Aston Villa are a club transformed in the past 12 months, with Unai Emery replacing Steven Gerrard in the dugout at Villa Park a huge part of that.
Taking over a side devoid of confidence and one which looked destined for a relegation battle, Emery quickly turned Aston Villa's fortunes around, eventually leading them to Europa Conference League qualification.
Ivan Rakitic played under Emery from January 2013 until the end of the 2013/14 season, winning the Europa League as captain before departing for the bright lights of Barcelona.
Despite the short amount of time the Croatian spent playing for Emery, Rakitic highlights the manager's true quality, placing him among the very best in his profession.
"Because he did it again at Aston Villa last season, and so many times – I just have to congratulate the people at Villa on having maybe one of the best coaches in the world," Rakitic told FourFourTwo.
"Unai is a guy who lives his... I don’t want to say ‘job’, because I don’t think he looks at it like a job. It’s his world. He lives football 24 hours a day for the whole year. He is able to transmit so many things to his players. He’s one of the most important coaches I’ve had.
"It was a shame to be with him for only one and a half years, because he is a coach to enjoy in every moment, at every training session. I was proud to do big things with him, and congrats to Villa because everything that comes will be amazing."
While Aston Villa have started the 2023/24 season inconsistently - they've lost 5-1 to Newcastle and 3-0 to Liverpool, but won 4-0 and 3-1 against Everton and Burnley - they'll be confident of their chances of progression in the Europa Conference League.
Emery has won three Europa League trophies in his time as a manager, and the summer additions of Moussa Diaby, Pau Torres and Nicolo Zaniolo highlight Villa's ambitions both domestically and on the continent.
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