LONDON — Aston Villa will look to end a 44-year wait for major European silverware when they face Freiburg in the UEFA Europa League final on Wednesday, with Unai Emery’s side favourites against the German club playing the biggest match in their history.
Villa’s route to Wednesday’s final in Istanbul has underlined their credentials, with the English Premier League club crushing Nottingham Forest 4-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals and progressing through a difficult knockout path with a blend of attacking depth and tactical discipline.
Emery is a record four-time winner of the competition and his team have combined creativity from players such as Morgan Rogers with the goals of Ollie Watkins to power into their first European final since they won the European Cup in 1982.
Villa, who also lifted the subsequent European Super Cup, has not won a major trophy of any sort since they won the League Cup in 1996.
It marks Emery’s sixth Europa League final, with the former Arsenal manager having won the competition three times with Sevilla and once with Villarreal, while finishing runner-up with the Gunners in a 2019 defeat by Chelsea.
“I have my own experiences before in this competition and different momentum as well,” said Emery, whose squad booked a Champions League spot for the second time in three years with their 4-2 win over Liverpool on Friday.
“But it is completely different. In football, everything you have done before, though it may be fantastic, it’s done. Now it is a new chapter and I want to write a new chapter here,” Emery added according to Reuters.
Villa faces a Freiburg side who are going into their first European final, brimming with confidence after the 4-1 demolition of RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga saw them nail down seventh spot and secure a Conference League place for next season.
But coach Julian Schuster’s team know full well they can get even more with victory in the final.
A win would secure Champions League football for next season along with several million euros of additional revenue for a club that has a wage bill towards the lower end of the Bundesliga.
Yet Freiburg will have to beat the odds, with Aston Villa the overwhelming favourites.
“It is football, it is one match, it is a final so anything can happen,” said Freiburg defender Matthias Ginter. “So sometimes an underdog can beat the favourites.”
Freiburg have long relied on homegrown players and coaches to keep them in the league and develop their exciting brand of football, and do it all on a budget.
They have exceeded all expectations this year, in former player Schuster’s second season in the job. Schuster, who only got his coaching licence in 2024, took over after Christian Streich left following more than 12 years in charge.
“I see pressure as something positive because it challenges and motivates me to take on challenges directly and to do everything necessary to successfully complete a task,” Schuster said.
The coach said he had seen unity and support within the city become even stronger after the semifinal win over Portuguese side Braga.
“That is precisely the power of football: it can inspire people and bring them together. It’s a wonderful feeling that we are thoroughly enjoying at the moment.”
