Of course, Emery should then explain how he had managed to do that. So he told. In an interview with “Radio Marca”, Emery spoke about Bayern’s strengths and his ideas. He said: “The wingers played more down the middle to gain more possession. We sacrificed an attacking right winger.”
It’s a phrase that reveals a lot about the tactician Emery, but it’s not typical of him. There are videos of Emery in which he sits at a table in a white shirt, in front of him a tactics board with colored magnets, green and red. He moves them like other chess pieces, he talks about tactical tricks, he almost lectures.
They say football is a simple sport. Emery should have his own opinion on that.
Anger after beating Bayern – that’s Emery too
On that evening in April 2022, people weren’t amazed at Bayern’s strengths, they were amazed at their weaknesses. And about Villarreal, which defended so vehemently with meticulousness that some discovered beauty in it. That always had an idea, even in the switching game. Emery later said: “I’m a little annoyed that our goal tally wasn’t higher.”
He switched from 4-4-2 to 4-3-2-1 and the plan worked. Dani Parejo, Francis Coquelin and Étienne Capoue reigned supreme in midfield, Gerard Moreno choreographed the attacks and Giovani Lo Celso was a constant nuisance to Bayern’s defence. But the conductor of success was Emery.
He was seen against Bayern, hopping through the coaching zone one second, arms outstretched and high in the air, and kneeling the next. How he screamed, gestured, sometimes laughed.
It was Bayern’s first away defeat in the Champions League since a night in September 2017 when the club lost to PSG. The coach of the French back then, you guessed it, was Unai Emery.
Villarreal – a village conquering Europe
In Paris, Emery won seven national titles between 2016 and 2018 but not the Champions League, so at some point they didn’t want him anymore. At FC Villarreal, where he has been working since 2020, expectations are different. At an introduction, Emery was also asked about his goals. He said: “Dreams are free and I dream of a title with Villarreal.”
A year later, Villarreal and Emery won the Europa League together. It was the first really important title in the almost 100-year history of the club. Never before had such a small town, Villarreal has around 50,000 inhabitants, won a European Cup. The newspaper “El País” captioned: “A village conquers Europe.”
Emery – a coach with big goals
One could now argue that a city with this number of inhabitants can no longer be a village, but perhaps this inaccuracy can be overlooked. When Villarreal FC fans sing the club’s anthem, they are ultimately singing about a team that has always been the hope of a whole village.
Most recently, Emery was a very popular interview partner, and sometimes they asked him about new goals. After all, he had already reached his original goal. Emery once said he loves the Europa League, the competition in which he celebrated his greatest successes. “But I dream of winning the Champions League – especially now that we’re in the quarter-finals.