Aston Villa thrashed fellow Premier League side Nottingham Forest 4-0 on Thursday in the Europa League semi-final second leg, securing their first chance to win a European trophy since 1983. The Villans will face SC Freiburg in the final on May 20. For manager Unai Emery, reaching the final of UEFA’s second-tier competition has become almost routine. With his sixth appearance in a European final, he now holds the outright record. Having won four of his previous five finals, the odds are in his favor. Transfermarkt looks at the coaches with the most final appearances in any of the three UEFA club competitions or their predecessors.
Topping the list is Giovanni Trapattoni, a familiar name for Bayern Munich fans, though he never reached a final with the German side. The Italian, however, was showered with success in his home country, reaching ten finals with AC Milan, Inter Milan, and Juventus, winning five of them. Behind Trapattoni are Udo Lattek, Hamburg legend Ernst Happel, and Sven-Göran Eriksson, each with seven finals. Including the upcoming clash against Freiburg, Emery ranks fifth, placing him alongside coaching legends such as Sir Alex Ferguson, Carlo Ancelotti, and José Mourinho.
However, all of those managers have also reached the final of the Champions League or its predecessor, the European Cup, a feat Emery has never achieved. Under contract at Villa until 2029, he now aims to win the club’s first major trophy in 30 years. A notable side note involves Jadon Sancho: the on-loan winger will appear in a European final for the third consecutive season, following the 2024 Champions League final and the 2025 Europa Conference League final. For the former Dortmund star, the 2026 Europa League final awaits.
