In front of the future king of England, Unai Emery reaffirmed his status as the king of the Europa League.
Aston Villa beat Freiburg 3-0 in Istanbul on Wednesday to secure Emery a record-extending fifth title in this competition.
Celebrating wildly inside the Tupras Stadium was lifelong Villa fan Prince William, who traveled to watch his beloved team end a 30-year wait for a major trophy.
“Amazing night!! Huge congratulations to all the players, team, staff and everyone connected to the club!” the Prince posted on X.
He had his phone out taking photos as captain John McGinn lifted the cup in the center of the field and in front of an explosion of confetti.
“He's a classy guy. He was in the dressing room before the game and he’s a massive Villa fan so he was never going to miss it,” McGinn told TNT Sports.
It was Villa’s first major piece of silverware since winning the English League Cup in 1996 and its first continental title since lifting the European Cup and then the Super Cup in 1982.
Was the outcome ever in doubt with the ultimate Europa League specialist Emery on the sideline?
The Spanish coach has enjoyed remarkable success in Europe's second-tier competition, winning it three years running with Sevilla from 2014-16 and again with Villarreal in 2021.
Now he has led a third team with ‘Villa’ in its name to the title.
“I am always very grateful for Europe, for every competition, Conference League, Champions League, Europa League, but especially Europa League,” Emery said. “We fought strongly in this competition and tried to give it our best. We played in a very serious way this year.”
Two brilliant first-half strikes from Youri Tielemans and Emiliano Buendia put Villa into a 2-0 lead at the break. Morgan Rogers added a third in the second half.
German team Freiburg, which was playing in the second division 10 years ago, was outclassed in its first European final.
Villa was in England's second tier even more recently, in 2019. And while it was the overwhelming favorite going into Wednesday's match, occasions like this looked a long way off when Emery was hired in 2022.
Back then, Villa was one place above the relegation zone and in danger of going down again.
The transformation he has overseen has been remarkable — leading the team into the Champions League last season and qualifying for European club soccer's top competition again next term.
“With this manager in charge, anything’s possible,” said McGinn, a Scotland international. “Tonight was just everything we have built, coming together, and the pride I felt at 3-0 with 10 minutes to go, thinking we’re European champions was something I can’t even describe.
“It’s the proudest moment and night of my career so far.”
Tielemans put Villa ahead with a controlled volley from Rogers’ cross in the 41st minute — driving his shot past Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu.
Three minutes into first-half stoppage time, Buendia doubled the lead with a curling left-footed shot from outside the box that arched into the top corner.
Rogers’ goal in the 58th came when he slid in at the near post to divert Buendia’s cross over the line.
“We had a great season and to top it off with this is amazing,” Tielemans said.
Victory was further personal redemption for Emery, who was fired by Arsenal in November 2019 despite having led the team to the Europa League final earlier that year, which it lost to Chelsea.
A serial winner, he has now won trophies with clubs from three different countries, having also lifted the French title with Paris Saint-Germain.
James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
