The Aston Villa coaching staff has been in place since the Birmingham outfit appointed Unai Emery as their latest manager in 2022. So, who features in the backroom team at Villa Park?
Manager: Unai Emery
Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, Aston Villa’s owners, chose Emery as the Villans’ manager in October 2022 but he only replaced Steven Gerrard in November due to work permit formalities.
Emery led Aston Villa away from a relegation battle and into the European places, finishing the Premier League campaign in seventh. In the following season, the Spaniard’s side did remarkably well to qualify for the Champions League, seeing off Tottenham for fourth position in the table.
Aston Villa coaching staff
Assistant head coach: Pako Ayestaran
Pako Ayestaran joined the coaching staff at Aston Villa following Emery’s arrival as the club’s latest manager. His arrival was a step back into the No. 2 position, having previously been a manager in his own right.
The Spaniard’s first coaching role was as a fitness coach before Rafa Benitez promoted him to the position of assistant manager whilst in charge of CD Tenerife. They remained together at Valencia and Liverpool before Ayestaran had jobs at Real Sociedad, SL Benfica, Valencia, Tecos, Maccabi Tel Aviv, UD Las Palmas and Tondela.
First-team coach: Pablo Villanueva
Pablo Villanueva joined the coaching staff at Aston Villa to remain working beside Emery. He had also served as a first-team coach under his compatriot at Sevilla, PSG, Arsenal and Villarreal before the pair moved to Birmingham in 2022.
Cordoba CF afforded Villanueva his first chance in coaching after the Real Madrid product’s playing career concluded. The former centre-forward then began working beside Emery for Sevilla.
Goalkeeping Coach: Francisco Javier Garcia
Emery brought Javi Garcia to Aston Villa as the Villans’ new goalkeeping coach when naming his first coaching staff. The Barcelona native has worked in the Spaniard’s backroom team at Sevilla, PSG, Arsenal and Villarreal. The pair first joined up in 2013 as Garcia left Granada CF.
Individual performance coach: Antonio Rodriguez Saravia
Aston Villa included Antonio Rodriguez Saravia, commonly known as Rodri, in their coaching staff after appointing Emery. The Spaniard headed to Villa Park as an individual performance coach after working in the same position under Emery for Villarreal between 2021 and 2022.
Rodri added vast coaching experience to the staff at Aston Villa after following Emery to the club. He had previously worked for Girona, UE Olot, Cadiz CF, Real Zaragoza and Tenerife, among several others. The one-time Barcelona prospect also had a lengthy playing career.
Set-piece specialist: Austin MacPhee
Austin MacPhee retained a position in the coaching staff at Aston Villa after Emery replaced Gerrard as the club’s manager. The former Hearts assistant boss initially moved to Villa Park in August 2021. Dean Smith lured him from FC Midtjylland to be a specialist set-piece coach.
The Scot enjoyed one year in Denmark following his departure from Hearts in May 2020. He has also worked for Cowdenbeath, St Mirren and the Northern Ireland national team before. MacPhee has split his efforts between Aston Villa and Scotland since September 2021.
Data and video analyst: Victor Manuel Manas
Victor Manuel Manas is often called Emery’s second pair of eyes through his work as a data and video analyst. The Spaniard has worked as a match analyst under his compatriot across spells at Sevilla, PSG, Arsenal and Villarreal. The pair first linked up with Almeria in July 2006.
Emery often relies on Manas’ expertise to find weaknesses in an opponent’s collective style of play. He also maps out a team’s defensive patterns before working with Emery to divide a pitch into segments to exploit. Manas also holds one-on-one sessions with players.
Strength and conditioning coach: Moises de Hoyo
Emery convinced Moises de Hoyo to return to England when naming his first coaching staff at Aston Villa. The strength and conditioning coach had spent four months with Watford in 2021 before leaving to reunite with Emery at Villarreal. Hoyo also has spells with Levante, Deportivo de La Coruna, CD Badajoz and CD Leganes on his resume.
