Aston Villa's Crawling Revolution

There are several aspects in football that are difficult to explain, one of which is Unai Emery's tendency to succeed with modest teams. This phenomenon has once again been demonstrated by him with Aston Villa this season. Since replacing Steven Gerrard in 2022, Emery has begun leading Villa's gradual revolution on the European stage.

Emery seems to be blessed with skill in managing mid-level players. The coach from the Basque region in Spain often struggles to conquer Europe with major teams but succeeds when working with modest teams. This tendency was demonstrated by Emery during his tenure with Villarreal and Sevilla. He led both teams to win the Europa League. Emery even guided Sevilla to claim the Europa League title for three consecutive seasons from 2013 to 2016.

However, when managing teams filled with star players, Emery lost his magical touch. After achieving glory with Sevilla, Emery took on a new challenge with Paris Saint-Germain. There, Emery was only able to deliver seven domestic titles. Yet, he was recruited to fulfill PSG's owner's ambition of conquering Europe.

After leaving PSG, Emery's abilities attracted Arsenal's interest. Similarly, Emery failed to shine. He even led Arsenal to finish outside the top 10 rankings and was completely unable to deliver a trophy after 10 months of managing the team.

Emery only recently demonstrated his true capabilities when he led Villarreal to win the Europa League in his debut season. Villa then became interested in Emery's expertise in managing mid-tier clubs. The Birmingham-based club was initially struggling to rise from the depths of the relegation zone under Gerrard's management.

Thanks to Emery's skilled leadership, Villa climbed out of the brink of the relegation zone and finished in 14th place. A season later, Emery led Villa to break into the top seven. A phenomenal achievement for a team that had nearly been relegated in the previous season.

Villa's performance has become increasingly promising under Emery during the 2023-2024 season. By the end of the season, Villa successfully secured a spot in the top four. In Europe, Villa was also led to the semifinals of the UEFA Europa Conference League. This season, Villa supporters have begun dreaming of their beloved team advancing further in the UEFA Champions League.

The chance is wide open. Villa finally managed to qualify for the quarter-finals after crushing Club Brugge, 6-1, on aggregate. A tougher challenge awaits Emery and Villa who will face Paris Saint-Germain.

The Champions League is not a completely foreign tournament for Villa. They even won it in 1982 when the Champions League was still called the European Champions Club’s Cup. In the final against Bayern Munich, Villa secured victory thanks to a single goal from Peter Withe who would later become the coach of the Indonesian national team from 2004-2007.

Villa, in the 1980s, was indeed respected as one of Europe's great clubs. During that time, Villa also won a number of prestigious tournaments such as the FA Cup, the European Super Cup, and the Premier League. Now with Emery, Villa is slowly starting a crawling revolution to restore their glory in Europe.

Villa's only chance of winning the title this season is in the Champions League. In the Premier League, Villa is temporarily left in eighth place. With only nine weeks of the league remaining, Villa's efforts to break into the top four are still open. They are only four points behind Chelsea in fourth place. However, Villa's biggest ambition is currently focused on the Champions League.

"In order to improve our dream, we have to achieve the goals at a high level that we have to achieve. This season, playing in the Champions League is a very good opportunity when we start. We are really focused in the Champions League on how we can be protagonists," Emery told Villa's website.

An ambition that sounds utopian but is still very possible for Emery to realize. Never doubt Emery even though he handles a team without stars. Emery's biggest weakness is actually calming the high egos of top class players.

The experience was on display when PSG star Neymar argued and almost attacked his teammate Edinson Cavani. The trigger for the fight was related to the penalty taker. The brawl between Neymar and Cavani continued into the dressing room. The incident exposed Emery's inability to often lose his authority in front of star players.

Emery's story could have been very different at Villa. Without the egos of star players, Emery could freely tame the dressing room. His magical touch like when he handled Sevilla and Villarreal returned. Uniquely, whether by chance or not, Emery has always been successful with teams with the word "Villa" in it.

Will Emery's sweet story with Sevilla and Villarreal be repeated at Aston Villa? Only time will tell.