Spaniard Unai Emery has cemented himself as the undisputed king of European football after securing a record-extending fifth Europa League title as a manager, leading Aston Villa to a historic Europa League 2026 crown. Having beaten Freiburg 3-0 in the final, Emery guided Villa to their first title in 30 years. This is also the club’s first European silverware in 44 years. Emery has now won five out of six Europa League finals as a manager. But beyond his tactical football brain, something else has helped the Spaniard achieve greatness: chess. Obsessed with the board game, Emery says he plays nearly 40 online blitz games a day against players from around the world and it helps his football, too. “I have another distraction, which is chess. I play a lot of chess every day, but I play three-minute blitz games. I can play 40 of these three-minute games a day. And losing hurts me way more than a football match,” Emery said in a video released by OneFootball. “I play online with people from all around the world. With the time zone differences everywhere, I can play 24 hours a day with different players coming from all sorts of places.” Emery says he uses his real name on the chess platform, but no one really bothers him. When asked if he uses his real name, he replied: “Yes, I use ‘Unai Emery,’ but no one comments. You can leave comments, but nobody does. I used my real name from the start just to log in, and that’s how it works. Chess helps me a lot too; it helps me understand football a little bit more.”Story continues below this ad Drawing parallels between chess and football, the 54-year-old said: “Because one mistake can cost you the game. I’m aware of that. I’ve told the players before. Yes, because it’s about focus… absolute focus. Chess requires absolute focus. You can play someone better than you and win, identifying where they lost focus or where they weren’t fully concentrated. And you can play someone lower-ranked than you, make one mistake, and they beat you. Football is exactly the same.”
How 40 blitz chess games a day helped Unai Emery win a fifth Europa League title
