Unai Emery
Emery in 2015, photo by efecreata photography/Bigstock.com
Birth Name: Unai Emery Etxegoien
Place of Birth: Hondarribia, Basque Country, Spain
Date of Birth: 3 November, 1971
Ethnicity: Basque
Unai Emery is a Basque football manager and footballer. He is head coach of Premier League club Aston Villa, and has led Sevilla FC to three consecutive Europa League victories. A left-sided midfielder, he played for Real Sociedad B, Real Sociedad, Toledo, Racing Ferrol, Leganés, and Lorca Deportiva, and also managed Lorca Deportiva, Almería, Valencia, Spartak Moscow, Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, and Villarreal.
Unai is the son of Amelia Echegoyen and Juan Emery (Juan María Emery Alza), a professional footballer. Unai’s uncle, Román Emery (Román Emery Alza), and paternal grandfather, Antonio Emery (Antonio Emery Arocena), was also a footballer. His father and grandfather played as goalkeepers, and his uncle as a midfielder.
Unai has been described as being of entirely Basque descent, having the family surnames Aizpitarte, Alza, Arocena, Emery, Etxeberria, Etxegoien, Exposito, and Virto in his genealogy. He has said that his ancestors traveled through France and England before arriving in Basque Country.
Unai’s paternal grandfather was born in Hondarribia, Spain.
He said his ancestors travelled through France and England before going to the Basque country and that he doesn’t know the origin of his surname.
« Unai Emery contestó en rueda de prensa a un periodista que le preguntó acerca de su nombre. El español contó que su familia había pasado por Inglaterra y Francia antes de llegar al País Vasco, y que realmente desconocía el origen de su apellido Emery »
http://www.marca.com/futbol/liga-francesa/2016/08/19/57b74f5d268e3e5a088b4640.html
Right. “Emery” is also an English surname brought by Normans from France to England.
In this article he is described as Basque of “pure stock” and as having surnames like Emery, Etxegoien, Alza, Virto, Arocena, Aizpitarte, Exposito and Etxeberria in his family tree
http://www.estadiodeportivo.com/sevilla/2015/02/21/ocho-apellidos-vascos-unai-emery/37763.html