Unai Emery is set to take charge of his 100th Europa League game on Thursday night as Aston Villa visit Fenerbahce with hopes of securing a top-eight finish.
The Villa boss is the most successful manager in the competition’s history with four Europa League victories to his name. He will become the first manager to reach a century of games managed in the Europa League since it was rebranded for the 2009/10 campaign.
Emery first guided Sevilla to three Europa League titles before adding another with Villarreal in 2021.
Tomorrow will be Unai Emery’s 100th match in the Europa League (since 2009-10), becoming the first manager to reach that milestone.
The nearest manager to Emery in terms of games in the competition is Jorge Jesus on 68.#AVFC pic.twitter.com/ZqogpMQx1p
— Aston Villa Statto (@AVFCStatto) January 21, 2026
He will be looking to add another crown to his CV this season, with Aston Villa down as one of the favourites for Europa League glory.
As he reaches a century of games in the rebranded Europa League, we take a look at how Emery’s record fares against other great managers in the history of the competition.
Top five most successful UEFA Cup/Europa League managers of all time
1) Unai Emery
The Aston Villa manager’s first eight games in the competition came as Valencia boss in 2008/09, when it was still called the UEFA Cup.
After taking over from the foundations laid by Ronald Koeman, the Spaniard guided Valencia to the round of 32 before his side were knocked out by Dynamo Kyiv.
But Emery really came into his own during a successful spell at Sevilla.
After taking charge midway through the 13/14 season, Emery won the Europa League in the same season and followed that up with a further two titles, completing a three-peat with a 3-1 victory over Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool in the 2016 final.
Emery also guided Arsenal to the final in 2019 but was defeated by rivals Chelsea in Azerbaijan. The Spaniard was eventually sacked by the Gunners later that year.
However, Emery shrugged off the disappointment with yet another Europa League victory at his new club, Villarreal, in 2021, after seeing off Manchester United on penalties.
Emery’s success in the competition is something the Villa fans will keep in mind as they look to go all the way in Europe this season.
Clubs managed in UEFA Cup/Europa League: Valencia, Sevilla, Arsenal, Villarreal, Aston Villa
Games: 108
Win percentage: 62%
UEFA Cup/Europa League Titles: 4 – Sevilla (2014, 2015, 2016), Villarreal (2021)
2) Rafael Benitez
Benitez’s name will forever be associated with the Champions League after guiding Liverpool to a miraculous comeback win over AC Milan in 2005 in a game which saw the Reds 3-0 down at half-time.
However, the new Panathinaikos manager has had his fair share of success in the Europa League as well.
Before his heroics at Liverpool, the Spaniard had guided Valencia to UEFA Cup glory in 2003/04, which was part of the reason the Reds were drawn to him in the first place.
Benitez won another Europa League title with the Reds’ arch-rivals Chelsea in 2013. The success came during a chaotic campaign for Chelsea, which saw the popular Roberto Di Matteo sacked halfway through the campaign, despite guiding the Blues to the Champions League the previous season.
Clubs managed in UEFA Cup/Europa League: Valencia, Liverpool, Chelsea, Napoli
Games: 61
Win percentage: 62%
UEFA Cup/Europa League Titles: 2 – Valencia (2004), Chelsea (2013)
3) Juande Ramos
A decade before Emery’s remarkable success at Sevilla, there was Juande Ramos.
The Spanish side may now have a record seven Europa League titles to their name, but it all started with Ramos back in the mid 2000s.
The former Tottenham boss guided the Spanish side to back-to-back UEFA Cup crowns in 2006 and 2007.
The first of these saw Sevilla beat Steve McClaren’s Middlesbrough side 4-0 in a one-sided affair in Eindhoven.
Ramos then followed up that success in more dramatic fashion with a 5-3 win over LaLiga rivals Espanyol on penalties following a 2-2 draw.
In truth, Ramos never reached the same heights as he did in Seville throughout the rest of his career – although he did guide Spurs to the League Cup in 2008.
Clubs managed in UEFA Cup/Europa League: Sevilla, Tottenham, Rayo Vallecano, Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
Games: 66
Win percentage: 59%
UEFA Cup/Europa League Titles: 2 – Sevilla (2006 & 2007)
4) Giovanni Trapattoni
The 86-year-old Italian has been absent from the dugout since the end of his five-year spell as Ireland boss back in 2013.
But throughout the 70s and 80s, Trapattoni was one of Europe’s most sought-after managers.
During his two spells as Juventus boss, the Italian won two UEFA Cup titles to add to his European Cup success in 1985.
Trapattoni also had success in the competition with Inter Milan in 1991, meaning the now-retired boss held the record for the most UEFA Cup wins until Unai Emery came onto the scene.
After managing eight different clubs in the competition over the course of 15 UEFA Cup campaigns, the Italian coached just shy of 100 games in the competition.
Clubs managed in UEFA Cup/Europa League: AC Milan, Juventus, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, Fiorentina, Benfica, Stuttgart, Salzburg
Games: 98
Win percentage: 56%
UEFA Cup/Europa League Titles: 3 – Juventus (1977, 1993), Inter Milan (1991)
5) Jose Mourinho
It wouldn’t be an article about European trophies without mentioning Jose Mourinho.
The Special One first rose to prominence with success in his native Portugal. After winning the UEFA Cup with Porto in 2003, Mourinho then went one better with Champions League success the following season in one of the biggest shocks in European football this century.
After trophy-laden spells with Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid, the charismatic manager then won another Europa League crown with Manchester United in 2017.
He also became the first manager to win all three European titles after winning the Conference League with Roma in 2022 – though we all know which trophy he’d much prefer.
Coincidentally, the Special One was recently in charge of Villa’s opponents, Fenerbahce, but Mourinho returned to Portugal with Benfica in September 2025.
Clubs managed in UEFA Cup/Europa League: Benfica, Porto, Manchester United, Tottenham, Roma, Fenerbahce
Games: 72
Win percentage: 56%
UEFA Cup/Europa League Titles: 2 – Porto (2003), Manchester United (2017)
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