Emery wants to improve his record, Schuster wants his first trophy
Aston Villa-Freiburg will face each other in the UEFA Europa League final in Istanbul. Aston Villa manager Unai Emery, who has the title of the most champion manager by lifting the UEFA Europa League trophy 4 times, wants to improve his record. Freiburg coach Julian Schuster, who has no trophy in his career yet, will both lift his first trophy and sign his club's first European championship if he wins tomorrow.
Tomorrow's UEFA Europa League final between Aston Villa and Freiburg will pit manager Unai Emery, who wants to break the record, against Julian Schuster, who dreams of "making the double".
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The giant final is also of great importance for the career journeys of the two managers who will fight tactical battles on the sidelines.
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery, who holds the record as the manager who has won the UEFA Europa League the most times, plans to make his record unattainable by winning the same trophy once again, while Schuster, who has achieved a great success in the first year of his technical career, is calculating to make club history by winning the cup.
Emery goes for the record
Unai Emery, the Spanish coach who proved his worth once again by leading Aston Villa into the Champions League pot in the Premier League, is one of the first names that come to mind when it comes to the Europa League.
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Emery, who has played the final of the UEFA Europa League 5 times, lifted the trophy in the UEFA Europa League for 3 consecutive seasons in 2014, 2015 and 2016 with Sevilla. The 54-year-old coach, who reached the happy end 4 times by winning the cup with Spanish team Villarreal in 2021, lost in the final with Arsenal in 2019.
The experienced coach, who will play his 6th final with Aston Villa in this organization, aims to make club history by bringing Aston Villa its first major European trophy since the Champions Club Cup title in 1982.
Schuster can make a "double"
Schuster, who started as an assistant coach at his former club Freiburg in 2018, then took over in the summer of 2024 after Christian Streich's 12-year tenure in the summer of 2024 after various stints at the club, will give the modestly budgeted Freiburg the honor of playing the first major European final in its history.
A victory for the young coach against the tournament's most experienced side would give Freiburg the first major trophy in their history and crown a dream season in Europe.
This victory will also be the first trophy of the 41-year-old coach's career.
44 different managers have won
To date, 44 different managers have won the UEFA Europa League.
Emery came out on top with 4 trophies, followed by Juventus (2) and Italian coach Giovanni Trapattoni, who lifted the trophy 3 times by leading Inter Milan to victory.
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Diego Simeone, Jose Mourinho, Rafael Benitez, Juande Ramos and Luis Molowny won the title 2 times each.
Here is the list of managers who won the UEFA Europa League:
| Technical Director | Winning Team | Number of trophies |
| Unai Emery | Sevilla (3), Villarreal | 4 |
| Giovanni Trapattoni | Juventus (2), Inter | 3 |
| Diego Simeone | Atletico Madrid | 2 |
| Jose Mourinho | Porto, M. United | 2 |
| Rafael Benitez | Valencia, Chelsea | 2 |
| Juande Ramos | Sevilla | 2 |
| Luis Molowny | Real Madrid | 2 |
| Ange Postecoglou | Tottenham | 1 |
| G. Piero Gasperini | Atalanta | 1 |
| J. Luis Mendilibar | Sevilla | 1 |
| Oliver Glasner | Eintracht Frankfurt | 1 |
| Julen Lopetegui | Sevilla | 1 |
| Maurizio Sarri | Chelsea | 1 |
| Andre Villas-Boas | Porto | 1 |
| Quique S. Flores | Sevilla | 1 |
| Mircea Lucescu | Shakhtar Donetsk | 1 |
| Dick Advocaat | Zenit | 1 |
| Valeriy Gazzaev | CSKA Moscow | 1 |
| Bert van Marwijk | Feyenoord | 1 |
| Gerard Houllier | Liverpool | 1 |
| Fatih Terim | Galatasaray | 1 |
| Alberto Malesani | Parma | 1 |
| Luigi Simoni | Inter Milan | 1 |
| Huub Stevens | Schalke 04 | 1 |
| Klaus Augenthaler | Bayern Munich | 1 |
| Nevio Scala | Parma | 1 |
| Gianpiero Marini | Inter Milan | 1 |
| Louis van Gaal | Ajax | 1 |
| Dino Zoff | Juventus | 1 |
| Ottavio Bianchi | Napoli | 1 |
| Erich Ribbeck | Bayer Leverkusen | 1 |
| Gunder Bengtsson | Gothenburg | 1 |
| Keith Burkinshaw | Tottenham | 1 |
| Paul Van Himst | Anderlecht | 1 |
| Sven-Göran Eriksson | Gothenburg | 1 |
| Bobby Robson | Ipswich Town | 1 |
| Friedel Rausch | Eintracht Frankfurt | 1 |
| Udo Lattek | B.Mönchengladbach | 1 |
| Kees Rijvers | PSV Eindhoven | 1 |
| Bob Paisley | Liverpool | 1 |
| Hennes Weisweiler | B.Mönchengladbach | 1 |
| Wiel Coerver | Feyenoord | 1 |
| Bill Shankly | Liverpool | 1 |
| Bill Nicholson | Tottenham | 1 |
