Mat Kendrick has spent a lifetime supporting Aston Villa through the highs and the lows. His message to the club is clear: do it for the fans.
A Date with Destiny
Picture the scene: Unai Emery and John McGinn on the balcony of the Birmingham Council House, jointly raising the Europa League trophy above their heads, joyfully conducting a claret and blue choir of thousands upon thousands of ecstatic Aston Villa fans. Close your eyes for a moment and summon up that image. Manifest it if you can. It could happen. It should happen. It must happen.
It is 11,014 days since Villa won a trophy, and today might just be the most important of the lot. May 20, 2026, is Aston Villa Football Club's date with destiny. Not since the Coca-Cola Cup triumph on March 24, 1996, have the club's famous colours adorned a major league or cup. More than 30 years ago. We have to go back even further, 44 and 43 years, for the last time Villa were the cream of the continent, famously lifting the European Cup in 1982 and the Super Cup in 1983.
Emery's Midas Touch
If recent history is against us, then thankfully for this grand old club, Emery's coaching credentials are very much on our side. Our esteemed leader is the master of this trophy. The UEL abbreviation stands as much for 'Unai Emery's League' as UEFA Europa League. Emery has already won it more times than any other coach, four times: three with Sevilla and once with Villarreal. He always wins it at clubs with 'Villa' in their name, or so the theory goes. We really need our Europa League expert to achieve a record-extending fifth UEL trophy with the mighty Aston Villa at the Tüpras Stadium tonight.
The Sultan of Unai has masterminded this moment. From the day he marched into Bodymoor Heath in November 2022, he has transformed this football club. There is one very simple reason the Villa Park faithful now dream more than they have dared to dream for a generation: Emery has set standards not seen since that early-eighties dominance. 'Europe, Europe, Europe' is among the Spaniard's most celebrated soundbites. Against a backdrop of frustrating financial restrictions, Emery's Villa have qualified for Europe in every season of his tenure. Now is our time to rule it again.
A Rocky Road
It has not all been plain sailing. It never is. This is Aston Villa, after all. Since those 1994 and 1996 Wembley wins against Manchester United and Leeds United, Villa have lost two FA Cup finals (2000 and 2015) and two League Cup finals (2010 and 2020). Under Emery, they have lost two semi-finals, to Olympiakos in the Conference League and Crystal Palace in the FA Cup. This season alone there have been more twists and turns than Spaghetti Junction. But they travel to Turkey having finally banished their reputation as big-game bottlers, summoning up the spirit to annihilate Nottingham Forest to reach the final and humiliate Liverpool to confirm Champions League qualification. If this is to be Villa's moment, they certainly have momentum. While securing next season's UCL pot of gold has eased the financial burden, the pressure to bring a prized pot back to Birmingham is as intense as ever.
Legends in the Making
Tonight it is all about the silverware, and the chance for McGinn and the class of 2025–26 to truly seal their status as legends. In the past three decades, from Gareth Barry to Jack Grealish and Paul Merson to James Milner, with many more in between, lots of great players have passed through Villa without getting their hands on a trophy with claret and blue ribbons. When it comes to Heroes and Villans, medals are often the difference between greatness and legendary status. Rimmer (Spink 9), Swain, McNaught, Evans, Williams, Mortimer, Cowans, Bremner, Withe, Shaw, Morley. Subs: Heard, Blair, Geddis, Gibson. Tony Barton's team (created by Ron Saunders) will always occupy the top table in the pantheon of Aston Villa legends. But Martinez, Watkins, Rogers et al can etch their names indelibly in claret and blue folklore by ending this agonising wait for glory tonight.
Omens and Opposition
Those superstitious souls looking for good omens will point to the echoes of Rotterdam. Villa in their white change kit, playing German opposition in red, with a French referee. This time, however, Villa are not the underdogs. They are the favourites. They have been favourites throughout this Europa League campaign. How they handle that burden of expectation this evening will go a long way to deciding this final. Freiburg are no pushovers. The Bundesliga's seventh-placed club will believe it is their year, the time to win their major trophy in their 121-year history. Villa at their best win this match. Anything less risks the biggest missed opportunity since Ronnie Rosenthal skied a sitter high into the Holte End.
For the Holte Enders in the Sky
Speaking of Holte Enders in the Sky, all of this comes down to the Aston Villa family. The half-time tribute against Liverpool was a poignant reminder of the unbreakable bond holding this club together. This final is not just for the 11 men on the pitch. It is for them. It is for the nans and grandads, moms and dads, brothers and sisters, aunties and uncles who instilled the claret and blue devotion, and the friends who stood and sat beside us through the wilderness years. Generations have waited, stayed loyal, and passed the torch. Whether you are in Istanbul, at The Warehouse, The Witton Arms, your local pub or home with family, this is our moment. We have carried 30 years of near-misses, but tonight, that weight must lift. Picture that scene. Summon it up. Imagine an open-top bus parade winding through the Bull Ring, thousands deep, with Unai Emery at the wheel and silver gleaming in the Birmingham sun. History is calling. Bring it home, Villa. Do it for the living, do it for the legends, and do it for the Holte Enders in the Sky.
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