Emery’s Chess and Lecture Habits

Picture Unai Emery loading up a chess app on his phone to play against strangers under his own name.

The meticulous Aston Villa boss uses this and other methods to hone the mental discipline required at football's highest level. Emery, 54, clinched the Europa League trophy yet again with Villa's 3-0 win over Freiburg on Wednesday, marking the club's first piece of silverware in 30 years and his fifth triumph in the competition. He previously guided Sevilla to Europa League glory three years in a row (2014, 2015, and 2016) before sealing his fourth success with Villarreal in 2021.

After five years, the Spaniard has been reunited with the trophy and moved level with Carlo Ancelotti, Jose Mourinho, and Giovanni Trapattoni on the list of managers with the most major European prizes (five).

Emery manages to find time during his days to open his chess app and play three-minute online games against all-comers. The idea of a Premier League manager doing so under his own name might sound strange, but it is true. He believes you have to be ready for anything and cannot afford to switch off. He's also partial to watching lectures, even at 2am. His particular interests are people who explain the world in new ways, scientists, and thinkers. Another 2am activity is watching any level of football on his iPad.

Villa’s Journey with Emery

Champions League football escaped Villa on the final day of last season, but Emery's first act of this campaign was to tell his players they could get there this term, even if other teams had bigger budgets. His target was a long run in the Europa League and to secure a Champions League place. Job done on both counts.

A five-match winless run at the start of the season wasn't in the script, but Emery managed to convince Villa the season was going to be good. He says nobody works harder than him. He focuses on body shape in training, tactics, physical details, and forces players to dedicate 70% of their time to football.

He has spoken about his parents and the sense of responsibility they embedded in him. Whatever he does, he does completely. Meeting a target is, of course, a professional outcome but also the conclusion of a responsibility he takes personally. To sustain that, he has learned to protect his concentration fiercely.

When Villa were criticized for resting key players in their home defeat by Tottenham before the second leg of the Europa League semi-final against Nottingham Forest, Emery did not blink. He had calculated that the points they needed in the league to secure Champions League qualification would come from somewhere else if they were needed. And he was right.

Villa Park helped. Emery has always drawn energy from stands that believe. What next when the campaign ends? He'll go to his hometown of Hondarribia or favorite holiday destination Mallorca to walk by the sea and meet friends that have nothing to do with football. He will spend time with his mum. He might even join...