A Basque, an Andalusian and a Valencian. And they are not the joke. Aston Villa has a hopeless Spanish accent. The new architects of the winning Birmingham project were forged in Spain. Unai Emery is the tip of a pyramid in which Dami Vidagany (general director of football) and Monchi (sports director) cover his back. It is a teamwork. As they themselves admit: “We don’t have a fixed meeting plan. We have breakfast together, we eat together, our offices are next to each other…”. A way of working that already gave results last season and that with the arrival of Monchi takes another step forward.
Villa has returned, after many years of crossing the desert. The great team from England’s second city vibrates again with their own. It is no coincidence that all the tickets available for this season have been sold in hours and that the club has a waiting list of 27,000 fans to become new members. “It is a very big club. Aston Villa is the reference club in the area and transcends football. It had not been at the level it was for many years. It has had a very big downturn, as is happening now to Valencia, but now again people feel that they are competing. Now we have a very nice feeling. We don’t have a sovereign fund behind us like City or PSG, but it is a club that generates resources with owners (Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens) who are up to date gives and contributes the necessary capital for the operations that are planned. We are in a scenario without unlimited resources, but we have an organization and owners who are a pleasure to work with”says Vidagany.
The arrivals of Tielemans, Pau Torres and Diaby give an Emery squad a leap in quality who is in a sweet moment. Recognized as one of the best technicians in the world, he does not leave a single detail to chance and Vidagany and Monchi know him well about that. They both worked with him in the past. Dami in Valencia, Monchi in Sevilla and his coordination is Swiss. “Building a project is the key. Unai was offered to work for the club from scratch. The master was working on the coaching staff. He took me for football and property liaison issues and Monchi’s is a cherry on the cake because it’s one of the best sports directors in Europe. We have incorporated Alberto Benito and Pablo Rodríguez for the recruitment department and together with Pako Ayestarán We form a Spanish colony, but at Aston Villa we have English professionals and those from other countries at a very high level”, says Dami Vidagany in MARCA.
Aston Villa wants to be a reference in the Premier again. A competition that does not stop growing. “The Premier has a superior investment capacity. It is as if we brought together in the Spanish League three Real Madrid, three Baras and four Atléticos de Madrid. For people to see the level of the competition. And the rest will be teams of the level of Betis, Sevilla or Villarreal. They are also importing the best coaches looking for tactical and work genius.”
The fact is that the new Villa breathes optimism and through work and organization he has managed to be one of the great alternatives to the ‘big six’ that has dominated English football in recent decades. The formula seems simple: owners involved and who know how to delegate, a world-class coach and football executives without fissures. So easy to put on paper and so complicated to bring it to reality. Villa have achieved it and the results have not been long in coming.
