Aston Villa staff profiles

PRESIDENT OF FOOTBALL OPERATIONS

Monchi

Nationality: Spanish

Monchi - real name Ramón Rodríguez Verdejo - has long been one of the foremost Sporting Directors in world football. Was a goalkeeper for Sevilla before becoming their Sporting Director in 2000. Transformed them from Segunda División side to perennial trophy winners. Only blot on his copybook was ill-fated two-year spell with Roma from 2017 to 2019. Reunited with Emery, with whom he had worked at Sevilla, at Villa in June 2023.

DIRECTOR OF FOOTBALL OPERATIONS

Damia Vidagany

Nationality: Spanish

Was Marketing Director at Valencia during Emery's time at the club. Moved to Villa as the Head Coach's personal assistant and has regularly appeared alongside him at press conferences. Moved to the more formal role of Director of Football Operations after Monchi was appointed in June 2023.

GLOBAL DIRECTOR OF FOOTBALL DEVELOPMENT & INTERNATIONAL ACADEMIES

Johan Lange

Nationality: Danish

Appointed Sporting Director in July 2020, having previously been Technical Director at FC Copenhagen. Was moved into his new role in June 2023 following the appointment of Monchi.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.