Aston Villa beat Freiburg 3-0 in Istanbul on Wednesday (Thursday AEST) to secure Emery a record-extending fifth title in this competition.
Celebrating wildly inside the Tupras Stadium was lifelong Villa fan Prince William, who travelled to watch his beloved team end a 30-year wait for a major trophy.
He had his phone out taking photos as captain John McGinn lifted the cup in the centre of the field and in front of an explosion of confetti.
"We had a great season and to top it off with this is amazing," goal-scorer Youri Tielemans told TNT Sports.
Was the outcome ever in doubt with the ultimate Europa League specialist Emery on the sideline?
The Spanish coach has enjoyed remarkable success in Europe's second-tier competition, winning it three years running with Sevilla from 2014-16, and again with Villarreal in 2021.
Now he has led a third team with "Villa'' in their name to the title.
"Normally sometimes in the league games he's a little bit anxious because obviously he wants us to win, but today he was really calm and I think that set the tone for us boys," striker Ollie Watkins said.
Two brilliant first-half strikes from Youri Tielemans and Emiliano Buendia put Villa ahead 2-0 at the break.Â
Morgan Rogers added a third in the second half.
It was Villa's first major piece of silverware since winning the English League Cup in 1996, and their first continental title since lifting the European Cup and then the Super Cup in 1982.
And it is the second year in a row a British team has won the Europa League final, after Australian Ange Postecoglou guided Tottenham to a 1-0 win over Manchester United in the 2025 decider.
German team Freiburg, who were playing in the second division 10 years ago, were outclassed in their first European final.
Villa were in England's second tier even more recently, in 2019. And while they were the overwhelming favourites going into Wednesday's match, occasions like this looked a long way off when Emery was hired in 2022.
Back then, Villa were one place above the relegation zone and in danger of being demoted again.
The transformation he has overseen has been remarkable, leading the team into the Champions League last season and qualifying for European club soccer's top competition again next term.
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