Unai Emery Arrival (2013)

Lore & Background

Emery led Sevilla to fifth position in 2013–14, his first full season. On 14 May 2014, he won the Europa League final, defeating Benfica on penalties. After finishing the 2014–15 season in fifth place, one point behind former club Valencia, Emery again won the Europa League after defeating Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, thus qualifying for the following Champions League. The victory meant that Sevilla became the most successful club in the history of the UEFA Cup/Europa League, with four wins, and Emery signed a one-year contract extension on 5 June 2015 which would have kept him at the club until 2017, after reported interest from West Ham United and Napoli.

In 2015–16, Emery led Sevilla to seventh position, having played the final games of the domestic league with several reserves and youth team players after the team confirmed their place in the Europa League final. This season, Sevilla entered the UEFA Champions League group stage as title holders of UEFA Europa League the previous season, they were third in the group and transferred to UEFA Europa League again. On 18 May 2016, despite trailing 1–0 at half-time, a goal from Kevin Gameiro and two from Coke resulted in a 3–1 victory over Liverpool at St. Jakob-Park in Basel. On 12 June 2016, after Emery expressed his desire to leave Sevilla, the club announced that they would be parting ways.

Reader's Guide

Emery's tenure at Sevilla is noted for winning an unprecedented three consecutive Europa Leagues, making him the most successful manager in the history of the competition with five titles overall.

Did You Know?

• Emery replaced the sacked Míchel, not Mauricio Pochettino, when he arrived at Sevilla in January 2013.
• Pochettino left Sevilla in November 2012 and joined Southampton in January 2013, before Emery's arrival.