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Jose level with Robson
©TM/IMAGO
The Europa League returned this week with 36 clubs aiming to reach the final in May in Istanbul. While the Europa League doesn't carry the prestige of the Champions League, it's still a competition that is coveted by many top European clubs. Tottenham Hotspur ended a 17-year trophy drought for defeat Manchester United in the final last season.
Two Premier League clubs are amongst the favourites this season with Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa the two most valuable clubs in the competition. Unai Emery will be invaluable in Villa boss the most decorated in the club's history with four titles to his name - three with Sevilla and once with Villarreal. The UEFA Cup was reformatted to the Europa League in 2009 but which managers have collected the most points since the competition’s inauguration for the 1971/72 season? Let’s find out!
Which managers have won the most points in the Europa League?
Unsurprisingly, Aston Villa boss Emery has won the most points (214) in Europa League history and the 52-year-old has won the competition more than any other manager, winning it three times in a row with Sevilla between 2014 and 2016 and once with Villareal in 2021 - Emery also reached the final with Arsenal in 2019. As the graphic above illustrates, Trapattoni ranks second after collecting 180 points across 98 games with eight different clubs. The Italian won the competition three times, twice with Juventus and Inter Milan in 1991.
Jorge Jesus has collected the most points in the competition without ever winning it with the Portuguese boss runner up twice with Benfica. Jose Mourinho moved ahead of his mentor Sir Bobby Robson last season after coaching Fenerbahce in the competition. Mourinho began his journey into coaching as the iconic Englishman’s interpreter at Porto before becoming his assistant and following him to Barcelona.
