Emery and Villarreal .. two heavy guests in the golden square of the "European Champions" no one expected

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The continent of Europe waited with great enthusiasm for Real Madrid to qualify for the Champions League semi-finals, but with less passion for its humble compatriot Villarreal, led by its charming coach Unai Emery, who worked the miracle of eliminating Bayern Munich from the quarter-finals to become the heavy guest in the parent competition.

The Royal Club, the record holder in the number of titles in the continental competition, secured 13 seats in the Golden Square for the 31st time in its history, after a breathtaking scenario that ended with the English Premier League being stripped of its title despite losing at home “Santiago Bernabeu” 2-3, after it was They won 3-1 in the first leg.

However, the old continent did not expect to receive the "yellow submarine" team, which had to make its way from the "Allianz Arena" in Munich and in front of 70,000 spectators by imposing a 1-1 draw on the Bavaria giants in the 88th minute thanks to Nigerian substitute Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal won first leg). 1-0), to find himself at the table of the big four in Europe for the second time in its history after 2006.

The best-selling newspaper Marca in Spain titled "What a night, what a delusion!" Historical".

"They made a surprise"

Even the Italian coach, Carlo Ancelotti, praised Villarreal's achievement during the press conference, after he, in turn, came out of the needle hole against Chelsea after an exciting struggle.

"I want to congratulate Villarreal and Unai (Emery) because they made such a surprise," said the experienced coach, who appeared as the "Big Prince" after his team qualified. "I think few people thought that two clubs from Spain would qualify for the semi-finals of the Champions League at the beginning of the season."

And Villarreal's path, coming from a small city located on the east coast of Spain, inspired sports journalists on Wednesday. Before the giants of Bavaria, the Spanish team stopped the "old lady" Juventus' march at home, with a 3-0 victory over it, after a 1-1 tie in the first leg.

“A city of no more than 50,000 inhabitants, with a family-owned club of entrepreneurs, owners of Mercadona (a supermarket chain), booked its place among the top four clubs in Europe, and made a historic performance by eliminating one of the leading contenders for the title,” wrote Mundo newspaper director Deportivo Sante Nola.

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Does Unai Emery want to squander it?

The answer comes quickly to this question "we weren't there to be said to be nice and friendly... We are not a small village like Asterix and Obelix, no, no! We have a very strong and stable business, with the Roig family... Our aim was not to project a good image of us, Rather, qualify."

Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann underestimated his stubborn opponent after the draw for the quarter-finals, prompting Villarreal international midfielder Dani Parejo, to criticize him, saying, "When the draw was drawn, they got Villarreal. Their coach, whom I do not know, did not respect not only Villarreal but also football by saying that he wanted The match was decided in the first leg."

"It was disrespectful," he added with hurtful words. "Sometimes when you spit, it falls on your face."

A "turning point"

This qualification was part of giving more respect not only to Villarreal, but an important "turning point" for its coach Emery as well.

After he fell twice in the final price while supervising Paris Saint-Germain after the legendary "Remontada" of Barcelona at its "Camp Nou" with a 6-1 win back after losing a clean four in the first leg, and then against Real, the arch-rival of the Catalan club the following year, The unpopular Spanish coach in the French capital, who was sacked in 2018, is heading to carve his name alongside the greatest coaches in the old continent.

For the "Yellow Submarine" team, which won the European League "Europe League" last year on penalties 11-10 at the expense of Manchester United (a 1-1 draw in regular and extra time), the current adventure is similar to what it experienced in the 2005-2006 season.

That year, Villarreal reached the semi-finals of the continental competition in its first absolute participation in its history, led by the duo of Uruguayan striker Diego Forlan and Argentine midfield maestro Juan Roman Riquelme, who missed a penalty kick in the last minute of the second leg against Arsenal.

After 16 years, the names of the champions have changed in the winning narrative without changing habits. Currently, Villarreal has in its ranks names such as Nigerian-Dutch Arno Danjuma, Gerard Moreno, Argentine Giovanni Lo Celso and Raul Albiol... while "yellow fever" is sweeping the stadiums of "La La". Ceramica and the Continent, the entire globe applauds and stands astonished and resigned to the adventures of the 'fingerhead' who wore gold and came to radically change the hierarchy of the continent, wishing to extend his dream in the semi-finals to reach the final.

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