Unai Emery the Europa League king could be Aston Villa’s final trump card

Players hope their workaholic manager will let his hair down if he wins competition for fifth time in Istanbul

Two years ago, during Aston Villa’s first European adventure under Unai Emery, Vicente Iborra was asked about a manager he knows better than most. “He is a coach that takes into consideration every detail which might happen in the match,” said Iborra, then of Olympiakos. Iborra has winner’s medals from all four of Emery’s Europa League triumphs, three on the spin with Sevilla, the last with Villarreal five years ago, before which the injured midfielder delivered a stirring dressing-room speech. “You have the chance to make a lot of people happy,” he said, by way of opening gambit.

On Wednesday, against Freiburg, Emery hopes to lift the trophy for a record-extending fifth time. Before Villa progressed past Nottingham Forest in the semi-finals, Vítor Pereira spoke on behalf of the masses when he described Emery as the king of the Europa League. Emery has reached the final on six occasions, losing one with Arsenal, and is seeking his first silverware with Villa. This week Iborra’s words feel more pertinent than ever: “I have learned many things from Mr Emery, but one thing I will never forget from him is that, in order to find yourself in a final, in order to experience this great moment in your lifetime, one truly has to want that, one has to long for it.”

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