Thirty years. That is how long Aston Villa waited for a major trophy. Thirty years of near misses, managerial merry-go-rounds, relegation battles, a pandemic season and enough heartbreak to fill a book nobody would want to read twice. And then on a Wednesday night in Istanbul, in front of a future king of England who had flown there as a fan rather than as royalty, Aston Villa beat Freiburg 3-0 and ended all of it.
Let us just appreciate what Unai Emery has done at this football club. He arrived in November 2022 when Villa were fighting relegation under Steven Gerrard. The place was a mess. The squad was underperforming. The confidence was gone. Within months he had them mid table and looking organised. The following season they finished fourth and went to the Champions League. Then the Champions League quarter finals. And now this. The Europa League. His fifth. A record that nobody in the history of football has matched.
Tielemans scored first. Then Buendia. Then Morgan Rogers wrapped it up in the second half and the Tupras Stadium turned claret and blue. Prince William, who has supported Villa his entire life, was in the stands losing his mind like any other fan would. He posted on X afterwards calling it an amazing night. For once the royal understatement felt completely appropriate.
Emery keeps saying he is not the king of the Europa League. He said it in his pre match press conference. He said it again after the final whistle. The facts disagree. Three consecutive titles with Sevilla from 2014 to 2016. One with Villarreal in 2021. And now one with Villa in 2026. Five Europa Leagues. The only managers in history with five European trophies of any kind are Carlo Ancelotti and Jose Mourinho. Think about the company Emery is keeping.
And remember what happened to him at Arsenal. Fired in November 2019 after a difficult start to the season, having taken them to the Europa League final just months earlier. That exit was ugly and unfair and football being football nobody really gave him the credit he deserved on the way out. He has spent the last few years quietly and methodically proving every single person who doubted him completely wrong.
Villa’s last trophy before this was the League Cup in 1996. Their last European trophy was the European Cup in 1982. An era so long ago that most of the players celebrating in Istanbul were not even born. That weight does not just lift overnight. It takes the right owner, the right structure, the right manager and the right moment. Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens gave him the tools. Emery did the rest.
This is one of the great managerial achievements in Premier League era football. Not just winning the Europa League but transforming a club from relegation candidates to European champions in three and a half years. If Villa can hold this squad together and get back into the Champions League next season, the sky genuinely is the limit.
Unai Emery said he wants to make new history with Aston Villa. He already has.
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