A manager who had previously won three Europa Leagues on the spin at Sevilla should not have had to reforge his entire reputation due to a poor spell at one turbulent club, but that is the situation Unai Emery found himself in after his departure from Arsenal.
Now a Champions League semi-finalist against all the odds, having knocked off a couple of Europe's genuine giants along the way, that is a period of his career that can very much be left in the past.
Harshly, much of Emery's reputation in this part of the world was forged during his time at Arsenal, a period during which he was an easy target. He largely struggled at The Emirates, not really sniffing a top four finish.
His grasp of the English language was also a source of ridicule, something that was entirely uncalled for. The Spaniard did his best to engage with the British media when it would have perhaps been easier to speak through an interpreter. He seemed like a pleasant person and shouldn't have been treated the way he was by some.
In truth, he inherited an impossible job at Arsenal. The club had been in decline for a number of years, and with Arsene Wenger departing after two decades in charge, whoever inherited that situation was always going to be up against it. As we have seen at a number of clubs, you never want to be the person to succeed the long serving manager.
Even then, his achievement of reaching a Europa League final with that group was largely overlooked. They went on an excellent run in the competition only to come up against a far superior Chelsea side in the decider.
Many point to Emery's spell at PSG as another one of his failings, although as numerous managers have proven, that club is all but unmanageable at times. He still managed to win a league title and four cup competitions during his time in the French capital.
Attempting to rebuild his reputation after getting the sack at Arsenal, Villarreal seemed like an ideal fit. A somewhat unfashionable club, they have consistently exceeded expectations in both domestic and European terms. Considering how long they have been knocking around La Liga and European club competition, it is easy to forget that they hail from a town of just 50,000 people.
They wouldn't pull up many trees in the league during his first season in charge on their way to a seventh placed finish, although Emery would shine once again.
Having gone all the way to the Europa League final, dispatching of old flames Arsenal along the way, they would face a much fancied Manchester United team in the final. Villarreal won the game in a dramatic penalty shootout, a result that was well deserved after being the better team over the course of the first 120 minutes of the contest.
Unai Emery does it again in Europe
This season has been a similar story, only the run they have put together was in the Champions League. A second placed finish in their group was followed by the elimination of Juventus in the last-16.
Even still, few gave them any chance of defeating Bayern Munich in the quarter-final. They would do just that in the first leg, with a 1-0 victory setting up an intriguing return leg in Munich.
They were under the cosh for much of the contest, and when Robert Lewandowski put the home side ahead on the night, it would have been expected that the Bundesliga side would go on to finish the job.
🎯 Muller
⚽️ Lewandowski
That famous duo combine yet again to pull Bayern level on aggregate vs Villarreal! #UCL pic.twitter.com/Z5NgRC0le7— Watch the UCL on LiveScore 🇮🇪 (@LiveScoreIE) April 12, 2022
However, while they would huff and puff in the search for a winner, they never really looked like taking the lead.
Instead, it would be Villarreal that would find that vital winner, with Samuel Chukwueze sealing the victory in the most dramatic of fashions.
Chukwueze at the death!!!! ⚽️
The goal to break Bayern hearts 💔#UCL pic.twitter.com/whaIamHFzr— Watch the UCL on LiveScore 🇮🇪 (@LiveScoreIE) April 12, 2022
Unai Emery does it again.
The epitome of a Europa League specialist, he has now brought taken the leap to the Champions League. Perhaps now he will be respected by some who still degrade him for his time at Arsenal, a club in turmoil during a time in which any manager would have struggled.
If there was any lingering doubt, we can now be certain that he was not the problem at The Emirates.
Excluding PSG (because they're PSG), Unai Emery has won 21 consecutive two-legged European knockout ties, across 3 different clubs, reaching 5 different finals, of which he won 4. The 22nd will almost certainly be the most difficult.
— Colin Millar (@Millar_Colin) April 6, 2022
He will now likely be tasked with the unenviable task of taking down Liverpool in the semi-final. He has beaten Jurgen Klopp in Europe in the past, defeating Liverpool in the Europa League final back in 2016.
They will be big outsiders repeat that trick on this occasion, but if we have learned anything over the last decade, it's that you never count out an Unai Emery team in a European knockout tie.
We should know better than that at this stage.
SEE ALSO: Jurgen Klopp Takes Aim At Authorities Over Liverpool's Fixture Schedule
