Meet the team: Who are Unai Emery’s backroom staff at Aston Villa?
As a new era dawns at Aston Villa following the appointment of Unai Emery, a host of Steven Gerrard’s backroom staff have been relieved of their duties and replaced by the Spaniard’s own crop of bright minds.
The likes of Neil Critchley, Neil Cutler and Aaron Danks all lost their jobs at Villa Park as the club made a raft of new appointments and adapted to the new manager’s philosophy.
Austin MacPhee was kept in his position as specialist set piece coach, but six appointments were made to fill Aston Villa’s core coaching team.
The initial signs of improvement were evident in just a short period of time on the training ground, with consecutive league wins over Manchester United and Brighton propelling Villa onto the cusp of the top ten of the Premier League table.
Here Villa News looks through the Spaniard’s new coaching team, who they are, and what they will bring to the club.
Pako Ayestaran will be Emery’s assistant manager at Villa Park after a coaching career which is brimming with achievements at numerous clubs.
The 59-year-old Spaniard spent 11 years as assistant to Rafa Benitez at clubs such as Osasuna, Liverpool and Valencia after starting his career as a fitness coach.
Ayestaran then went on to work as a manager in Portugal, Spain and Mexico, so is by no means short of experience.
Will add some much-needed know-how to a sometimes naive Aston Villa side, and his immediate impact was potentially shown in the hard-fought 2-1 win over Brighton before the World Cup break.
Pablo Villanueva, otherwise known as “Villa” by his colleagues (oddly ironic), has been a long-serving assistant to Emery over the past years and takes up the role of First Team Coach at Bodymoor Heath.
The 46-year-old has previously worked with Emery at Paris Saint Germain, Sevilla, Villarreal and Arsenal before taking the role in the West Midlands in November.
In clips and pictures of training during the World Cup break, Villanueva is the man leading sessions from the front, issuing instructions and tactical alterations during a number of drills as the team ready themselves for a return to Premier League action.
Francisco Javier Garcia has the large boots of ex-goalkeeping coach Neil Cutler to fill but will be thrilled to be working with the internationally proven Emi Martinez at Bodymoor Heath.
Villa’s Argentinian shot-stopper has worked with Garcia during his time at Arsenal, albeit before he made a name for himself, but the old ties will surely help the bedding in process.
The Spaniard, who has also worked previously with Emery at Sevilla, PSG and Villarreal, may well prove to be a key cog in Aston Villa’s change in philosophy to play out from the back – something which Robin Olsen doesn’t seem entirely comfortable doing currently.
Antonio Rodrigues Saravia will take up the position of individual performance coach under Emery, aiming to get to grips with the pressing issues with some of Villa’s underperforming stars.
Commonly known as “Rodri”, the Spaniard came through La Masia as a professional before playing for clubs such as Palamos, Sanboia and Igualade.
He worked mainly as an assistant coach throughout his early career but then joined Emery as development manager at Villarreal in 2021.
Saravia must try to impress himself on the likes of Philippe Coutinho and Ollie Watkins and maximise the potential these undoubtedly talented but underperforming stars possess.
Emery’s eyes in the skies will be Victor Manas (Data/Video coach), a coach who hasn’t worked with Emery since his time at Almeria in 2008 – which makes it a rather intriguing appointment.
Manas will be tasked with creating and aiding Emery in his weekly video sessions – which are renowned for sending players to sleep due to their length – where opposition teams will be dissected and analysed.
He will also be tasked with feeding images and stats down to Villa’s manager during games, providing insight, and angles that can’t be seen from the direct touchline.
Moises de Hoyo is the final member of Emery’s core coaching team, taking up the position of Strength and Conditioning Coach at Villa Park.
The Spaniard has previous experience working in the Premier League, after a four-month stint with Watford last year, and has previously worked with Emery at Sevilla and Villarreal.
De Hoyo will need to get a sometimes leggy-looking Aston Villa side up to full fitness during the six-week World Cup hiatus and prime them for their Premier League return on Boxing Day against Liverpool.
In other Aston Villa news, Unai Emery must bring Philippe Coutinho experiment to an end as soon as possible.