Unai Emery wins fifth Europa League title as Aston Villa beat Freiburg

Unai Emery loaded a chess app on his phone and played three-minute games against strangers under his own name. The Aston Villa manager used the matches to sharpen the mental discipline he believes is essential at the top level of football.

Emery, 54, led Villa to a 3-0 win over Freiburg on Wednesday that secured the Europa League title. The victory gave the club its first piece of silverware in 30 years and marked Emery's fifth win in the competition.

He had already won the trophy three times in a row with Sevilla in 2014, 2015 and 2016, then added a fourth success with Villarreal in 2021. The latest triumph moved him level with Carlo Ancelotti, Jose Mourinho and Giovanni Trapattoni on five major European trophies.

Emery also watched lectures at 2am and studied matches involving teams such as Racing Santander on his iPad. He said the viewing helped him relax and expand his thinking.

Villa missed out on the Champions League on the final day of last season. Emery told his players they could still reach it this year despite other clubs having larger budgets. A five-match winless run early in the campaign did not change his view that the season would end well.

He said nobody worked harder than him and focused on body shape, tactics and physical details in training. Players spent 70 percent of their time on football. He credited his parents with instilling a strong sense of responsibility that he applies to every task.

When Villa lost at home to Tottenham while resting players ahead of the Europa League semi-final second leg against Nottingham Forest, Emery stayed calm. He had calculated that the points needed for Champions League qualification would come from other matches, and he was right.

Villa finished 16th in the Premier League when Emery took charge on 1 November 2022. They won 15 of their remaining 25 league games to finish seventh and reach Europe for the first time since 2010-11. In his first full season they secured Champions League football for the first time since 1982-83 and set a club record with 15 consecutive home league wins.

Former Villa midfielder Mark Albrighton said Emery had taken the club to the next level. Ex-player Ashley Young said Emery is a born winner who has put Villa back into Europe and the Champions League.

Emery plans to return to his home town of Hondarribia or to Mallorca after the season to walk by the sea and spend time with his mother. He will then begin preparations for next season.