2014: Sevilla continues the Benfica curse
When he was fired from Benfica in 1962, Bela Guttmann made a prophecy: without him, SLB would never win another European Cup. 1963, 1965, 1968, 1988 and 1990 in the European Cup, 1983 and 2013 in the UEFA Cup: this time, enough is enough, the curse must end! The 2013-2014 season for the Eagles was exceptional. With Jorge Jesus on the bench, they achieved a domestic treble and were determined to add a continental trophy.
Europa League is familiar territory for Sevilla. The Palanganas had already won back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007. A former midfielder for Real Sociedad, blocked by the legendary Javi de Pedro, Unai Emery became a respected coach in Spain, able to take Almeria to 8th place in La Liga before qualifying a struggling Valencia for the Champions League three years in a row. After a failed stint at Spartak, the Basque returned home, and it was at Sevilla that he would become a European reference.
After 120 minutes, the score was still 0-0. Time for penalties! Back when goalkeepers could step forward without keeping at least one foot on the line, Beto forced Tacuara Cardozo into a miss. Rodrigo Moreno had no better luck. None of the Nervión players faltered and Sevilla won 4-2.
2015: Second back-to-back
In the semi-final, Sevilla qualified at the last second against Valencia with a header from Stephane Mbia. As a former Valencia coach, Unai Emery didn't hold back and celebrated with a sprint that earned him the dislike of much of the blanquinegra fans, who would have preferred more restraint.
To secure a second double, Sevilla was in an ideal position against Dnipro. But it was Nikola Kalinic who opened the scoring with a header for the Ukrainians. In Warsaw, Polish international Grzegorz Krychowiak found the net in the box to equalise.
Back at his boyhood club, Jose Antonio Reyes delivered a perfect assist to Carlos Bacca, who dribbled past Denys Boyko and put Nervion ahead. Dnipro refused to give up, and Ruslan Rotan fired a direct free kick into the top corner just before halftime.
Sevilla eventually won the final thanks to a second goal from Bacca, assisted by Vitolo, to give them a thrilling 3-2 victory.
2016: The historic three-peat
Under Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool changed their style but were still a team in transition. On the other side, Sevilla had the chance to make history with a remarkable treble.
Fifteen years after the legendary final against Deportivo Alaves (5-4, after extra time), the Reds opened the scoring through Daniel Sturridge with a sublime left-footed shot.
Just like in 2015, Nervion fell behind, but right from the kick-off of the second half, former Bordeaux player Mariano broke down the right and set up Kevin Gameiro. Captain Coke then scored just after the hour mark and even added a surprise second a few minutes later.
2019: The only failure with Arsenal
After Sevilla, Unai Emery spent two years at PSG, where he will always be remembered for the Remontada at Camp Nou (6-1), even though his team had played a perfect match at the Parc against Barca (4-0). He took on the Arsenal challenge as Arsène Wenger retired. A real trap, but despite everything, he reached the final of his favourite competition.
As in 2015, Unai Emery knocked out Valencia in the semi-final and faced Chelsea as a specialist. Beaten on penalties by Gica Hagi's Galatasaray in 2000, Arsenal hadn't won a continental trophy since the 1994 Cup Winners' Cup.
At halftime, the London derby was locked down (0-0). And it was a former Gunner who broke the deadlock. From an Emerson Palmieri cross, Olivier Giroud scored with a diving header. On the hour mark, Eden Hazard found Pedro, who finished into the far corner. Hazard ended the suspense with a penalty soon after.
Alex Iwobi pulled one back with a brilliant strike, but Hazard immediately added another.
For the first time in his career, Emery lost a final... before being sacked after just one year in England.
2021: The first for Villarreal
Unai Emery arrived at Villarreal in 2020 after Quique Setién's disastrous spell. Having missed out on a Champions League final in 2006 by a Juan Roman Riquelme penalty, the Yellow Submarine could win their very first trophy.
From a wide free kick, Dani Parejo found Gerard Moreno at the far post to open the scoring. In the second half, Edinson Cavani pounced on a deflected shot to equalise.
Just like in 2014, Emery faced a penalty shootout. But this one would go on and on.
After 20 attempts, neither Geronimo Rulli nor David de Gea had managed to stand out, and both found themselves taking the 11th penalty. The Argentine found the top corner before diving the right way to save his Manchester United counterpart's shot. Emery claimed his 4th Europa League title.