An ɗora babban tifo a shahararren Holte End na Villa Park dauke da rubutu «Mun Ci Nasara Kafin. Mun Shirya Don Ƙari» lokacin da Aston Villa suka fafata da Viking a UEFA Champions League. A lokaci guda, Unai Emery yana tafiya a gefen filin wasa yayin da magoya baya suka yi masa tsayuwa da tafi.
Emery yana murnar cika shekara huɗu na naɗinsa daga Villarreal a wannan Asabar, lokacin da Villa suke karɓar Manchester City — jagororin Premier League — a Villa Park. Isarsa ta kasance canjin tarihi ga ɗaya daga cikin tsoffin kulob din kwallon ƙafa mafi girma a Ingila.
Farkon mawuyacin yanayi da aka manta da shi da sauri
Wannan yanayi ya bambanta sosai da rashin kwanciyar hankali da ya mamaye makonni kaɗan da suka wuce, bayan wani lokaci bazara mai cike da fita 'yan wasa da yawa. Shida daga cikin ƙungiyar da ta lashe UEFA Europa League da ci 3-0 akan Freiburg a Istanbul a watan Mayu sun bar kulob ɗin: mai gida Emiliano Martinez, Lucas Digne, Youri Tielemans, da kuma 'yan Ingila uku Ollie Watkins, Ezri Konsa, da Morgan Rogers — nau'i biyu na ƙarshe sun tafi Arsenal da Chelsea tare da £172 miliyan, yayin da Villa ta tattara kuɗi kusan £320 miliyan.
Kakar ta fara da rashin nasara 4-0 a Brighton — da duk kwallon da aka ci kafin rabin lokaci — sannan 1-0 a gida da Arsenal, a rashin iyakacin wasa da Hull City, da rashin nasara 2-1 da Nottingham Forest a Villa Park. An karya fatara da nasara ta farko a Tottenham Hotspur, wanda ya biyo baya da nasarar Fenerbahce, nasara 1-0 mai kyau a Newcastle United, da kuma ci gaba akan Viking.
Villa 2.0 tana ƙaruwa da ƙarfi
Nasara 3-1 akan Viking — wanda ya mayar da Villa nasara uku daga uku a UEFA Champions League — ya ƙara farin ciki a Villa Park. Burin Peter Christiansen na ƙarshe ya hana Villa zama na gaban jerin, inda suka daidaita tare da maki tara tare da masu riƙe da gasar Paris St-Germain, Liverpool, Real Madrid, da Real Betis. Nasarar ta zo bayan babbar nasara 6-0 akan Fenerbahce, wanda ya ƙara adadin ci gaba na 12 na nasarori a gida a gasar Turai.
'Yan wasa sabbi suna ba da gudummawa ƙwarai. Alysson ɗan Brazil, yana da shekara 20, wanda ya zo daga Gremio a watan Janairu cikin yarjejeniyar da zata iya kai £10.4 miliyan, shi ne mafi kyawun ɗan wasa akan Viking; ya sami fanariti da Emiliano Buendia ya zira don ci biyu, sannan karo ɗinsa ya makale cikin raga ta Henrik Heggheim don ci na uku.
Ibrahim Mbaye, ɗan iyaka ɗan shekara 18 da aka sanya hannu a £47 miliyan daga Paris Saint-Germain, shi ma ya nuna fasaha mai ban sha'awa a gefen. Ya shiga duk wasannin Senegal huɗu a FIFA World Cup 2026, inda ya ci kwallo a cikin rashin nasara 3-1 da France don zama ɗan ƙasa mafi ƙarancin shekaru na Afirka da ya ci kwallo a Gasar Cin Kofin Duniya ta maza.
Mai gida Zion Suzuki, yana da shekara 24 kuma ya zo daga Parma da £30 miliyan, ya dauki amanar Emiliano Martinez abin ƙauna da kwanciyar hankali, yana ƙara ƙarin darajar rarraba gajeren da dogon kwallo. Joao Gomes, ɗan wasa na tsakiya da aka kawo da £38 miliyan daga Wolverhampton Wanderers, shi ma ya nuna abin da zai iya yi akan Viking.
Don maye gurbin Watkins wanda ya tafi Al-Hilal a Saudi Pro League, Emery ya zabi Nicolas Jackson, wanda ya horar da shi a Villarreal, yana siyan shi daga Chelsea da £65 miliyan. Ya daidaita da sauri tare da ƙwallaye biyar a hannunsa.
Watakila mafi ban sha'awa shine Johan Manzambi, tauraruwar da ta ɓullo a Gasar Cin Kofin Duniya da Switzerland. Ɗan wasan tsakiya ɗan shekara 21 ya kai £50 miliyan daga Freiburg, a yarjejeniyar da aka janye daga gaban Newcastle United. Ya riga ya ci mahimman ƙwallaye — ciki har da mai cin nasara a St James' Park — ko da yake yanzu yana da shakku akan wasan Manchester City.
Tsoffin 'yan wasa a matsayin ginshiƙi na sabuntawa
Emery bai maye gurbin kowa da kowa ba; kyaftin John McGinn ya kasance bugun zuciyar ƙungiyar, yayin da Ross Barkley, ɗan shekara 32, yana fuskantar farfaɗowar sana'a a ƙarshen aikinsa. Tsohon ɗan wasan tsakiya na Ingila ya ci akan Viking — ƙwallon sa na huɗu a kakar — bayan ya ci biyu a nasara akan Fenerbahce. Ya zo daga Luton Town a Yuli 2024, kasancewar ya taɓa aro a Villa Park a kakar 2020-21.
Emery ya yi yabo mai yawa, yana cewa: «A matsayinsa na mutum, shi ne ɗan kyakkyawa. Ross Barkley ɗan wasa ne mai kyau sosai tare da gogewa. Ban san dalilin da ya sa sana'arsa ta fara yin ƙasa bayan Chelsea ba. Lokacin da muka gan shi a Luton, muka ce: wow, wane ɗan wasa. Ina farin ciki sosai da yadda yake wasa.»
Bayan nasara akan Viking, Emery ya duba gaba tare da kwarin gwiwa da ƙudurin da ba ya gajiya zuwa wasan Manchester City mai rikodin cikakke a wasanni bakwai, yana cewa: «Waɗannan maki uku sun cika mu da kwarin gwiwa. Muna jin daɗi kuma muna son ci gaba da fuskantar ƙalubalen da suka zo.» Tarihin ban mamaki na kocin — biyun Europa League uku a jere da Sevilla, ɗaya kuma da Villarreal, sannan nasara da Villa — yana bayyana dalilin da ya sa mai mallakar gama gari Nassef Sawiris da gudanarwa suke ba Emery komai da yake buƙata. Villa 2.0 tana kan tafarki.
