Aston Villa and Marcus Rashford are the latest beneficiaries of Unai Emery's magic touch
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery
Unai Emery has worked wonders at Aston Villa (
Image: Cameron Smith - Danehouse/Getty Images)
Robbie Savage
Unai Emery's magic touch in Europe and Marcus Rashford’s rebirth as a dynamic forward are turning Aston Villa into English football’s secret weapon in the Champions League.
Villa Park is one of my favourite grounds - and not just because I usually won there in derby games with Birmingham.
On big European nights, the atmosphere is electric, and Villa are heading for another special occasion against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Yes, PSG will be favourites on paper. But when you look at Villa’s pace, mobility and firepower up front, suddenly the penny drops: Rashford, Marco Asensio, Ollie Watkins, Morgan Rogers, Leon Bailey and Jacob Ramsey are a handful for anyone.
And the quality of Emery’s squad, especially in forward areas, means they cannot be written off as Champions League makeweights.
Emery has won the Europa League four times as a coach and took Arsenal to the final in 2019. He has the knack of coming up with the right formula to win in Europe.
I sometimes wonder if Emery was given long enough to rebuild Arsenal. He only lasted 78 games over 18 months, and if it’s true that the Gunners lacked identity in the way they played under him, what he has since achieved at Villarreal and Villa underlines his pedigree as one of Europe’s top coaches.
Villa’s recruitment and shaping of their squad has been terrific this season. They held on to Watkins when Arsenal came calling with a £60 million bid and the £64m sale of Jhon Duran - which looked questionable at the time - was a masterstroke.
Villa's decision to sign Marcus Rashford in January looks like a masterstroke
It enabled Villa to bring in Rashford and Asensio, whose link-up play and productivity has looked as if they’ve played together most of their careers.
Rashford’s parting with Manchester United was a sad affair because he didn’t look as if he was enjoying his football at Old Trafford and he was called out by his coach Ruben Amorim over his attitude in training.
That’s not a good look, but he is playing with a smile on his face again. He must be relishing the exhilarating atmosphere of Villa Park, playing in front of the future King and his renewed joy has been rewarded by his call-up into Thomas Tuchel’s first England squad.
Prince William was at the 3-0 win over Club Brugge in midweek, and the feelgood factor has put a spring in Villa’s step which reminds me of their European Cup triumph in 1982 and run to the quarter-finals against Juventus the following year.
It’s a great time to be a football fan in the Second City. Villa are involved in the business end of the Champions League, and in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, while across town Birmingham are striding towards promotion and an instant return to the Championship.
Villa and Birmingham, going great guns - too often the Midlands is overlooked in London, Manchester and Liverpool, but it’s a real hotbed of football.
And with the heir to the throne on their side, for Unai Emery and Aston Villa anything’s possible.
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