Every year, the Champions League seems to produce a new underdog. This year it has been Unai Emery’s Villareal who has proven to be our modern day David, facing the vast number of Goliaths in the Champions League.
Emery is no stranger to Cup football, his non-league success has granted him the title of “The king of Cups.” After winning the Europa League last season in a wildly unexpected penalty shootout against Manchester United, the Yellow Submarine was able to secure a spot in this year's Champions League.
Juventus, Bayern Munich, and Arsenal are a few of the many Goliaths beaten by Emery’s Villareal. Losing only twice in their group stage matches and later suffering a heartbreaking defeat against Liverpool in the semi-final.
With a total market value of around 382 million Euro and a transfer spending of 54 million Euro over the summer's transfer window, Emery has been able to piece together a perfect orchestra of players. Gerard Moreno, Arnaut Danjuma and Samuel Chukwueze lead the Yellow Submarines’ offense – supported by Giovani Lo Celso, Dani Parejo and Étienne Capoue at the midfield. Their defense is also filled with rising-talent, led by the 34-year-old veteran Raul Albiol and exciting new wonderkids Pau Lopez and Pervin Estupinan.
Villareal has a unique approach to league football as well, they are one of the few teams who focus solely on individual games. At the moment, they stand in 8th place in the La liga, however they have tied with Atletico Madrid 2-2, beaten Juventus 3-0 and tied with the current Spanish champions Real Madrid 0-0 on multiple occasions this season. Four days prior to their 1-1 draw against German giants Bayern Munich, no one from Villareal’s starting XI played against Bilbao.
Through the prioritization of individual games, and without the pressure felt from chasing a good position in the league, the Yellow Submarine is able to focus solely on Cup Games, building an immeasurable amount of passion and desire in which they can build upon and flourish on the pitch. Their second leg against Liverpool further demonstrated their hunger to succeed –chasing every ball, following through on every tackle and making the most of each pass. Despite tying the game on aggregate before the half, they were not able to maintain the 2-0 lead after the first 45, and ended up losing 4-2. Unai Emery later went on to say that they should be proud of what they have achieved rather than focusing on what could have been.
They say no one remembers a semi-finalist, however this year's Yellow Submarine is a team nobody will ever forget.
By Nick