Tough Lesson

After his stint with Valencia, Unai departed Spain for the first time. He left to go coach Spartak Moscow on May 13, 2012 when the owner, Leonid Fedun announced that Unai had been signed for two seasons. It was only a short run that lasted 6 months. On November 25, 2012, Unai was fired for his poor performance. The last game he coached for Spartak was a 1-5 loss versus Dnamo Moscow. Unai said he tried his best when he coached in Russia but there were multiple reasons why things didn’t work out. He said he personally did not feel comfortable coaching in the country. He was more used to having a liberal lifestyle like he did in Spain for most of his playing and coaching career. He just didn’t feel right when he went to work in Russia. He also had trouble with the style of play in the Russian league.

He had to adapt to how different the players moved compared to the other leagues he played in. He expected to at least be given a full year so that he could implement his style and have his players get accustomed to his coaching style. When he was fired before his contract ran out, it was a wake up call for Unai. He took the blame on himself because he had failed at a lower level of competition. For him to get back to the top of the coaching ranks, he had to take a step back and reflect on what he was doing wrong. He went back to the drawing board and changed his style to match the modern times.

Coaching Rise

During 2013, he signed with Sevilla and he took the club to Europa League victories three times. He started to build a reputation because of his style and clever transactions in the transfer market. After his stint with Sevilla, he went on to join Paris Saint-Germain which is a French club.

He didn’t have that much success with the club but he did lead them win the Coupe de France, Coupe de la Ligue and Trophée des Champions in his first year. In his second year, he won all four domestic trophies including Ligue 1, Coupe de France, Coupe de la Ligue and Trophée des Champions.

After his contract with Paris Saint-Germain ended, he moved on to the Premier League where signed on to coach Arsenal in 2018. Arsenal is one of the top teams in all of football so their trust in Unai shows that he is an excellent coach. They will rely on him to bring them lots of success like he has for his previous teams. His philosophy and tactics had contributed a great deal to his successful career.

Personal Life

He has been married to Louisa Fernandez since 2005. With his wife, they are parents to a son born in 2003 in Madrid. His net worth is 13 million dollars.