Is Emery the King of Europe? Villa Boss Targets Another Europa League Triumph

Unai Emery has the chance to secure a fifth UEFA Europa League title tonight as he takes charge of Aston Villa in their clash with Freiburg.

The Spaniard’s four Europa League triumphs are already a competition record, and Emery could really write his name into European folklore with another tonight.

German side Freiburg stand in the way of Villa making history, in what is Emery’s sixth European final. Only Giovanni Trapattoni boasts more, managing sides such as AC Milan, Juventus and Bayern Munich across seven European finals.

Villa are currently suffering from a trophy drought stretching back 30 years, since their League Cup win against Leeds United in 1996.

Emery has led the Villans to their first European final since beating Bayern Munich to be crowned champions of Europe in 1982.

The 54-year-old arrived in the West Midlands in October 2022, following the departure of Steven Gerrard, and announced his intention of winning silverware in the colours of claret and blue.

At Besiktas Park tonight, Emery will be in the dugout for his sixth Europa League final in the last 12 years.

He lost the 2019 final to Chelsea while managing Arsenal, where his short spell as Gunners boss was considered a failure.

A brace from man of the match Eden Hazard and a goal each from Olivier Giroud and Pedro were enough to dispatch of Emery’s Reds in Baku, which turned out to be Hazard’s last game for Chelsea before his move to Real Madrid.

Despite disappointment seven years ago, Emery has more Europa League successes than any other manager. He lifted the trophy for three consecutive years between 2014-2016 with Sevilla before beating Manchester United on penalties whilst managing Villarreal in 2021.

Emery, though, insists that will mean nothing come kick-off against their Bundesliga rivals.

“I am not a king in this competition,” he said. “I am now here with Aston Villa in a new chapter. Everything I did is done, and of course it’s there in that moment, but with it I am not winning.

“I need to win with the players we have now, with Villa now. So now it’s a new way, a new moment, and hopefully a new era.

“If you are not respecting the opponent, you are closer to losing. If you are not respecting Europe, like we did during the process, we are not here. This is the strong mentality we had before.

The former Paris Saint-Germain manager has taken charge of 115 games in the competition, boasting an 85.7% win rate with Villa.

Since the start of 2023-24, no side has won more European matches than Villa’s tally of 26.

Villa defender Tyrone Mings said: “The manager is somewhat of a European genius, isn’t he?

“He always reiterates the Premier League is the most important thing. We speak about growing the revenues and trying to increase the revenues to compete with the restrictions which are now in place.

“But he still delivers these amazing European runs, all while focusing on the Premier League. Finding that balance is something the squad and the manager should take a lot of credit for. It’s been a special time.

“It’s an amazing moment. In recent years, the fans have seen other clubs winning titles in Europe and domestically and there’s a slight jealousy among the fanbase we haven’t been able to get over the line.

“It’s a special time.”