Page 43 - Soccer360 Issue 105

ANOTHER WIN FOR UNAI?
He’s the first manager in history to win three consecutive Europa League titles. Now, Unai Emery is trying his luck with Aston Villa in
the Europa Conference League. Michelle Osei Bonsu discusses his chances of lifting another continental trophy.
Between 2014 and 2016, Unai Emery did what no manager had ever done before - to win three consecutive Europa League titles. At the time of his appointment in January 2013, Sevilla had already started to make a name for itself in European club football’s second tier competition and had successfully defended its crown in 2007. Under the Spanish tactician’s guidance, Sevilla fully embraced its
role as a dominant force in the Europa League before he left to join Paris Saint- Germain.
That move didn’t lead to the European success they were hoping for, but he did then take Arsenal to the final of his most
favoured competition in 2019, only to
lose to Premier League rivals cCohmelaseloan.g
“UNAI EMERY IS LOOKING TO ADD TO HIS EUROPEAN
TROPHY HAUL BY LIFTING THE
EUROPA CONFERENCE LEAGUE
WITH ASTON VILLA.”
Arguably Emery’s most impressive
result in the Europa League however
very first came three years later when heChgamupidioends
by defeating the Gunners in the semi- finals and then edging out Manchester United 11-10 on penalties in the final.
In doing so, the former midfielder not only added a fourth Europa League
title to his collection, but also further solidified his claim to be the most decorated manager in that competition. Now as manager of Aston Villa, he will be turning his attention towards more European glory. This time around, the goal is the recently created Europa Conference League, which has opened further opportunities for more teams to get involved in continental competitions. The fact that the Villans are even competing in the Europa League is
quite impressive as when Emery took over in October 2022, they were a team in absolute dire straits and lying 16th
in the Premier League. By the time the dust had settled, Aston Villa had risen
to seventh place and thus a shot at European football.
The Emery effect has continued to reap dividends for the club, who based on their impressive showings in the Premier League are serious contenders to go
far in the Europa Conference League. The Villans largely cruised through their group stage games, recovering well from a surprise 3-2 reversal to Polish outfit Legia Warsaw to win four of their remaining five matches and finish top of the table. Given that they are out of the FA Cup and EFL Cup, and the title race looking set to be contested between Liverpool, Manchester City, and Arsenal, 1981 European champions Aston Villa are hotly tipped to end their long wait for continental success.
Villarreal to their first ever European title
UEFA has
way since
Real Madrid won the
League Cup
in 1955
- manager Thomas Tuchel and big-money signing Harry Kane.
Last summer, Bayern paid well over $100m to sign Kane from Tottenham. It was an eye-catching move, especially considering that the German side have been very
critical of others in Europe who routinely spend big on transfers. In addition, Kane, despite his impressive personal accolades and undisputed prowess in front of goal,
had just turned 30, but clearly both sides were desperate for a deal to be done. From Kane’s perspective, time was running out for him to finally win a team trophy to add to his collection of Golden Boot awards and club record feats. And from Bayern’s view, they really needed to find a proven goalscorer
to fill the huge boots left behind by Robert Lewandowski after the Sadio Mane experiment had gone horribly awry. Although England are one of the heavy
favorites to win the upcoming UEFA Euro 2024 competition this summer, that is certainly not guaranteed. Kane is well aware he has quite a lot to prove, as his move to the Allianz Arena was not without its fair share of criticism. Some detractors have even claimed that the English ace is more focused on breaking Lewandowski’s single- season goalscoring record than winning team trophies - which, in all fairness is a rather ridiculous notion considering that Kane himself has won plenty of accolades prior to his move to Germany.
In any case, should Kane fail to claim a trophy in 2023-24 he could be forgiven
for feeling short-changed, or even a little cursed. After all, one of the main factors behind his decision to leave Tottenham
was to land some silverware. His hopes of doing so in North London were dwindling as part of a fading Spurs side, and moving to
ABOVE:
Fulham versus Aston Villa; An animated Aston Villa Manager Unai Emery
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