Español Premier League
“The English Premier League is maybe the first [best] league in the World.”
That is how Unai Emery described the challenge ahead of him in his first press conference as Aston Villa manager, having left Villarreal in European competition for a team in a relegation battle. On Saturday morning, Wolves confirmed that Julen Lopetegui will be the latest coach to move from LaLiga to the Premier League.
This time last year, Emery had qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League and Lopetegui was challenging at the summit of Spanish football. Now, both have new jobs in the Midlands with the initial aim of trying to finish above the midpoint in the table.
It speaks to the growing financial dominance and competitive advantage held by the Premier League that two of Spain’s best coaches have happily taken what is objectively a step down to move there. Just last summer, Diego Carlos left Seville for Villa Park and newly-promoted Nottingham Forest signed Renan Lodi from Atlético Madrid and were close to prising Álex Moreno from Real Betis. The latter’s eventual rejection was rejoiced by fans of LaLiga but it was the lone trickle against the tide, the exception to the newly-established rule.
Rather than lamenting this new paradigm, it does offer up some new fascinations. For example, one fifth of Premier League teams are now coached by Spaniards (20%): Pep Guardiola, Mikel Arteta, Emery and Lopetegui. The new Wolves coach is the 12th Spaniard to ply his trade in England’s top flight, the first of whom was Rafael Benítez in 2004.
Having just won the UEFA Cup with Valencia, Liverpool convinced him to come to Anfield. Tottenham repeated the trick in 2007, appointing double-UEFA Cup winner Juande Ramos, albeit less prosperously. Some have been more successful than others: for every Pep Guardiola, there is a Pepe Mel. Guardiola is clearly the most successful by a distance, winning 11 domestic trophies in his six full seasons so far, including four titles with points tallies of 100, 98, 86 and 93.
Roberto Martínez had long spells with Wigan and Everton and tasted the bitter and the sweet, wining the FA Cup but suffering relegation just three days later. Watford have led the way in appointing Spaniards: Quique Sánchez Flores, Javi Gracia and latterly Xisco Muñoz. For those of you keeping count, Aitor Karanka’s short stint at Middlesborough completes the set.
2022/23 will not be the first season with four Spaniards in the Premier League at the same time. At the start of 2018/19, there was Guardiola (City), Emery (Arsenal), Benítez (Newcastle) and Gracia (Watford). Even last season, Guardiola, Arteta (Arsenal), Benítez (Everton) and Muñoz (Watford) all began the campaign.
The curious thing about the current quartet, however, is that three of the four come from the same province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Country. In other words, 15% of Premier League coaches (Arteta, Emery, Lopetegui) come from the same small – albeit beautifully scenic – corner of northern Spain. Across the major leagues, there is also Imanol Alguacil and Xabi Alonso who hail from that area, undoubtedly a hotbed for coaching talent.
In a changing football landscape, there will be significantly more eyes focused on the Premier League, especially from a Spanish perspective.