After winning a fifth Europa Leagues title, it’s time to call Unai Emery what he is: an elite manager.
Emery has never been about noise. Or building up his ego. His genius lives in the details.
And now, after winning a fifth Europa League title it is time to place him where he belongs: among the managerial elite of modern football.
Perhaps even above most of them.
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Aston Villa fans at the Utilita Arena Birmingham erupt as their side win the Europa League final 3-0.
Because when Pep Guardiola walks away from Manchester City, there is a compelling argument that the Premier League’s finest coach will be standing in the dugout at Villa Park.
Few managers in history have done that more often than Emery. Only Carlo Ancelotti, Jose Mourinho and Giovanni Trapattoni have each won five European competitions. He is in illustrious company.
The temptation has always been to frame his career through the prism of his failures at Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal.
Aston Villa players celebrate their Europa League triumph
Yet the deeper you study Emery’s body of work, he is built for projects. The master of them. For clubs desperate to disrupt the established order.
That is why Sevilla became kings of the Europa League under him. Why Villarreal conquered all. Why Aston Villa – drifting and sleepwalking toward the Championship – now look like a genuine European powerhouse.
Villa’s 3-0 victory over Freiburg carried the aura of a Champions League heavyweight.
The defining quality of elite coaching is not simply improving players. Plenty can do that. The true greats alter the ceiling of an entire football club. Emery has now done that repeatedly across Europe.
And after Freiburg were swept aside in such emphatic fashion, perhaps the football world finally has to accept what many who have followed Emery have known for years.
Emery is not simply a specialist. He is one of the best managers of his generation.
Emery: We’re not going to stop
“My dream when I started [at Villa] was to play in Europe and play for trophies – this is the first one. We played in two semi-finals and were close,” Emery said.
“Those experiences are very important to get better. The club have been missing European cups, a trophy.
“So achieving this makes us so happy, but we’re not going to stop.”
Emery was also pleased with Villa’s ‘serious’ approach to the competition. Speaking to TNT Sports he said:
“Europe gave us a lot, and for myself as well a lot. And I’m always very grateful for Europe. For every competition: Conference League, Champions League, Europa League… but especially Europa League.
“We played in a very serious way this year. So, so focused. And the players showed their wishes. I was telling them, ‘we need desire in this competition and to show on the pitch that you are the protagonist’. And they did it.
“Some have won titles as well. Some it’s the first title.
Aston Villa celebrate Morgan Rogers’ goal
“This final is the confirmation of how we are progressing.
“It’s very important for them [the players] and of course for the supporters because the supporters were travelling with us all the season, travelling away, doing a huge effort to be with us, transmitting to us their energy.
“If we are improving, if we are playing Europe, we are playing finals, we are winning trophies, if we are in the Champions League, I think the brand is increasing.”
McGinn: Proudest moment of my career
“With this manager in charge, anything’s possible,” said Villa captain John McGinn.
“Tonight was just everything we have built, coming together, and the pride I felt at 3-0 with 10 minutes to go, thinking we’re European champions was something I can’t even describe.
“It’s the proudest moment and night of my career so far.”
