Emery urges Villa to use Europa triumph to fuel bold new era

Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery celebrates after defeating Freiburg 3-0 to win the UEFA Europa League final at Besiktas Park in Istanbul, Turkiye, on May 21, 2026. [AFP]

Unai Emery urged Aston Villa to use their historic Europa League final triumph against Freiburg as the foundation for an "ambitious" new era.

Emery's side ended the club's 30-year trophy drought with a stylish 3-0 win in Istanbul on Wednesday.

Spectacular first-half goals from Youri Tielemans and Emiliano Buendia put Villa in control before Morgan Rogers netted after the interval to kill off outclassed Freiburg.

Villa's first trophy since the 1996 League Cup was also their first major European prize in 44 years.

After long spells in the doldrums prior to Emery's arrival to replace the sacked Steven Gerrard in 2022, Villa are back among the elite both in the Premier League and Europe.

They have qualified for next season's Champions League and Emery called on his players and the club's hierarchy to match his desire to keep Villa in contention for silverware.

"I am myself ambitious and of course I need support. The owners, everyone that works in the club. Development is everything," he said.

"The players are following us. We are doing it together. But we must try to set this ambition, being clear and realistic. As a team, ambitious and improving. This is our next step.

"We are getting stronger but we are trying to be demanding. Next year we will play in Champions League and the Premier League is the most difficult in the world. This is the challenge."

Emery has now won the Europa League five times after leading Sevilla to the trophy three times and clinching it once with Villarreal.

"It's fantastic. Europe gave us a lot. For myself as well. I'm always very grateful for Europe. For every competition but especially the Europa League," the Spaniard said.

"The support I had with Valencia, with Sevilla, with Villarreal and here at Villa. We played it in a very serious way this year, so focused.

"Getting this trophy adds experience for us. And those experiences for the players are important. Because we can play next year trying as well to be in contention for trophies."

- 'So happy and proud' -

Villa last won a major continental trophy when they stunned Bayern Munich to win the 1982 European Cup.

For Emery, following in the footsteps of Tony Barton as Villa's second manager to land a major European trophy, emphasised how far they have come since he arrived in 2022 with the club languishing near the Premier League relegation zone.

"This final is confirmation of how we are progressing. It is very important," he said.

"Of course my dream was to play in Europe and play to win trophies. We played the Conference League semi-final and Champions League quarter-finals. We were very close.

"This club won the European title in 1982. And again competing for a title in Europe is something which makes sense of everything we are doing."

On an unforgettable evening on the banks of the Bosphorus, Emery and his team ensured they will be ranked alongside the 1982 heroes as Villa legends forever.

But Emery has no intention of resting on his laurels.

"We are improving. We are playing finals. We are winning trophies. I think the brand is increasing," he said.

"Achieving this makes us so happy and proud. But we are not going to stop."

Freiburg's first European final proved to be an anti-climax, leaving the German club still waiting to win their maiden major trophy.

"At this moment, there is no room for satisfaction. We lost the final," Freiburg boss Julian Schuster said.

"It is, of course, very painful. We believed we could win. In the first half, for the first 40 minutes, everything was fine.

"However, we lost control of the game, specifically due to set pieces. That is very tough to take."