OFFICIAL: Unai Emery to manage Villarreal

Well, the news we all saw coming is here. Unai Emery has been announced by the club as their newest manager. He brings with him a very successful track record and a long list of trophies, and we will be hoping that he brings one to Villarreal.

Emery’s presentation will happen on Monday, bright and early for our USA readers, at 12:30pm local time. His hire being announced strongly suggests that he is already involved in the transfer dealings of the club, as a bid has been launched for Zambo Anguissa and negotiations are ongoing for Oscar Rodriguez.

Villarreal is coming off a great season, but needs work in midfield and defense to maintain their level. It will be extremely interesting to see whether the general transfer of the policy of the club shifts with the introduction of the new manager. In the past, Emery has worked with strong directors of football, most notably Monchi at Sevilla. It will be worth keeping an eye in the next couple of weeks to see if Villarreal adds someone in that sort of position to oversee recruitment.

It’s an exciting time to be a Villarreal supporter, the club is showing a lot of ambition, and it will be interesting to see if they can regain the heights of the Pelligrini era. In the meantime, we have three competitions next year, and with Emery’s penchant for the Europa League and the single knockout format of the Copa, I think we should feel reasonably confident in our ability to go deep in both.