Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery has expressed confidence that his team is ready to vie for major trophies as they gear up to face Bologna in their third Champions League fixture of the season.
The Birmingham-based club has emerged victorious in both of their Champions League matches so far, marking their return to European football’s top-tier competition for the first time since the 1982-83 season.
"I don't want to waste my time here, that is my message. You can't waste your time here," Emery stated during a press conference on Monday.
"My objective here is to keep the same level we have now, Champions League and add more to be contenders for titles.
"This is the message, we love football, we love our work and we want to be successful."
Villa Park is set to host its second Champions League match — the tournament was renamed from the European Cup at the start of the 1992 season — following Jhon Durán's remarkable winning goal against Bayern Munich in their previous outing.
Emery emphasized that he doesn't want his team to be just participants and reiterated his ambition for the club to qualify for the competition consistently.
"We want to achieve the objectives and one of them is to play in the Champions League. It is not about playing there only because of some circumstances -- I want to us to stay there for a long time," the Spanish coach said.
"But it is difficult. Maybe sometimes you can have some problems or struggle in our way, but you have to be resilient. We want to be strong in the idea in our mind and create a strong mentality to always break barriers.
"We can believe, working like we are doing, we can keep it. This is my challenge, this is my objective now.”
Former Manchester United forward Diego Forlán is geared up to make his professional tennis debut at next month's Uruguay Open. The 45-year-old football legend will team up with Argentine player Federico Coria for the doubles event, bringing his competitive spirit to the tennis court in his home country.
An announcement from the tournament organizers excitedly declared: "Attention tennis and sports fans! This year at the Uruguay Open, we have an UNMISSABLE duo in doubles: Argentine tennis player Federico Coria and former Uruguayan football player Diego Forlan."
The Uruguay Open will be played at the Challenger Tour level, the second-highest professional tier in tennis. Coria, who boasts a career-high singles ranking of 49, will be a valuable partner for Forlán as they aim to win the doubles event.
Forlán, a cult hero at Manchester United, is fondly remembered for his impactful moments on the football field. He famously scored both goals in a memorable 2-1 victory against Liverpool in December 2002, followed by a dramatic 90th-minute winner against Chelsea, which helped Sir Alex Ferguson’s team clinch the Premier League title.
Interestingly, Forlán's journey echoes that of his father, who also transitioned from football to tennis after retiring. “My father played football, and after retiring at 41, he took up tennis. That’s why I started playing at the age of two. Everyone knows I dedicated myself to football before returning to this sport as diligently as I now do,” Forlán has shared. Football fans around the world will be very interested to see how the footballing legend gets on.
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