Unai Emery's move to Paris Saint-Germain didn't just leave the Spaniard with bad memories.
Over his two seasons spent crisscrossing French lawns, the Basque was able to study and discover many players (this was also the case in England) and this is reflected in the composition of his Villarreal.
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In Paris, it is mainly within his workforce that Unai Emery had some favorites.
The first, (and probably the most obvious), was with Giovani Lo Celso, whom he met at the start of 2017.
"I know Gio well from PSG, at Betis and at Tottenham
", he explains on the arrival of his protege at Villarreal.
“
He did great things and grew a lot.
He can play in several positions, and that's very good for us.
“
There is a real relationship of trust between the two men, this is what the Argentinian implied during his presentation,
“I had a conversation with Unai Emery, because I already knew him from my stay in Paris, and I already knew how he worked and what he could bring me”.
Unai Emery and Serge Aurier during a Paris SG match against Lorient.
Fep / Panoramic
If the profile of Lo Celso sticks well to the football that the coach appreciates in the four Europa Leagues, we have to believe that that of Serge Aurier also caught his eye.
An interesting parallel can also be drawn between the two former Parisians who played 56 matches together, in three different teams.
Beyond the technical qualities possessed by the Ivorian international (70 caps), Emery also seems to appreciate his character, as the native of Sevran said when he arrived in Spain.
“We had a great time together at PSG.
Before I signed here
(at Villarreal Ed)
, he called me and explained everything to me.
I am happy to work with him again.
We have a good relationship”
.
I have the impression that he has already done 50% of the work before the start of the match.
Etienne Capoue
In July 2018, Emery arrived in the
Premier League
to take over from Arsène Wenger.
There, he did not have the opportunity to meet Francis Coquelin who left for Valencia during the previous transfer window.
This time, it is rather among his adversaries that he identifies his future recruits.
It is undoubtedly in Watford that the
maestro
notices a player who will have a considerable impact on the balance of his future team: it is the former Toulousain Étienne Capoue.
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Although the two men never exchanged during the matches between them, it must be believed that Unai Emery greatly appreciated his profile and his leadership, which Capoue did not notice at first.
“I didn't know Unai when he was in England, even though Arsenal and Watford training grounds are side by side.
“said last November the former captain of Watford for The Athletic
.
“I have the impression that he has already done 50% of the work before the start of the match.
We know for each game what we have to do and what we can expect.
He is so well prepared.
If we don't win, it's the players' fault.
»
Unai Emery and Étienne Capoue during the match against Juventus AI / Reuters / Panoramic
Other players who played in Ligue 1 come to slip into the workforce of the Spanish club.
First there is Boulaye Dia who entertained Stade de Reims supporters during the first part of the 2020/21 season.
He can also remember the stands of Auguste Delaune with his teammate Aïssa Mandi, who also passed through Reims before joining Betis until last summer.
Finally, the last player to have proudly defended the colors of a French club is Argentinian goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli, who spent a year in Montpellier during the 2019/20 season.
In total, seven players from the Villarreal squad have therefore already set foot on the lawns of Ligue 1. Enough to give a nice French accent to this quarter-final second leg of the Champions League.
Note that, on the side of Bayern, they will be three to have already played in France: Tanguy Nianzou, Kingsley Coman and Benjamin Pavard.
