Unai Emery has explained why he has full trust in Roberto Olabe's judgement of a player, insisting that the new Aston Villa appointment is the 'recruitment specialist'. Villa appointed Olabe at the end of September following Monchi's exit from the club after just over three years as president of football operations.
Emery's faith in Olabe
Speaking to El Diario Vasco about his relationship with Olabe, Emery said: "We all want the same thing at Aston Villa, but we need specialists. My specialty is not recruitment - I've always wanted to focus on the pitch, on the grass, on preparing what happens from the offices onto the field."
Emery added: "Since I started working with Roberto 20 years ago at Almería, I've had great professional and personal respect for him. I need people who contribute in all areas so we can keep growing. I'm ultimately responsible, but we share that responsibility. But I insist - my place has always been on the pitch. Outside of that, whatever Roberto says, I follow him completely."
Olabe's background
Olabe had been out of work for only a few months after leaving Real Sociedad at the end of the 2024/25 campaign, before becoming Emery's first choice to replace Monchi last year.
Emery continued: "I've had many conversations with Roberto Olabe about what Europe means - now and when he was at Real Sociedad. How he saw Sevilla, Villarreal - teams of a similar size to Real Sociedad. Being capable, thinking about how we can compete and grow."
"Real Sociedad is doing that - it's trying to find its role in Europe, because next year they'll be back after winning the Copa del Rey. All of that is growth, and along that path come many emotions, mostly positive - and from those emotions you build very strong feelings and a deep sense of belonging."
