Europa League supremo Emery puts Villa back in the big time
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May 20 : Unai Emery not only cemented his status as undisputed king of the Europa League with Wednesday's astonishing fifth win as a manager - but also sealed Aston Villa's resurgence as a major force in football.
The 54-year-old Spaniard joined Villa in late 2022, with the famous old Midlands club hovering perilously close to the Premier League relegation zone and fans still harking back to past glories of the 1980s and 90s.
Emery has since hauled Villa to the upper echelons of the Premier League, taken them into the Champions League - and now won them their first trophy in 30 years.
The nature of the 3-0 thrashing of Freiburg in the Europa League final in Turkey demonstrated all that is best about Emery's Villa: tactical nous, defensive resilience and oodles of skill and finishing power up front.
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"This final is the confirmation about how we are progressing," Emery told TNT. "Europe gave us a lot."
As the goals went in, Villa's players were serenaded by hordes of delirious supporters who had travelled from Birmingham to Istanbul. Among them was Villa's most famous fan, Prince William, who celebrated the victory ecstatically.
"Amazing night!! Huge congratulations to all the players, team, staff and everyone connected to the club! 44 years since the last taste of European silverware!" he said on X.
"With this manager in charge, anything is possible."
Emery said he was delighted to have improved Villa's "brand" in his time at the helm and was now looking forward to establishing them as a top Premier League team and seeking success too in next year's Champions League.
'WE'LL GO DOWN IN HISTORY'
Villa's captain John McGinn dedicated the victory to Villa's fans who had followed them en masse even during their three-year exile in the second-tier Championship from 2016-19.
"I can't believe it to be honest, what we've been through as a club. This club was close to being in a right bad way seven years ago," he said.
"Tonight was just everything we have built coming together. And the pride I felt at three-nil with ten minutes to go thinking we're European champions was something I can't even describe ... It's so special, I'll cherish every minute."
Dubbed "Mr Europa League" and "King of the Europa League" by media and fans, Emery has now won Europe's second most prestigious club competition five times.
Intriguingly, his winning clubs all include the letters "villa": Sevilla (2014, 2015, 2016), Villarreal (2021) and now Aston Villa.
It was the English club's first trophy since the English League Cup in 1996 and their first triumph in Europe since the 1982 European Cup.
"We've worked so hard for this," said striker Morgan Rogers.
"We knew we had one more game to give it our all, and we all delivered and we came through. Great moment for the fans, great moment for the club, we'll go down in history."
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