Unai Emery’s change allows Aston Villa to dream in Europe again football news

Aston Villa head into a first European semi-final in 42 years against Olympiacos on Thursday, but manager Unai Emery has the experience of a proven winner at this stage of the continental competition. The Spaniard is a four-time Europa League champion during his stints at Sevilla and Villarreal and is now aiming for a maiden Europa Conference League success to complete his transformation from a sleeping giant. When Emery first took charge in November 2022, Villa, under the sacked Steven Gerrard, sat just outside the Premier League relegation zone with just 12 points from their opening 12 games.

Despite that setback, he managed to help Villa qualify for Europe for the first time since 2010 by finishing seventh.

Club captain John McGinn said, “He doesn’t miss a beat. He’s crazy about football and he wants us to be crazy about football too.”

“He has completely transformed this place and it has been a pleasure to work under him.”

Even more glamorous nights await Villa Park next season as the Birmingham side look to taste the Champions League for the first time since being rebranded from the European Cup.

Villa are fourth in the Premier League, seven points ahead of Tottenham, who have just five more games to close that gap.

Villa, champions of Europe in 1982, have not returned to that elite level since defending the trophy that season 41 years ago.

Nevertheless, Emery still refers to the images of the club’s European Cup victories on the walls of the training ground as a source of inspiration for the new era of success he is building.

“Every day I go to the training ground there’s the ’82 European Cup (pictured). It’s nice to remember that memory,” Emery said at the start of Villa’s European adventure this season.

“This is the history of Aston Villa and it’s amazing. Of course we want to write a new history now, doing it in our own way and hopefully we can do something important here.”

ajax, martinez memories

The 4-0 win over Ajax in the last 16 is a memory that most Villa fans will remember for decades to come.

Emiliano Martínez’s actions in defeating Lille in a tense penalty shootout in the quarter-finals will also go down in club folklore, especially if they end up being tagged as favorites to win the competition.

The toll of playing 51 games already this season began to show in a tired second half after blowing a two-goal lead in Saturday’s 2-2 draw against Chelsea.

But an Olympiacos side that is fourth in the Greek top flight should have no fear of awaiting winners Fiorentina or Club Brugge in the final.

The best news for Villa fans arguably came last week when Emery extended his contract until 2027.

“We are enjoying our way together with this great group of Villa fans, club owners, management and players that we are very proud of,” the 52-year-old said.

Emery’s achievements at Villa reflect his career path to success at clubs attempting to leapfrog and compete with the European elite.

He overcame financial difficulties to lead Valencia to three consecutive third-place finishes in La Liga.

Sevilla made three consecutive Europa League appearances between 2014 and 2016, and won Villarreal’s first major trophy by defeating Manchester United in the 2021 Europa League final.

In between he struggled to match high expectations and deal with inflated egos at Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain.

But his detail-oriented approach has been welcomed with open arms by a Villa squad desperate to shine on the European stage.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)