Aston Villa: Unai Emery delivers again as he wins fifth Europa League title
Emery’s previous four were already a competition record, and although he rejected the claim that he was a European king, he was a serial winner.
Six finals, five wins and the last one cements a legacy at Villa Park that will last for decades.
Villa officials were nervous talking in advance about the trophy parade, which will have to be organized in advance given the disruption in Birmingham, but the team will unveil it in the city on Thursday afternoon.
If Tielemans’ volley, which completed his short corner routine, gave them the platform, Buendia’s curling effort into the top corner put one hand on the cup.
Former Villa midfielder Ian Taylor, a supporter of the club, scored in the 1996 League Cup win; This was the last time Villa won a major silver medal when he jumped up from his press box chair and punched the air.
In Rogers’ third, the substitutes celebrated on the pitch and Emery leapt to the touchline, fists clenched. Victory was assured.
“I feel great,” Tielemans told TNT. “My voice is a little broken, but everything is fine. We made a shift and performed at our best, we had a great season and to add this to it is great. It’s great.”
“This is fantastic. It’s been a season with a lot of ups and downs. We started very badly. Our standards were very poor.”
“The way we turned things around was a credit to the players and staff. We kept working with belief. In the end we got the win, the Champions League and the cup next season.”
It wasn’t without getting angry early, though. Emi Martinez had to have her right ring finger taped and treated during warm-ups; This brought back memories of the 82 final when Jimmy Rimmer was replaced by Nigel Spink after just nine minutes.
But these concerns have evaporated. Villa were never in any danger and the fans filling Beşiktaş Park were already celebrating at half-time.
Villa’s official ticket allocation was 10,758 but 20,000 traveled to Türkiye; They clearly outnumbered Freiburg’s fans and were packed into the bars and cafes of Istanbul’s famous Taksim Square.
At the stadium, Prince William, who sent a good luck message on social media, watched as Emery was lifted onto Martinez’s shoulders as Villa celebrated on the pitch.
Head of football operations Damian Vidagany showed the pressure was off by holding his hands above his head as the final whistle blew before embracing Tielemans.
While Martinez struggled to contain his emotions, team co-owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens greeted the players before receiving their medals.
The future king filmed the trophy being lifted on his phone as Villa celebrated a landmark moment.
Rogers told TNT: “It’s hard to put it into words, we worked hard for this. We did it and we did it. It’s a great moment for the fans, great for the club. We’ll go down in history.”
