Unai Emery joins Jose Mourinho & Carlo Ancelotti in exclusive elite manager club after Europa League triumph with Aston Villa (original) (raw)

SC Freiburg v Aston Villa FC - UEFA Europa League Final 2026Getty Images Sport

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery secured his fifth Europa League title after guiding Villa to victory in Istanbul. The Spaniard now joins an elite managerial group alongside Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti for major European final wins.

The Spanish manager further cemented his reputation as one of Europe’s great cup specialists after winning his fifth Europa League title with Aston Villa. As per _Opta, the triumph moved him level with Giovanni Trapattoni, Mourinho and Ancelotti for the most major European final victories by a manager.
Emery also became only the second coach, alongside Ancelotti, to win a major European competition on five separate occasions. After previous Europa League successes with Sevilla and Villarreal, he delivered continental glory to Villa and ended the club’s lengthy trophy drought.
Villa controlled the final from the outset in Istanbul. Youri Tielemans opened the scoring with a volley before Emiliano Buendia doubled the lead in first-half stoppage time. Morgan Rogers added a third before the hour mark to seal a commanding 3-0 victory.

'Very grateful for the Europa League'

Speaking after the match, Emery highlighted his deep connection with European competition and praised his side’s approach throughout the campaign.
"I am always very grateful for Europe, for every competition, Conference League, Champions League, Europa League, but especially Europa League," Emery told reporters. "We fought strongly in this competition and tried to give it our best. We played in a very serious way this year."

Villa captain John McGinn credited the manager for the club’s dramatic rise since his arrival in 2022.
"With this manager in charge, anything's possible," McGinn admitted. "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."
Striker Ollie Watkins also revealed how Emery’s calmness before the final helped settle the squad.
"Normally sometimes in the league games he's a little bit anxious because obviously he wants us to win, but today he was really calm and I think that set the tone for us boys," Watkins said.

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Champions League challenge awaits Villa

Villa will now head into next season’s Champions League campaign carrying the momentum of Europa League success and growing expectations around the club. Emery’s side have already shown they can compete consistently at the highest level in Europe. The challenge now will be maintaining that standard domestically while balancing the demands of another major continental in the next season.