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He surprised Almería, withstood the pressure from Mestalla and left an indelible mark on Nervión, but when Unai Emery He was on the verge of writing his surname in capital letters in the history of football, he made a mistake. Under the baton of the Basque, neither PSG nor Arsenal managed to get out of the worldliness in which they still live today and his reputation as a coach was affected.
However, Villarreal crossed his path to give him a second chance. Unai arrived last summer, put together a solid team around Parejo and Gerard Moreno, amazed the continent in the Europa League and beat Manchester United in the final to enter the first page of the yellow club’s history.
And today (9:00 p.m., Movistar Champions League 1), in Munich, after winning and convincing above all a Bayern at home, Villarreal is one step away from accessing its second Champions League semifinal after that of 2006, when the iconic penalty that Lehmann guessed Riquelme separated the small Castellón town from the most important party in Europe.
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Unlike in the League, where irregularity has turned fourth place into a utopian goal, in this Champions League Villarreal has shown a tactical amalgamation where he has alternated moments of control with long and slow possessions, situations of pressure on the exit of the possessor, games of withdrawal and counterattack to take advantage of Danjuma and Pino in the open field… A football variability aligned with an enormous capacity for suffering (remember the first part of Turin), fortune and success. In addition, those of Emery are showing that they have differential players to compete face to face against predictably favorite rivals. So much so that, despite the defeat, they danced against United at Old Trafford, killed Juventus on the counterattack and snatched the ball from Bayern, who were lucky to receive only one goal at La Cerámica.
“Being here is fine, but I want to pass”, said, full of confidence, the Gipuzkoan coach on the eve of the biggest match in his 14-year career. Although, be that as it may, his redemption has already been completed. Meanwhile, in Villarreal today they remember Román, Forlán, Sorín and Senna. Also from Cazorla, Bruno or Rossi; men who came to the club when he was still little and took him on wings to an elite where they knew how to settle down successfully. Although tonight, in a huge challenge in Germany, Villarreal can climb a step of prestige within European football.
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