Overview
- Freiburg will face Aston Villa in the Europa League final in Istanbul on May 20 after eliminating Braga.
- Julian Schuster’s side overturned a 2-1 first‑leg deficit in Portugal to advance 4-3 on aggregate.
- A win in the final would book Freiburg’s spot in next season’s Champions League despite a seventh-place league position.
- Coach Julian Schuster, promoted in 2024 to succeed Christian Streich, praised the club’s continuity and said he felt “like the little boy from the countryside” beside Lothar Matthäus and Joachim Löw.
- Bayern manager Vincent Kompany lauded Freiburg as “everything that is positive in football,” highlighting their patient, homegrown build as a model.