Freiburg target first major trophy in maiden European final against Aston Villa

ISTANBUL: Freiburg will bid for the first major trophy in their history when they face Aston Villa in the Europa League final at Besiktas Park on Wednesday, with victory also set to secure Champions League qualification.

The German side have never won a trophy and have never reached the Champions League, but they now stand on the verge of both achievements in what will be only the second major final in the club's history. Their previous appearance in a major final ended in defeat on penalties to Leipzig in the 2022 German Cup final.

Freiburg's run to the final has been presented as the reward for a long period of steady progress. Once not even the biggest club in their own city, the Black Forest side are now in what has been described as the most successful era in their history. While established German clubs such as Hamburg, Schalke and Stuttgart have endured difficult periods and relegations in recent years, Freiburg have become regular participants in European competition.

Built on continuity and identity

The club's rise has been linked to a strong connection with its community and unusual managerial continuity. Under Germany's member-control rules, outside investment is limited, leaving fewer shortcuts for ambitious clubs. Freiburg have instead developed through gradual improvement, careful decision-making and a clearly defined identity.

Two of the most important coaches in the club's history, Volker Finke and Christian Streich, each remained in charge for more than a decade and kept their positions even after relegations. Current manager Julian Schuster succeeded Streich in 2024 after having played for Freiburg since 2008, and the transition has gone smoothly. In his first season, Schuster took the club close to Champions League qualification. This season, Freiburg also reached the German Cup semi-finals in addition to making the Europa League final.

The squad includes several long-serving players, many of them products of the club's academy. Captain Christian Guenter, defender Matthias Ginter, Nicolas Hoefler and Johan Manzambi are among those to have emerged from Freiburg's youth system.

After Freiburg beat Braga to reach the final, Hoefler, the 36-year-old midfielder who is due to retire in the summer after two decades at the club, said he found it hard to believe what little Freiburg had achieved.

Players stress collective strength

Ginter, who was born in Freiburg and won the 2014 World Cup with Germany, said at a media day on Thursday that the club's shared principles had been central to its progress.

He said:

It's about the shared virtues which have distinguished the club for years and brought us to where we are today.

Ginter added:

Over the past few years, there has been steady development. Personally, we might not have the biggest individual stars on paper, but we function perfectly as a team.

Since football is a team sport, that works quite well.

He also described the meeting with Villa as the biggest game in Freiburg's history and said the team would give everything in the final.

Underdogs against experienced Villa

Freiburg go into the match as clear underdogs. Aston Villa are among the strongest teams in the Premier League, while their manager Unai Emery has won the Europa League four times.

Villa have previous European success against German opposition, having beaten Bayern Munich to win the 1982 European Cup. For Freiburg, this will be only the second time they have faced a Premier League side. Their previous meetings with English opposition came against West Ham in the Europa League last 16 in 2023-24, when they were beaten 5-1 on aggregate.

Guenter, 33, who has spent his entire career at Freiburg, said reaching the final alone would not satisfy the team.

He said:

There's no point in losing; that's the motto we have to go there with. Hopefully, we'll be able to lift the cup at the end.

To experience that would be incredible. But you can dream all you want, it has to be achieved first.

For many years, people told me, 'Just move to a bigger club if you want to win titles or play in Europe'.

We were able to disprove that together. That's the result of years of hard work from every single person. Many right decisions were made at the top.