2026-05-21 11:34:46
Unai Emery insists Aston Villa winning the Europa League is only the beginning.
The Villains manager is delighted after the club secured their first major trophy in 30 years, but Emery has vowed his team “are not going to stop”.
He said after Wednesday’s (20.05.26) 3-0 win over Freiburg:: “I am thankful to [co-owners] Nassef [Sawiris] and Wes [Edens]… they are supporting always.
“I am thankful to the supporters and I am thankful for the players. All the times I am successful in this competition I needed good players.
“Now I am so thankful for the players, they are following our ambitions. They are protagonists on the field.
“This is the reason I am not feeling the king in this competition. I am feeling really thankful – we are the kings together.
“After 1982 the club won the European Cup, it was something they were missing – the supporters – a trophy. Achieving this one is making us so, so happy but we are not going to stop.”
Emery has now won the Europa League five times as a manager, with a trophy parade for Villa taking place in Birmingham on Thursday (21.05.26).
Goalscorers Youri Tielemans, Emi Buendia and Morgan Rogers secured victory for the club.
Tielemans told TNT Sport: “I feel amazing. My voice is a bit gone but it’s all good.
“We put in a shift, a top performance, we had a great season. To top it off with this is amazing.
“It’s been a season with a lot of ups and downs. We started so, so bad. Our standards were very poor.
“The way we turned things around was a credit to the players and staff. We kept working, believing. We got the win in the end, Champions League next season and a trophy.”
Rogers added: “It’s hard to put into words, we’ve worked so hard for this. We’ve delivered and come through. It’s a great moment for the fans, great for the club. We’ll go down in history.”
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