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Both Aston Villa and their head coach Unai Emery have plenty of pedigree on the European stage, and the Spaniard intends to write another chapter in the Europa League.
Villa will face Bologna in the quarter-finals of UEFA’s second-tier club competition, with the first leg of that tie taking place in Italy on Thursday.
Villa are the Opta supercomputer’s favourites to lift the trophy, doing so in 32% of tournament simulations, and that is little surprise, given Emery’s proud record.
Emery’s four Europa League triumphs are more than any other manager in the history of the competition (including the UEFA Cup), ahead of Giovanni Trapattoni (three titles).
And Villa have tasted success on the continental stage before, lifting the European Cup back in 1982, so Emery says their current crop have a responsibility to compete for silverware.
“Aston Villa has a massive history in a lot of things, and one remarkable moment was when Aston Villa won the European Cup,” Emery told reporters on Wednesday.
“It’s something that makes us feel responsible, that we’re at a club that was successful in Europe.
“Individually, I’m thankful for the teams I have coached with the possibility to win this title, or in the Champions League or the Conference League.
“Each moment is a different challenge. Everything we did before is done and to do it again is the challenge we have.
“Every day, with the players and with Villa, is about building something for the history of the club. To win in Europe is very, very difficult.”
We meet again
This time on Italian soil #UEL pic.twitter.com/UC2GShdMkG
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) April 8, 2026
But Emery is aware of the scale of the task awaiting Villa, given Vincenzo Italiano’s own history in the Conference League.
During his time in charge of Fiorentina, the Bologna boss oversaw two runs to the competition’s final, though both ended in defeat, against West Ham in 2023 and Olympiacos in 2024.
“The first thing we can look at is they beat Roma, and they deserved to beat Roma,” Emery said. “They are competing with this coach, and he played three finals in the last three years.
“He’s very competitive in the knockout rounds in Europe, he played two finals in the Conference League in a row with Fiorentina, losing but playing two finals against West Ham and Olympiacos.
“Last year, they won the cup in Italy. This is the argument; we must respect them a lot.”
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