Emery chases first Super Cup - but does it matter?

Unai Emery is the king of the Europa League.

He won a fifth title with Aston Villa in May – their win over Freiburg in Istanbul ending a 30-year trophy drought – but the Super Cup has eluded him.

On Wednesday in Salzburg Emery tries for a fourth time to win the competition, when Villa face Champions League winners Paris St-Germain.

Last season Emery declared he wanted to seal third place in the Premier League because he had not achieved it with Villa.

Finishing fourth was not a failure but it will have rankled with perfectionist Emery.

It will be the same with the Super Cup, but is the competition a glorified friendly or does it really matter?

Three straight Super Cup defeats

Emery has suffered defeats by Real Madrid, Barcelona and Chelsea – the first two with Sevilla, and then losing on penalties to the Blues in Dublin with Villarreal in 2021.

A 5-4 extra-time loss to a Lionel Messi-inspired Barcelona in 2015 came a year after Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice to earn Real Madrid the trophy.

Emery had already left for PSG by the time Sevilla lost the 2016 Super Cup to Real.

But, at Red Bull Arena against his former side and with 6,000 Villa fans travelling, he has the chance to break his losing streak.

“He [pointing to Villa captain John McGinn] was reminding me last week [about losing to Chelsea],” said Emery.

“Of course, it’s an opportunity. A trophy is something that can give us a special moment. To play for trophies is, as a professional, our objective.

“PSG are the favourites but I am looking forward to playing, how we can test this match against PSG with our capacity?

“As a coach, as a player, as a club, it’s a trophy. It’s one thing that makes us proud of how we are and how we arrive here.”

Is winning the Super Cup important?

Carlo Ancelotti has five Super Cup crowns – two with AC Milan and three with Real Madrid – while Pep Guardiola is one behind after two wins with Barcelona and one each with Bayern Munich and Manchester City.

Ancelotti’s third title came when his Real side beat Emery’s Sevilla in 2014.

But, much like Sunday’s Community Shield between Arsenal and Manchester City, is it not a glamorous pre-season friendly with a trophy?

PSG midfielder Vitinha, who has won four Ligue 1 titles with the club, dismissed any suggestion the back-to-back Champions League winners treat it any differently, but did say PSG’s “pre-season was a little short”.

“We’re still hungry for victories, trophies. It’s very difficult to maintain those levels but we’re still hungry,” said the Portugal international.

Defender Marquinhos also insisted the competition remains important to ensure PSG – who were unhappy with the size of their dressing room at Red Bull Arena and given an additional one by Uefa – continue to win trophies.

“Just because we’ve won things these past seasons, that doesn’t mean it’s easy. We know there’ll be plenty of obstacles,” he said.

“Personally, I want more, and each player in the squad is like that. We’ve all worked to get here, to arrive in the best condition.”

‘I’m really excited about the new Aston Villa’

Wednesday’s game between Villa and PSG is a repeat of the Champions League quarter-final from 2024-25.

Trailing 3-1 from the first leg at Parc des Princes and falling 5-1 behind on aggregate in Birmingham, Villa were so close to pulling of a huge shock.

They roared back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 on the night, eventually bowing out 5-4 on aggregate, and it was one of the biggest signs Emery had turned them into a side which could compete with Europe’s best.

It is something which has stuck in the minds of the PSG players, with Vitinha wary of Villa’s threat.

“It was such a difficult test, especially the second half,” said Vitinha.

“We’ll be ready but we’re conscious of how difficult it’s going to be.”

Villa’s line-up in Austria will have a drastically different look, just 484 days since that game.

Morgan Rogers, Lucas Digne and Youri Tielemans have been sold while Amadou Onana is out injured until next year.

Fellow midfielder Boubacar Kamara is in the squad, but is only just returning from a serious knee injury he suffered in January.

Emi Martinez, Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins have not travelled after playing at the World Cup, with Emery giving them a month off.

It means there is a chance just four of the starters who faced the French champions 18 months ago will start for Villa. Five of the substitutes that night are also no longer at the club.

For a team so settled and consistent as Villa under Emery that is a drastic change.

“A lot has changed in the eight years I’ve been here,” said skipper McGinn.

“When you are signing the best young English talent and players are performing at the highest level there will be interest.

“We have a structure in place, standards and rules which have made us a success. I’m really excited about the new Aston Villa.

“We have our main core, the same manager, same methods and same desire to achieve more. A lot of people thought we reached a ceiling a couple of seasons ago and we proved them wrong.”

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