Aston Villa and Freiburg meet in Istanbul on May 20 with vastly different histories but the same singular focus: Capturing the Europa League trophy and securing a historic milestone at Beşiktaş Park.
For Villa, the match represents a chance to end a 30-year trophy drought and reclaim its place among Europe’s elite. For Freiburg, a German club long defined by its modest stature and methodical growth, victory would bring the first major trophy in its history and a debut spot in the Champions League.
Aston Villa enters the final as the heavy favorite, revitalized under manager Unai Emery. The Spaniard is chasing his fifth Europa League title, having previously won the tournament four times: Three times with Sevilla and once with Villarreal.
Villa’s resurgence has been swift since Emery took charge in 2022, when the club was languishing just three points above the English Premier League relegation zone. On May 15, a 4-2 victory over Liverpool guaranteed Villa a top-four finish and a place in next season’s Champions League.
The club’s European run has even earned the royal seal of approval from Prince William, a loyal Villa fan who joined celebrations during a 4-0 semifinal victory over Nottingham Forest. Now, the team is looking to emulate its greatest continental triumph: The 1982 European Cup victory over Bayern Munich.
“I haven’t actually seen Peter Withe’s winner, but I’m going to,” Villa striker Ollie Watkins said, referring to the goal that defeated Bayern 44 years ago. “I’m going to look back at it in these next few days before the final as inspiration.”
Freiburg, meanwhile, represents the antithesis of modern, big-money football.
Bound by Germany’s strict member-control rules that restrict outside investment, the Black Forest club has relied on stability, an acclaimed youth academy and rare loyalty to its coaching staff.
While traditional German giants like Hamburg and Schalke have suffered relegations in recent seasons, Freiburg has quietly established itself as a European regular.
“Personally, we might not have the biggest individual stars on paper, but we function perfectly as a team,” said defender Matthias Ginter, a 2014 World Cup winner with Germany.
Freiburg coach Julian Schuster took over in 2024 from Christian Streich, who served the club for over a decade. Schuster maintained the club’s momentum, guiding it to this European showcase, which marks just the second major final in Freiburg’s history after a penalty-shootout loss to Leipzig in the 2022 German Cup final.
Freiburg remains the underdog, having faced a Premier League opponent only once before: A 5-1 aggregate defeat to West Ham in 2024. But captain Christian Günter, 33, insisted his team is not traveling to Türkiye just to participate.
“There’s no point in losing; that’s the motto we have to go there with,” Günter said. “For many years, people told me, ‘Just move to a bigger club if you want to win titles.’ We were able to disprove that together.”
