Aston Villa boss Unai Emery is an admirer of the attacking brand of football that took Tony Mowbray's Sunderland all the way to the Championship play-offs. Highly-respected Spanish coach Emery has made a huge impact since taking over at Villa Park in October, transforming the club from a side that looked destined for a relegation battle into one that could clinch a Europa Conference League place if they beat Brighton in Sunday's final round of Premier League fixtures.
In the build-up to that game, Emery praised the football that Brighton have played under their Italian coach Roberto De Zerbi, but also named other clubs that play a similar style - namechecking the Black Cats in the process. Mowbray's team has been lauded all season by fans and pundits alike for the way they have set about the Championship, stepping straight out of League One and finishing sixth in the second tier before bowing out in the play-off semi-finals.
"There are a lot of coaches in the Premier League doing something different," said former Arsenal, Villereal, Paris St-Germain, and Sevilla, boss Emery. "There are a lot of other teams doing a lot of good work - in Spain there is a team FC Andorra who plays in a similar way to [Roberto] De Zerbi here, and it's not only teams in the Premier League.
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"There are a lot of teams playing really good football, for example Sunderland here in the Championship - he [Mowbray] is playing really good football. Barnsley as well. I like to understand a lot of different coaches and managers."
Emery says he likes to draw on the styles and tactical approaches of other coaches and incorporate them into his own teams, in recognition of the fact that football is constantly changing. He said: "Football is changing so quickly.
"I am now 51 years old, I started as a trainer at 32 - 19 years in a row as a coach, as a manager. I am always very focused on how I can improve each day, to be better today than yesterday, and to be better tomorrow than today.
"It's not only about my work, my experiences, my analysis of our team, but also of those around me and watching other coaches and other teams. One of them is De Zerbi. I like coaches who can show us something different, tactically, offensively, defensively, because in football you have to be on the fast train.
"Football changes so quickly and you have to be very clear that everything is changing. I try to adapt quickly, to progress quickly, and to understand quickly these changes."
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