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Unai Emery

Paris Saint-Germain

Unai Emery took charge of Paris in summer 2016
Unai Emery took charge of Paris in summer 2016 ©Getty Images

Date of birth: 3 November 1971
Nationality: Spanish
Playing career: Real Sociedad de Fútbol, CD Toledo, Racing de Ferrol, CD Leganés, Lorca Deportiva CF
Coaching career: Lorca Deportiva CF, UD Almería, Valencia CF, FC Spartak Moskva, Sevilla FC, Paris Saint-Germain

• The son and grandson of famous goalkeepers, Unai Emery took his first steps as a footballer in the youth ranks at Real Sociedad, where he played as a left-sided midfielder. Failed to reach the first team but carved out a career in the lower leagues with Toledo, Ferrol, Leganés and Lorca before being forced to retire at 33 having suffered a knee injury.

• He was immediately offered the chance to coach Lorca – the club with whom he had ended his playing career – and took them up to the second division in his first season in charge, 2004/05. After coming close to taking Lorca into the Spanish top flight the following season, was appointed by Almería ahead of 2006/07 and duly won promotion to the Liga.

• Almería shone among the Spanish elite, finishing the season in eighth place while their manager's reputation soared, earning him a call to replace Ronald Koeman at Valencia, whom he guided to third place in the Liga in both 2009/10 and 2010/11.

• Repeated the third-place finish in 2011/12 but stepped down at the end of the campaign, agreeing a two-year contract to take charge of Spartak in May 2012 but lasted only till that November.

• Swiftly returned to Spain, and Sevilla, who he led to a 2013/14 UEFA Europa League final victory against SL Benfica via a semi-final defeat of Valencia. Repeated the trick a year later, Sevilla seeing off FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in Warsaw to retain the trophy, before an unprecedented hat-trick with 2016's defeat of Liverpool FC in Basel. That was Emery's last hurrah at Sevilla; he left to join Paris on a two-year deal that June, winning a French and League Cup double in his first season.