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Aston Villa: I’m no Euro king claims Emery as he goes for fifth Europa League crown

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At Besiktas Park on Wednesday, Emery will stand on the touchline for his sixth Europa League final in 12 years.

He lost the 2019 final to Chelsea while at Arsenal, where his 18-month reign was seen as a failure.

But he has more triumphs in the competition than any other manager; three with Sevilla – in 2014, 2015 and 2016 – when they beat Liverpool – before a penalty shootout victory over Manchester United with 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 [in Turkey] 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.

“We have a huge challenge, a huge challenge. Are we thinking about the next party on Friday? No, no.”

The former Paris St Germain boss has managed 115 games in the Europa League, winning 71, and his best win rate in the competition is his 85.7% with Villa.

Those wins are a competition record. And since the start of 2023-24, no side has won more European matches than Villa’s tally of 26.

Emery – bizarrely overlooked in the Premier League’s Manager of the Season nominations – spoke to his players on Saturday morning, a debrief following Friday’s 4-2 win over Liverpool which sealed Champions League qualification.

He also reminded them about the journey the club has been on since he replaced Steven Gerrard in late 2022 – a Europa Conference League semi-final, a Champions League quarter-final and two top-five finishes.

Emery has needed a way with words at times, refusing to lay into his players at half-time during the abject defeat by Tottenham at the start of the month.

It was something the squad appreciated, a fatherly touch of reminding them of what they have achieved together.


BBC News

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