Emery focused on Villa glory, not crown of Europa League 'king'
Aston Villa coach Unai Emery gestures while speaking to reporters on the eve of his side's Europa League final against Freiburg in Istanbul (Francisco Seco) Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has insisted he is not the "king" of the Europa League despite bidding to win the competition for a fifth time when his side face Freiburg in Wednesday's final in Istanbul. Emery has overseen a revival in the 1982 European champions' fortunes, guiding the Premier League club to the Conference League semi-finals in 2024 and the quarter-finals of last season's Champions League. Villa are now just one game away from lifting their first major trophy since winning the 1996 League Cup.
Spanish boss Emery is considered something of a Europa League specialist after winning the competition three times with Sevilla and once while in charge of Villarreal. He also finished as a Europa League runner-up during his spell as Arsenal boss. "I am not a king in this competition," Emery said at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday.
"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 things 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. " Emery has been a transformative figure at Villa since succeeding Steven Gerrard as manager in 2022. He has turned a relegation-threatened side into one that has now qualified for the Champions League in two of the last three seasons.
Emery urged his side to use Wednesday's final as an opportunity to underline how far the club has progressed in recent years. "This is a process. A process (for) how we could achieve, building the team and our structure," he said.