Aston Villa staff profiles
Pen pics of Aston Villa's coaching, science, medicine and analytics staff. To see staff profiles for other clubs, click here.
FOOTBALL EXECUTIVES
SPORTING DIRECTOR
Johan Lange
Nationality: Danish
Appointed in July 2020, replacing Spaniard Jesus Garcia Pitarch. Had been Technical Director at FC Copenhagen since 2014, during which time they won three league titles and gained a formidable reputation for developing young talent.
COACHING STAFF
HEAD COACH
Unai Emery
Nationality: Spanish
One of the most successful coaches in European football. Won three Europa Leagues with Sevilla before joining Paris-Saint Germain, where he claimed seven trophies, including a domestic quadruple in his second season. Things didn't go quite so well at Arsenal, where he lasted only one-and-a-half seasons, but still reached the Europa League final. Joins from Villarreal, where he won the Europa League (again) in his first season and reached the Champions League semi-finals in his second.
ASSISTANT
Pako Ayestaran
Nationality: Spanish
Started out as a fitness coach before becoming Rafa Benitez’s assistant at a number of clubs, including Valencia and Liverpool. Left in acrimonious circumstances in 2007 to become a manager in his own right, and has led teams in Spain, Israel, Mexico and Portugal. Now back to being a number two.
FIRST-TEAM COACH
Pablo Villanueva
Nationality: Spanish
Long-time assistant of Emery’s, having worked with him at Sevilla, PSG, Arsenal and Villarreal.
GOALKEEPER COACH
Francisco Javier Garcia
Nationality: Spanish
Also worked for Emery at Sevilla, PSG, Arsenal and Villarreal.
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE COACH
Antonio Rodríguez Saravia
Nationality: Spanish
Came through the youth ranks at Barcelona before forging a pro career at other clubs in Spain. Was an assistant and manager before becoming Development Coach for Emery at Villarreal.
SET PIECES COACH
Austin MacPhee
Nationality: Scottish
Globetrotter as a player, turning out for teams in the United States, Romania and Japan. Moved into coaching in his late twenties and has been assistant with St Mirren, Hearts, Mexico, Northern Ireland and FC Midtjylland. Appointed as Villa's first set pieces coach in August 2021.
PERFORMANCE
FITNESS COACH
Moises de Hoyo
Nationality: Spanish
Worked for Watford for four months last year, but left because his family had remained in Spain. Was reunited with Emery at Villarreal, having worked with him at Sevilla. Has also been a fitness coach at Deportivo La Coruna and Levante.
PERFORMANCE DIRECTOR
Jeremy Oliver
Nationality: Australian
Bit of a mystery man. You won't find him on social media and there are no public interviews with him, nor any photos. Even Villa's staff were left drawing blanks when they tried to research him after his arrival. Was appointed at the end of last season and oversees the whole medical/ performance department. Had previously worked in his homeland of Australia.
PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE SCIENTIST
Aman Singh Shergill
Nationality: English
Appointed in November 2019 following four and a half years at near rivals Birmingham City. Works alongside Sharkey and gathers/ analyses performance data.
STRENGTH & CONDITIONING COACH
Oli Stevenson
Nationality: English
Youth player at Villa before taking a sports science degree at Loughborough University and taking a different path. Started as an S&C with the Academy before being promoted to the first team.
PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE COACH
Patrick Moore
Nationality: English
Joined the club as a Strength and Conditioning Coach in January 2019 from Brentford, where he had worked for three-and-a-half years. Title changed to Physical Performance Coach in May 2021.
HEAD OF NUTRITION
Serra Tumay
Nationality: American
Joined in September 2022, having previously been Olympic Sports Performance Dietician at UCLA. Was a college footballer of some repute herself.
MEDICAL
HEAD OF SPORT MEDICINE AND SCIENCE
Ricky Shamji
Nationality: English
Moved into football in 2008, having previously worked as a GP. Joined Villa in 2015.
LEAD PHYSIO
Alan Smith
Nationality: English
Club stalwart who joined in July 2000.
PHYSIO
Steven Polley
Nationality: English
Promoted from the Academy following the departure of John Hartley to Derby County in December 2020.
PHYSIO
Rob Marshall
Nationality: New Zealand
Worked for Hearts and Sheffield Wednesday before joining Villa in 2015.
ANALYSTS
VIDEO/ DATA ANALYST
Victor Manas
Nationality: Spanish
Described as Emery’s “second pair of eyes” and has worked with him at Almeria, Sevilla, PSG, Arsenal and Villarreal. Last year TGG interviewed Manas about his work.
HEAD OF PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS
David Stewart
Nationality: English
Joined from QPR in 2016.
PERFORMANCE ANALYST
Scott Adey-Linforth
Nationality: English
Was the first analyst to work with Villa Ladies. Promoted to Academy and then first team.
PERFORMANCE ANALYST
Joseph Ure
Nationality: English
Hired from Tottenham in April 2019.
FOOTBALL RESEARCH/ DATA
HEAD OF RESEARCH
Frederik Leth
Nationality: Danish
Joined from FC Copenhagen in February 2021, having been Lange's short-lived replacement there as Technical Director. Responsible for ensuring an evidence-based approach across the club.
LEAD DATA SCIENTIST & ENGINEER
Arjav Trivedi
Nationality: English
Worked for Arsenal for three years as a Data Scientist and Engineer before a brief spell with Fifa. Joined Villa in October 2021 and responsible for using “cutting-edge techniques to derive insights from data”.
OPERATIONS
OPERATIONS MANAGER
Matt Bennett
Nationality: English
Arrived at the club in October 2019 from Minnesota United. Responsible for all first-team operations, including team travel and player logistics.
PLAYER CARE MANAGER
Phil Roscoe
Nationality: English
Joined from Liverpool, where he had worked for seven years, in May 2022. Worked with Gerrard during his time with the Reds. Role at Anfield was Academy Player Care Manager.
