Unai Emery has laughed off suggestions he is ‘King of the Europa League’ and remains fully focused on securing Aston Villa’s first European trophy in 44 years.
Villa face Freiburg at the home of Istanbul-based side Besiktas tomorrow night and will go in as favourites, partly due to Emery’s record of winning the competition four times previously with Sevilla and Villarreal.
The 54-year-old has ruled out any impact on tomorrow night’s game, however, and hopes this is just the beginning for the Birmingham club.
He said: “I am not the king of this competition. This is a new opportunity. I hope this is the start of a new era for Aston Villa.
“I was planning and trying to use my idea that Aston Villa is playing for trophies, playing in Europe and so, the way we won it this year is very nice. This year, we are playing in the final of the Europa League, which is very nice. Now is the time to enjoy with our fans, the time is here, the final game.”
The Europa League winner’s prize is Champions League qualification but that is already in Villa’s bag following their Premier League win over Liverpool on Friday night.
Captain John McGinn said: “We enjoyed the build-up. Obviously we had a successful game on Friday, which allowed us to secure Champions League football. We enjoyed the last few days, but now the focus will be on how we can beat Freiburg and take home the trophy.”
“I’m proud of where the club is now. I’m proud of everyone who played a part in that, no matter how big or small. It’s the result of hard work on and off the pitch. But now we’re here, in one of the biggest stages you can find, and trying to get the Aston Villa trophy in Europe after 44 years, so I’m standing here with the greatest pride of a European club now.
Freiburg finished the recently concluded Bundesliga season in seventh place and will play in the Conference League next season if they fail to win the trophy in Istanbul.
The club from the edge of the Black Forest was not expected to reach this level but came from behind to beat Braga 4-3 on aggregate in the semi-finals. That followed impressive wins over Celta Vigo and Genk.
Striker Igor Matanović told UEFA.com: “It was not easy to reach the final. [round of 16]we did not play well in the away game against Genk. But that is a quality in itself, to continue to take those bad events as they come.
“It gave us a lot of confidence to be able to test ourselves with teams that don’t only play in Germany.
“When you see that you are at the same level as the top clubs from different countries and you win games, that gives you confidence, it seemed to go well from the start – if I compare now to the way we started the campaign, we are playing very, very good football.”
The victory will boost the profile of coach Julian Schuster, who took over the position two years ago.
Having played nearly 250 games for Freiburg as a player, he was given the opportunity to step onto the pitch and has grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
He said: “It would be presumptuous to even have such thoughts [when he took over]. What I really discovered is that I enjoy coaching and it’s a passion to be able to pass on knowledge.
“I felt a real desire to become a coach. Yes, the thought that one day I could lead this team was there, but without a specific method.”
Freiburg v Aston Villa team news
Freiburg will be without Yuito Suzuki with a broken collarbone, while Patrick Osterhage is also a doubt.
Emery will have a strong squad to choose from, the only ones missing are the injured Boubacar Kamara and the unfit Ross Barkley and Alysson.
Amadou Onana is an injury concern due to a calf problem that has kept him out of the last four games and substitute Victor Lindelof, who has been in charge for the past few weeks, should be fit despite being taken off at half-time against Liverpool with a foot problem.
