Aston Villa manager Unai Emery rejects the idea that he’s “king” of the UEFA Europa League competition. However, no manager has won the competition more times than he has (4). He’s won the UEL three times with Sevilla and once with Villarreal. If leads Villa to a triumph over German side SC Freiburg in Istanbul tomorrow, he’ll then have final UEL triumphs.
The only other manager to win the tournament more than twice is Giovanni Trapattoni, who has lifted the Europa League trophy three times (with Juventus twice and Inter Milan once).
“I am not a king in this competition,” Unai Emery said at the
“I am now with Aston Villa in a new chapter and everything I did is done. It’s there in that moment, but with it I am not winning tomorrow.
“I need to win tomorrow with the players we have now, with Aston Villa now, with the opponent we face tomorrow. So it’s a new way, a new moment and hopefully a new era.
“I don’t want to speak a lot about the thing we did before.
“Now, this year, and the matches we played before in the Conference League or in the Champions League, and they are showing the capacity to play at a high level.”
Europa League Final FYIs
Aston Villa vs SC Freiburg
Kickoff: Wed May 20, 8pm, Tupras Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey
AVFC Team News, Match Preview: go here
How They Got Here (aggregate scores):
Aston Villa: 4-1 Nottingham Forest (Semi-finals), 7-1 Bologna (Quarter-finals), 3-0 LOSC (Round of 16)
Freiburg: 4-3 Braga (Semi-finals), 6-1 Celta (Quarter-finals), 5-2 Genk (Round of 16)
Given the less than elite reputation that surrounds this competition (i.e. how it’s the secondary tournament, to the UEFA Champions League), it is easy to understand why Emery might not be so excited about claiming the throne here. Still, a UEL title grants you automatic passage into the UEFA Champions League for the next season, and that is certainly a big prize.
Aston Villa have already clinched that of course, via an already guaranteed top five finish in the Premier League. And it would take a very unlikely set of circumstances, on Championship Sunday, to keep them from finishing fourth on the season.
Victory tomorrow would also ensure the club’s first major trophy since the 1996 League Cup and their first continental since the European Cup glory of 1982.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, Ratings and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.