Boombox blasting, Ezri Konsa, Jadon Sancho, and Morgan Rogers are snaking through the mixed zone on their way to the after-party. Matty Cash is talking about his friends “out on the razz,” and my phone is buzzing again. Two missed calls from Dan Rolinson. It is already 2am and I am not planning to sleep, so this one can wait—we will catch up later. Dan, you know I am working… “Prince William said WHAT to Mat Kendrick!?” A few exchanged messages later confirmed it was really true—he loves our Claret & Blue podcast, follows our Villa coverage, and actually called the lads over for a chat. AI is moving quickly, but their selfie with His Royal Highness was actually real.
I knew this night was not getting any better. Villa won a European trophy, by the way! But some 20 minutes later… “John Townley,” I hear from behind, just after finishing my 55th post-match walk and talk of the season. It is only—and the one and only—Ian Taylor. “I am off to celebrate!” he says, before I can gather my thoughts—but not my emotions—and I carry on into the early morning in Istanbul. By this point, it is starting to tip it down with rain again. I had already soaked myself earlier in the day running across Taksim Square and up to Bomonti due to a shortage of yellow taxis, but this time it is road closures that put paid to my hopes of getting home in reasonable time.
Dripping wet, it is 4am by the time I get back to the hotel. I give myself 10 minutes to lie down and attempt to process what has just happened. I have not even finished with Youri Tielemans and Emi Buendia's stunners, let alone everything that unfolded after. Surreal does not begin to describe that night. I have dramatically failed to gain composure each time I have tried to talk about what Wednesday night means to me—not fully understanding all the feelings I have, or just sobbing at the thought of what it means to loved ones too. I know we all feel the same—that is the beauty of it. A family of claret and blue, all there to witness another European-conquering night on the continent. It is not the European Cup, of course, but what I feel writing this on the plane back to BHX is something I could never have prepared for.
Emery achieves what he set out to
In truth, it should not have taken 422 words to name the man whose magic has brought us to this moment: Unai Emery. He rejected the notion that he was the “king” of the competition, as you would expect him to—but you are. “I am not a king in this competition,” he insisted. “I am now here with Aston Villa in a new chapter. Everything I did is done and of course it is there in that moment but with it I am not winning. I need to win with the players we have now, with Villa now. So now it is a new way, a new moment, and hopefully a new era.”
“If you are not respecting the opponent, you are closer to losing. If you are not respecting Europe, like we did during the process, we are not here. This is the strong mentality we had before.” A five-time Europa League winner, Emery has achieved exactly what he set out to do when he took the job in November 2022. It was in response to the third question during his unveiling at Villa Park three and a half years ago that he laid out his ambitions. They sounded great—but ask any Villa fan back then if they thought it would be achievable this soon, and they would be lying to say they expected it. “My dream is to win a trophy with Aston Villa, it is my personal challenge at the beginning,” he outlined. “And my second dream, my objective could be to play with Aston Villa in Europe.”
Pound for pound, Emery is the best manager in the Premier League—and when Pep Guardiola departs Manchester City, Villa will have a genuine claim to being managed by the best in the country, full stop. There was a lot of chatter after the game along the lines of, “What were Freiburg doing in this final?” Firstly, it is disrespectful—but let us also rewind 12 months. Villa were denied Champions League football from a poor refereeing decision and are every bit an elite side. They were in a title race until injuries to Boubacar Kamara, John McGinn, and Youri Tielemans derailed momentum, and will still finish in the top five despite juggling a European campaign—one they have gone on to win convincingly. Seven wins from eight in the league phase, then emphatic aggregate victories over Lille, Bologna, and Nottingham Forest, before seeing off Freiburg at the Tupras Stadium. Even last season, Villa reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League and came so, so close to returning to Europe’s elite competition. They were not at their best on the day, but a refereeing error at Old Trafford denied them the chance to go ahead in the second half, when a draw would have been enough.
But maybe this was fate. I remember sitting in that press conference, furious after watching Villa miss out on the Champions League—yet there was still a thought in the back of my mind: you know what, this could work out in the long run. It did. Villa were favourites for the Europa League, and they handled that pressure impeccably.
Legends become immortal
I must have spent nearly half an hour on the tarmac, scrolling and scrolling through X, waiting for this plane to take off. It is not usually healthy—often a waste of time—but this was different. Catching up on what I had missed from the night before, those pictures of John McGinn kissing the Europa League trophy, and Ollie Watkins smooching the club crest—keep them coming. In an Istanbul bubble for the last few days—and what a privilege it has been—I had almost forgotten the scenes unfolding across the Second City: from The Warehouse to the Utilita Arena, the Witton Arms and beyond.
Each fan more delirious than the last, their emotions mirroring the squad’s outpouring at full time. Some of these players have been at the club for six years or more. Emi Martinez—who claimed he had broken a finger in the warm-up but still played on—fell to his knees at the final whistle, beating the turf with his fists before immediately breaking into tears. Tyrone Mings is Villa’s second-longest-serving player, and he was thrown on late in the game—a nice touch from Emery, who also brought Douglas Luiz on. McGinn, Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, and Watkins are now immortalised—and, like the side of ’82, will forever be welcomed back to Villa Park.
The newer members of the squad often talk about how easy it was to settle into the dressing room after joining—and does not that speak volumes about the culture built under Emery and his staff?
Lindelof plugs a Kamara-shaped hole
One of those newer arrivals is Victor Lindelof—the signing of the season, without doubt. Marco Bizot has also played his role well as Martinez’s understudy, but Lindelof deserves that recognition. The experienced Swedish defender was a surprise inclusion for the semi-final second leg against Nottingham Forest, but produced a standout performance in the 4–0 win—nullifying Chris Wood and Igor Jesus, and providing a calm, protective presence in front of Pau Torres and Ezri Konsa.
I had the pleasure of sitting down with Lindelof last Saturday morning and asked him about his two previous Europa League finals—both of which he lost. Third time was the charm. “If I play, I will do absolutely everything to bring that trophy home,” he told me. I loved that—there was an intensity to his answers, but also a calmness in his body language. He had to start, even if Amadou Onana had been fit, and Emery made the right call. Lindelof came off at half-time in Villa’s 4–2 win over Liverpool after feeling pain in his foot—something he has been managing for a while—but still put in a full hour on Wednesday night. Watkins thought the 31-year-old was Villa’s best player against Freiburg. “Victor has done so well since he has come in, he was my player of the match today,” he said on TNT.
Buendia's turnaround at Villa
Even Buendia would not have expected a turnaround like this at Villa. He is enjoying the best campaign of his career, just months after the club were open to offers following his loan spell at Bayer Leverkusen. The Bundesliga side had an option to sign Buendia for around £18 million, but did not take it up after he struggled for game time under Xabi Alonso.
What has followed is remarkable—a resurgence built on confidence, consistency, and no shortage of stunning goals. Cast your mind back to September, and it was Buendia, alongside McGinn, who dragged Villa back into life. Introduced at half-time against Fulham, he transformed the game—turning one point into three with a goal and an assist in a 3–1 win. Then came a superb finish in Rotterdam, setting Villa on their way to beating Feyenoord in their second Europa League fixture. But perhaps the defining moment came in December, when Buendia struck a dramatic late winner against Arsenal at Villa Park—sealing a victory over the eventual champions, and delivering a true career highlight.
Nothing, however, will surpass his strike against Freiburg. He is now etched into Villa folklore.
Claret & Blue catch-up
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