Unai Emery underlined his euphoria with Villarreal historically reaching the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League
Villarreal head coach Unai Emery spoke to the media in a press conference after knocking out FC Bayern in the UEFA Champinos League. The Submarine made history by reaching the semi-finals of the leading continental competition for the second time. Emery praised the defensive solidity of his team and the hard work that his side put in across the tie. These are the standout quotes from what he had to say:
A stable project
“The sensations are unbeatable. There was a lot of preparation in the build-up to the game. The club has always taken the steps necessary. These are all strengths that help us give the best we can. My feelings are those of satisfaction because today we want to dedicate it to Llaneza, to the president and to his son, because they’re the leaders of this project.”
Defensive solidity
“It was a perfect match in defence. It’s the only way against teams like this with great attacking capability. We were going to get our chances because we have players who give their all.”
Ambition and humility at the same time
“We need to go step by step. We are going to enjoy the semi-finals. We prepared for this tie, which we knew was difficult, and we got an advantage at home. We will prepare for the semi-finals in the same way, whoever we face. We aren’t here for them to say that we’re friendly or we’re a small town, we want to go through. We have a stable project that has been in the semi-finals before and a team that prepares well and works hard to go far.”
A tough route
“In competitions like this, to do important things, you need to leave big teams behind you. The draw is always important, but to do something, you need to beat the favourites. Against Juventus we took a step forward, and it helped us in terms of belief. We analyse why a lot, and we will have semi-finals ahead of us where we will try and create circumstances to have our chances.”
The pride of a whole town
“The football are feelings and we represent a lot of people. We know that we owe it to them and if that makes them happy, it’s fantastic. Everyone has their chances and it’s all based in hard work and preparation. I’m proud of this project and having happy moments like this in the competition.”
