LONDON — Aston Villa is taking inspiration from the club’s former European champions as they seek to end their 30-year trophy drought in the Europa League final against Freiburg on Wednesday.
Unai Emery’s side head to Istanbul with history in their sights in their first major European final for 44 years.
Villa famously defied the odds to shock Bayern Munich in the 1982 European Cup final, thanks to Peter Withe’s clinical finish.
Looking to emulate Withe’s celebrated moment, Villa striker Ollie Watkins said he would seek out footage of the winner against Bayern as he prepared to face German underdogs Freiburg at the Besiktas Stadium.
“I haven’t actually seen Withe’s winner, but I’m going to. I’m going to look back at it in these next few days before the final as inspiration,” Watkins said according to AFP.
“I think Peter is a legend. I’ve met him quite a few times. He came into the training ground last week to watch.
“It’s amazing that he can do that and that we can have a legend around the place.”
The decades since Bayern was beaten on that golden evening in Rotterdam have not always been kind to Villa.
They were twice relegated to the second tier, in 1987 and 2016, and have lost all four of their domestic final appearances since defeating Leeds to win the 1996 League Cup.
But Villa has been revived by the astute Emery, reaching the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals last term and climbing to fourth in the Premier League with one game left this season.
Their run to the final has earned the royal seal of approval from loyal Villa fan Prince William.
William joined the ecstatic celebrations at Villa Park during the 4-0 semi-final second-leg rout of Nottingham Forest.
Now Emery can cement his status as the king of the Europa League by winning the competition for a fifth time.
The Spaniard is preparing for his sixth Europa League final after winning the competition three times with Sevilla and once with Villarreal, as well as finishing as a runner-up with Arsenal in 2019.
Emery’s men travel to Turkey in buoyant mood after sealing a place in next season’s Champions League with a 4-2 win against Liverpool on Friday.
In their first final since losing to Manchester City in the 2020 League Cup showpiece, Villa will be firm favourites against first-time European finalists Freiburg, who are seventh in the Bundesliga.
“Playing for a trophy, playing in the high level we are now, is bringing us a lot of very good moments,” Emery said.
“I’m feeling so comfortable in the level we are. For the supporters, try to understand we are moving forward in a new level. I can feel they are happy.”
Emery has proved an inspired appointment since taking over in 2022, when Villa was languishing just three points above the relegation zone.
Beaten by Olympiacos in the semifinals of the UEFA Conference League in 2023/2024, Emery has the club on the brink of shedding their tag as nearly men.
The 54-year-old admitted that painful 6-2 aggregate loss to the Greek side was a key moment in Villa’s transformation into trophy contenders.
“When we lost in the semifinal to Olympiacos, it was a process we needed to get to the moment we are in now,” he said.
“Everything we are doing is going to plan. It makes sense, because to be in Europe is being consistent.
“Now the objective is to keep it going for a long time, keep the level as high as possible, with our standards and our ambition.”
The meticulous Emery has been a perfect match for a club that carried the word “Prepared” under the badge on their shirts for many years.
Following in the footsteps of Tony Barton, the manager who masterminded their 1982 triumph, would ensure Emery is woven into Villa’s history forever.
