Aston Villa will look to end a thirty-year wait for a trophy when they face SC Freiburg in the UEFA Europa League Final taking place on Wednesday in Istanbul.
The English side, managed by Unai Emery, is aiming for its first major European final in forty-four years, dreaming of repeating the historic success of 1982, when they defeated Bayern Munich and won the European Cup.
Striker Ollie Watkins said he is drawing inspiration from the club’s legends, especially Peter Withe, who scored the winning goal in the 1982 final.
“I still haven’t watched Withe’s goal against Bayern, but I will watch it in the days before the final for inspiration. He is a club legend, and it is fantastic to have him around the squad,” Watkins said.
After the historic success of the 1980s, Aston Villa went through difficult periods, suffering relegation from the Premier League twice and losing four domestic finals since their League Cup triumph in 1996.
However, the arrival of coach Unai Emery changed everything. Since taking charge of the team in 2022, when Villa was close to the relegation zone, the Spanish manager has restored the club among the best in England and Europe.
Last season, the team reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League, while this season they sit in fourth place in the Premier League and have already secured qualification for next season’s Champions League.
Emery, a four-time Europa League winner, is aiming to win the competition for the fifth time and write his name forever into Aston Villa’s history.
“We are experiencing very good moments. The fans need to understand that the club is moving to a new level,” Emery said.
He added that the defeat to Olympiacos in last season’s Conference League semi-final was an important moment in the team’s growth.
“When we lost to Olympiacos, it was part of the process of reaching where we are today. Now the goal is to continue at this level for a long time,” the Spanish coach stated.
Aston Villa are considered favourites in the final against Freiburg, a side playing in their first-ever European final. For the English club, triumph in Istanbul would be their first major trophy in three decades and another historic chapter for one of the traditional clubs of English football.
