri Konsa, Youri Tielemans and Lucas Digne. Ollie Watkins also left for Saudi Arabia. Those changes, however, have given Emery fresh energy.
Emery sees the trip to the Nou Camp as a chance to measure his team and show what he has built. “We are constantly seeking new challenges and we want to respond in games against Barcelona to see how far we are from them,” he said.
He also looked back on Villa’s own European history. “We won it [the European Cup] in 1982 and right now we are enjoying reminiscing with our fans, playing in this competition again, and trying to repeat that success,” he said.
Emery believes Barcelona deserve their status. “Barca are favourites because of the present and what they have done over the last 10 years, but they need to confirm their favourite role,” he said. He added that Villa must avoid surprises to finish the league stage in the top eight, and that the second half of the season would decide matters. “Barcelona have six points, we have nine. We need to find out our personality and make the most of our qualities,” he said.
A demanding coach
Emery received full authority to change Villa when he succeeded Gerrard. He has transformed a Premier League side that was struggling into Europa League winners and Champions League challengers.
His methods are intense. Players can sit through several long meetings each week, and some take months to adapt to his demands. Internally, the club accepts that this is one reason Aaron Wan-Bissaka has struggled this season, as he had not received the same level of coaching at West Ham. The demanding nature of his approach also contributed to former president of football operations Monchi leaving last year, as Emery’s close confidant needed a break.
That meticulousness, though, is also what makes Emery and his teams so effective. Barcelona sources reportedly fear that Villa could exploit the struggles of Alejandro Balde and the lack of defensive instinct shown by Joao Cancelo, given Emery’s ability to plan and pounce on an opponent’s weakness.
Praise from Flick and Gordon
Emery has earned admirers, including Barcelona manager Hansi Flick. He has already won the Europa League three times with Sevilla and once with Villarreal. “He is one of the best coaches in Europe and the world. He is very successful,” Flick said. “In the way his team plays, you can see a clear structure, and in offence they have different patterns. For me, it is amazing to see his team.”
Flick also praised Villa’s start to the season and singled out Jackson, whom he described as playing at an unbelievable level. He called the game a tough test against a good team and a great coach.
Barcelona winger Anthony Gordon described Emery as “one of the best in the world” before the match, even though Emery’s record at the Nou Camp is poor. He has lost 14 of his 15 games there and has beaten Barcelona only three times in 30 attempts. His last Champions League game at the stadium ended in Paris St-Germain’s collapse, as they lost 6-1 in the last 16 after winning the first leg 4-0.
Emery is determined to change that record. “Everything happened in that match, we know,” he said, noting that no English team has won at the Nou Camp since Liverpool in 2007. “I started in 2004, playing in Europe 16 years in a row, different competitions, I have learned in all the competitions. In that match I learned so much. The necessity of VAR for football in that moment.”
He added: “We are facing one of the favourite teams to win the competition, it is a huge challenge. We are confident how we are building the team, how we are facing teams like Barcelona. We are here progressing, understanding, setting our demands and competing the level we are, this is the challenge we have.”