- 8 hours ago
Aston Villa's Unai Emery, McGinn and Martinez on their Europa `league final against Freiburg
19/05/2026
uefa26 europa league final
19/05/2026
uefa26 europa league final
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00:18All right, I think we're ready.
00:22Yeah, good afternoon.
00:23Welcome to the Matchday Minus One press conference for the 2026 UEFA Europa League final
00:29in Istanbul.
00:31Today we start with Aston Villa.
00:33Joining me on stage is Manager Unai Emery, John McGinn, and Emiliano Martinez.
00:39We have simultaneous translation available in English, German, and Turkish.
00:44So please ask a question in one of these languages.
00:48And finally, please state your name and media before asking a question with the microphone.
00:54And raise your hand if you want to ask a question.
00:56Tommy, take it away.
00:58Yeah, ready whenever you are.
00:59On you go, Rob.
01:01Meddling.
01:09Afternoon, Rob Jones from Sky Sports.
01:11Unai, your team have made it this far.
01:13You've been here so many times before.
01:15Are you confident that these players can take the final step?
01:19Good afternoon.
01:21The most important experiences we can have individually, of course, is something fantastic.
01:26But we are speaking about our experiences here with Aston Villa.
01:31Three years ago, semifinal in Conference League.
01:34Last year we played the final in Champions League and this year the final.
01:36And we played matches, enough matches in Europe we played.
01:42And those experiences are very important for us.
01:46How we were playing during the process this year, how we played last year, the first leg,
01:52second leg, different rounds, the groups.
01:54And how much now is a new chapter forward to play one final.
01:59But we must try to, everything we are here building here, learning, to try to set tomorrow on the field.
02:06Of course, tomorrow is something tactically, is something individually with our skills.
02:12And is as well something emotionally.
02:14And this is a new challenge we have together here.
02:19We are confident, but we are so, so respectful.
02:21Always we are so, so respectful with Europe League, with the teams we are facing.
02:26And tomorrow, Freiburgle, they are here because they deserve it.
02:30John, the manager talks about emotion there.
02:32Have you pictured the moment that you will lead out Aston Villa in a European final?
02:36And what will your final message be to your teammates tomorrow?
02:40Yeah, I've pictured it because that's the dream at the start of the season.
02:44To get to the final.
02:46We were in the Conference League two seasons ago.
02:48The dream was to get to the final.
02:50We didn't achieve it.
02:51Champions League last season, the dream was to get to the final.
02:55We didn't achieve it.
02:55But this season, we managed to deal with each game and each round with the same respect that we will
03:04treat Freiburg with.
03:06They deserve to be in the final.
03:09But the final message I'll have to our players is play the same way that we have done as a
03:17group over the years to be in this position.
03:19And that's what we'll say.
03:22Unai.
03:24Hello.
03:25Ian Dennis, BBC Radio.
03:27Forgive the long question, but I remember two years ago, Vicente Evora, when Olympiacos played Aston Villa, somebody who you
03:34know well.
03:35He won four trophies with him.
03:37He said, I've learned many things from Mr Emery, but one thing I will never forget from him.
03:42In order to experience this great moment in your lifetime, one has to long for it.
03:46So how do you do it?
03:48Do you speak to the players collectively or do you speak to them individually?
03:53Both.
03:54This is a process.
03:56A process is how we are still building the team and building our structure collectively, individually.
04:08How we must respond in the moment we are.
04:13Like now, for example, one final.
04:15But now it's a new experience we will have tomorrow.
04:20And as well, it's very important in our structure, how we are managing our emotions.
04:27And we play it for a lot of matches and there are a lot of emotions.
04:31And the pressure is here as well.
04:35But we must try to understand the pressure like something positive, not negative.
04:40And the pressure is when you are playing for something important.
04:44And of course, we have experience here.
04:46Here, me, here, John McGuinness.
04:48Well, they have a lot of experiences.
04:49But here, our experiences here is the most important.
04:53Because we are here together.
04:54We are the player.
04:55We are Aston Villa.
04:56We are our supporters.
04:57And we are doing this way, of course, understanding how difficult it is to get here.
05:03But how we did everything, of course, it's a huge, huge experience we have here.
05:11And two more, one more.
05:12And then try to play confident, try to play personality.
05:16And the only way to play personality, to play confidence, is to be so, so intense in our focus for
05:21tomorrow.
05:22And, John, Esri Contra has posted a stirring message on social media where he says believe.
05:28When you believe and you've got a World Cup winner behind you, how much belief does that give you?
05:34Yeah, absolutely.
05:36Since Emi arrived at the club, he's been absolutely first class.
05:41Obviously, he managed to grow as a player at Aston Villa, win the World Cup while at Aston Villa.
05:47But for us, we know we've got a top-class goalkeeper behind us.
05:52And like you said, we've also got Esri, among other defenders, who have grown together with us.
05:59And now Esri's a regular in the England squad and it's not like him to show a bit of emotion.
06:06So that was quite nice.
06:07We need to get to finals more often and then he can give his opinion.
06:13Tom.
06:18Emiliano, you've been to the top of the game, as John mentioned, with the World Cup final.
06:23How special is this in comparison to what you did with Argentina facing a major final like this?
06:32I think it's different.
06:33You know, I went into my first Copa America with Argentina.
06:37And I remember Argentina losing three, four finals on penalties.
06:43Two Copa Americas in a row losing on penalties.
06:47So I went into my first Copa America.
06:49We all see Argentina and Argentina win a trophy.
06:53So I think I was 26, 27 years old.
06:57And this is the same.
06:59As a Villa fan, you know, they always in Birmingham, they would say,
07:02I've never seen Villa in a European final, I've never seen Villa lifting a trophy.
07:08So I kind of go in, it's the same mindset as I went into my first Argentinian Copa America.
07:13You know, with that anger, with that belief and with that confidence that I can do it.
07:19You know, if it's something that I got, that I believe in my team and in myself,
07:24like, you know, like I said, I never go into the final thinking that I have to win it.
07:30I always go and enjoy the moment.
07:32You know, and I do it for the people and I do it for my family.
07:40Good afternoon, coach.
07:42Good afternoon, Radek Senmayer from Czech Republic.
07:45I have a question on coach and on the player.
07:48Because in the 2019 Europa League final, you had in the net Petr ÄŒech.
07:54And I would like to ask, do you see any similarities between these players,
07:59like Petr ÄŒech and here, Emiliano MartÃnez?
08:02Or how are you happy that you have Emiliano in the team?
08:05Probably the same high, no?
08:09Yes, one year with Petr ÄŒech, a fantastic guy.
08:11Fantastic.
08:13As a person, really, a fantastic guy.
08:16And as a professional, I can't tell nothing than the level he achieved always.
08:24We played the final.
08:25Of course, we lost this final.
08:27I don't want to remind this final because we lost.
08:31But, of course, now with Emiliano, we are working together here in Aston Villa.
08:40Even we work in Arsenal.
08:42And I know his personality.
08:44I know his capacity.
08:45His ambition.
08:47And, of course, this is very, very important for me.
08:50The capacity with ambition.
08:53A question for John.
08:55It's Steve Herman from BBC Radio WM.
08:58Taro Ming spoke earlier this week.
09:00And he said he's not one for reflecting on the past.
09:04Because he was asked about the championship playoff final.
09:08Do you reflect on that?
09:10And does it make this journey extra special that you've been on to be here now?
09:15I personally, I think it does.
09:17Because if we lose that match, are Aston Villa here at the minute?
09:21Probably not.
09:23The club had just been taken over by Nassif and Wes, who are still contributing now.
09:31So the journey has been amazing.
09:33And each player, each staff member, each manager has played a small part in the growth of the club.
09:40And this is an important moment.
09:41It's hard to believe, seven years ago, that we were competing in a final to get into the Premier League.
09:48But I think for us, tomorrow night, it will be nice to see the supporters who were there,
09:54rother them away, wigging away nights like that on a Tuesday night when it's very easy to stay at home.
10:01They deserve it just as much as the players do.
10:03And hopefully we can give them something to remember.
10:07Good afternoon, coach.
10:09Benjamin Benhamou, Canada Plus France.
10:11Quick question about Luca Digne, who's just been called up for the French national team for the World Cup.
10:17How important is he in the squad?
10:19And what do you expect from him when he's on the pitch?
10:24Lucas Digne, as a professional, is really a high-level professional every day.
10:30And as a competitor, player as well, his level is high level.
10:37And then he usually played matches like that because he played in a lot of teams with a lot of
10:44experiences
10:44and played for titles like PSG, like Barcelona, like Rome.
10:48And when we arrived here, he was more or less not completely keeping the level he had before.
11:02But himself, he's working a lot again to recover collectively and individually his position.
11:09And he came back again with the national team and he's been very important for his consistency, his experience, his
11:18capacity as well and his mentality.
11:22He has a high-level mentality we need.
11:26He has it.
11:29Good evening, Alexander Yerimi for KSport.
11:32Two questions.
11:33Firstly, for Emelian Martinez.
11:34Freiburg is maybe one of the most dangerous teams in dead ball situations.
11:38They have Grifo, a good free kick taker.
11:41They have Beste.
11:42Have you prepared especially for this?
11:45Maybe you have studied them extra time.
11:49Yeah, obviously we have Javi Garcia.
11:52Nostin, we analyze all his teams in the Premier League.
11:56You know, I'm used to being blocked by two defenders or two people in the Premier League.
12:02So I'm used to the physicality.
12:06I like it.
12:06I enjoy it.
12:09I know the threat.
12:10So I want to be really aggressive tomorrow in the air.
12:13I want to command my box.
12:16I play a member with Argentina in the final against Colombia.
12:19And Colombia scored 85% of the goals in the Copa America in set pieces in dead balls.
12:25I know Freiburg, they're very good at it.
12:27So I think if I control my box and if I command my box like I have to, I think
12:32it's a major threat that we avoid from them.
12:35So that's something I'm going to work today on the pitch with my goalie coach and hopefully tomorrow I can
12:40stand out in that area.
13:10Hi, John.
13:12Thank you for that.
13:14No, I think stay calm.
13:16Obviously, I've grown a lot as a player.
13:18I'm fortunate enough to work with top players and top coaches and every single day you learn how to manage
13:27situations, both in front of goal, both defensively.
13:31And I feel, even though I'm 31, I feel as if I'm learning every single session, every single match.
13:38And I like to think I work hard at my finishing.
13:42We've got a lot of coaches here behind the scenes who focus on improvements.
13:47And certainly for me, my improvement as a player was to try and contribute goals and assists.
13:53And the manager puts a lot of demands on me to get 10 goals.
13:58And eventually this season, I've managed to get it.
14:01So hopefully tomorrow it can be 11 or 12.
14:10You know, I am Jack Russell from The Sun.
14:13It's been mentioned that Esri Conte has written a piece today and he spoke about how at the start of
14:18the season you called a meeting to tell the players just how worried you were.
14:22And he mentioned they'd never seen you quite so concerned about the form before.
14:27Could you just take us back to that start of the season and how special it would be for you
14:31to end it with a fifth Europa League given that start?
14:35Yes, every season can happen like we had this year.
14:43Sometimes up, sometimes down.
14:45But we started so poor at the beginning of the season for different reasons.
14:51But how the players responded in the difficult moment for me was really amazing.
14:57Of course, we needed to push them.
14:59We needed to have a lot of meetings.
15:01But the players they were involved in in the situation we were.
15:06And we were being mature in the difficult moment.
15:13This is, I think, the most important characteristic as a thing we had during the season.
15:19Mature and responsible.
15:21And this is the now how we are.
15:24Mature and responsible and in the difficult moment to be together.
15:28The priority was be professional, be professional, and we did it.
15:32And then, of course, the quality of the players is really fantastic.
15:35And how we are competing.
15:37How we are competing in Premier League, achieving the Champions League position, and now playing this final.
15:44I was worried at the beginning of the season.
15:46Really worried.
15:46And I was always trying to find solutions in each moment.
15:54And I needed the players.
15:55I needed as well the work we did and the reaction we did.
16:03And we are here for it.
16:05But, obviously, we did it together.
16:12It's Elvandim from ESPN Latin America.
16:15Emiliano, you said goodbye a year ago with tears in your eyes.
16:20How does it feel to be experiencing this final?
16:24And have you thought about penalty kicks?
16:28Well, I said goodbye and I cried when I left my family from Argentina to England as well.
16:35And I still be with my family nowadays.
16:38Sometimes football can change.
16:40Managers can come in and go.
16:44In football, people move around the place.
16:49It doesn't mean that I have full respect and love for the club.
16:54You know, I had a commitment with Aston Villa.
16:57I'm a World Cup winner with Aston Villa.
17:00I won two Golden Gloves with Aston Villa.
17:03We always and forever love this club.
17:06No matter what.
17:07One day I'm going to retire.
17:08So, someone else, we have to be between the sticks.
17:12But, listen, I'm in a European final.
17:15We are in Champions League again.
17:17With all the circumstances, the up and downs, the badges that we had this year.
17:23I don't know if Demian is right, but we were the lowest spenders in the Premier League.
17:28But we got a top coach.
17:30We got a top captain.
17:32We got a decent core of the team.
17:35And, you know, when we stick together, when we fight together, I think we can beat anybody.
17:41So, I'm really proud to stay.
17:43I made the right choice.
17:45And, in penalties, yeah, to be fair, their goalkeeper is pretty decent.
17:49It's pretty good.
17:50So, I would have to push myself a little bit harder.
17:54He's a good goalkeeper and goal.
17:57But, I always have that in my mind.
17:59You know, a shooter.
17:59You know, it's something that I really enjoy.
18:02For me, it's a different competition.
18:04It's not, you know, it's different.
18:07I don't know how to explain it.
18:10Hopefully, Guini scored two goals, like he said, and we finish in 90 minutes.
18:14If not, I will be fully prepared and I will back myself every day of the week for that shoot
18:19-up.
18:21Hi, Emi.
18:22Ben Fisher from The Guardian.
18:23The core of this group has obviously been together quite a long time now.
18:26How important do you think it is to have something to show for it at the end of it,
18:30obviously, in terms of a trophy this week?
18:32What would that mean?
18:33It's massive.
18:33You know, like I said, I've been with, you know, Magin, Konza, Watkins, Mings,
18:40since Kashi, since I've been in the club.
18:44You know, we've been so many years, so many games together,
18:47you know, fighting from mid-table to European places to semi-finals,
18:51and now we're in a final.
18:53I think we deserve it.
18:55I think the fans deserve it.
18:58And obviously, the manager had four or five finals in these competitions.
19:03We don't wish anyone else, apart from him on the bench,
19:06to more leading us to the European final.
19:09But listen, every time I go into a final, I never think about, you know, the outcome.
19:14I always think where I come from, leaving my family behind when I was young.
19:21You know, so, I always think when I'm in the game, whatever happens,
19:26I know how tough times I had in England, you know, when I was young, missing my family.
19:34Even though I'm a World Cup winner, and I had a few titles with the national team,
19:38I still think about that young kid who left Argentina to save his family from poverty.
19:48Good afternoon.
19:49Josefa Hamza from Integral Media.
19:52Mr. Unai, I believe Ben Fisher called you the king of Europa League.
19:57So, as the king of Europa League, would you reveal some of your secrets
20:02and tell us what's more important in final games?
20:04Is it the player characteristics or the game plan itself?
20:09So, there is that debate about, like, the players' abilities and personalities
20:14or the game plan and the tactics.
20:17Would you tell us what's more important in the finals?
20:22Of course, each match in different competition,
20:27you must try to build your mentality.
20:31Not now, not for tomorrow.
20:33We must build it during the process.
20:35We must build it the first match we played in Newcastle at home.
20:40We played the Carabao Cup in Brentford, and we lost there.
20:44And the football is very difficult.
20:46And to win in football is very difficult, and to win trophy is more difficult.
20:53And being realistic, I am, of course, happy with everything we are doing.
20:59But I know tomorrow is going to be very difficult.
21:02And if you are not respecting the opponent, you are closer to lose.
21:09If you are not respecting Europe, like we did during the process, we were not here.
21:15This is the strong mentality we had before.
21:21But we must show tomorrow the same mentality.
21:24And not thinking in the match after how it's going.
21:30Thinking in the first minute, the second minute, the third minute, your task,
21:35be ready to do as better as possible anything you are going to face tomorrow.
21:41And to win a title is a consequence.
21:44As a consequence, it's not another.
21:45Consequence is the process we are.
21:46And tomorrow, we are playing in our best performance.
21:49We are going to be close to win.
21:51If we are playing in a bad performance, we are not going to win.
21:57This is the only way.
21:59And I am not a king in this competition.
22:01I am now again with Aston Villa in a new chapter.
22:03And everything I did is done.
22:05And of course, it's there in that moment.
22:08But with it, I am not winning tomorrow.
22:10I need to win tomorrow with the player we are now, with Aston Villa now,
22:13with the opening we will face tomorrow.
22:16Now, it's a new way, a new moment.
22:21And hopefully a new era.
22:25You pre-empted my question there.
22:27Hi, Nick Mashter from BBC Sport.
22:30Do you not look back at your legacy in this competition then?
22:33Four wins, your sixth final, maybe five wins tomorrow.
22:37Do you look at your legacy at all?
22:39And if you were winning tomorrow, what legacy would that leave Aston Villa?
22:43I don't want to speak about the thing we did before.
22:47This is the reason I am trying to answer all the questions about with Aston Villa,
22:51how we are doing the way.
22:52I started with it and I want to continue with it and finish with it.
22:57The most important is our experiences here.
22:59And how we are managing those moments.
23:02And now, this year, and the matches we played before in the conference or in the Champions League.
23:09And we are here, of course, very good players.
23:15And they are showing their capacity to play in the high level.
23:21In the high level through the Premier League.
23:23In the high level in Europe.
23:24Not now.
23:24Two years ago.
23:25Not now.
23:25Last year.
23:27And again, now.
23:28And tomorrow we have a huge challenge.
23:30A huge challenge.
23:31A huge challenge how we are responding.
23:33As a team, we are building.
23:36Or as a team, we are thinking we are here and we are going to win here this match.
23:44Thinking in the next party on Friday.
23:48No, no.
23:49Good afternoon, Unai.
23:50Jacob Townsworth from The Athletic.
23:52What is the latest on Amadou Nana?
23:54Is he fit enough to potentially start the game?
23:58He tried it yesterday.
23:59He is going to try it today.
24:02And we will decide it tomorrow.
24:06If he is feeling at the Poncello world, of course, he is an important player for us.
24:14But the last matches without him and without Kamara and with different options of where we played, I am confident.
24:24Last question here.
24:29Quentin Jasp, 90 min.
24:30A question for you, John.
24:32Is that the proudest you have ever been to be the Aston Villa captain?
24:38No.
24:42Yeah, I'd say so.
24:44Yeah, I'd say so.
24:45It's been a brilliant journey.
24:49Full of ups and downs.
24:51Close moments.
24:52Very close to going back to the championship.
24:56It fills me with pride as to where the club is now.
25:00And it also fills me with pride as to where this club could go, like the managers touched upon.
25:05This isn't something we want to come here and celebrate in a sort of fanfare way.
25:12We want to be focused on this match.
25:14We know how good Freiburg are.
25:16We know how difficult it is to get to a final.
25:19So we'll treat them with the utmost respect, like they deserve.
25:23And we will only build as a club if we keep doing the same things that we are doing.
25:29But if you ask, on a personal level, after all the years I've been here, definitely is the proudest moment
25:35as captain here.
25:37OK.
25:38Thank you very much.
25:39The open training session will begin momentarily.
25:41Thank you very much.
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