Aston Villa won the Europa League with a 3-0 victory over Freiburg, bringing to Birmingham the first major trophy since the EFL Cup in 1996 and the 1981 league title, and further cementing Unai Emery as the most successful manager in Europa League history, with three titles in a row won with Sevilla, one with Villarreal, and now his first one with an English club.
The 54-year-old Spaniard joined Aston Villa in November 2022, holding a 55.4% win ratio: with over 100 victories, he is the third manager in Villa history to reach so many victories with the club, after Ron Saunders and Joe Mercer. Emery has a contract until 2029, signed in 2024 when he led Aston Villa for their first Champions League since 1982.
Now that his compatriot Pep Guardiola is leaving Manchester City, English pundits are hailing Emery as the best coach in the Premier League, above Arsenal's Mikel Arteta, who has just won the Premier League. "He has got the most trophies, and the most experience. Mikel is at the start of his journey, and has done an incredible job this year. But Unai is in a category with the best of the best", said TNT Sport pundit and former midfielder Owen Hargreaves
The Europa League title secures Aston Villa's qualification in Champions League for the second time in three years: last season, they reached quarter-finals and were beaten 5-4 on aggregate by Paris Saint-Germain, Emery's former club, and the year prior reached the Conference League semi-finals.
