Aston Villa v Man City: Unai Emery relishing chance to leapfrog Champions City
Wednesday marks a rather unhappy anniversary for Unai Emery, so it is just as well Villa’s boss is not the type to dwell on the past.
It will be exactly 15 years since Emery first locked horns with Pep Guardiola and it was a day to forget, his Valencia team going down to a 4-0 defeat to the latter’s mighty Barcelona side.
Another 12 meetings on, Emery is still waiting for a maiden victory over his fellow Spaniard. Wednesday night’s visit of Manchester City to Villa Park, for one of the most highly anticipated Premier League matches the ground has hosted in years, is opportunity No.14.
“I remember it,” said Emery, when the 2008 loss with Valencia was brought up during Tuesday’s pre-match briefing.
“It is very important to remind myself of good moments and sometimes the bad moments, because the balance is always very important.
“I am here now (at Villa) because I have been winning more than losing and have to keep doing that for the future.
“I have never watched a lot of things in my past. I am trying to build in the present and for the future.
“With the experiences I have I am not remembering I won, or I lost. When I will start remembering my past is when I will stop as a coach.
“Now, I want to create and build a new project and way, a new objective to face. One of them is to play tomorrow and try to win.”
