Freiburg become 11th Bundesliga team to reach UEFA Europa League final
Freiburg have made club history by reaching their first European competition final, but they're not the only Bundesliga team to have contested a UEFA Europa League or UEFA Cup final.
"I can hardly put it into words. I just feel an incredible sense of joy when I look at people's faces. That's what matters most and what will stay with me for eternity," said Freiburg head coach Julian Schuster after Die Breisgauer overturned a first-leg deficit to beat Braga 4-3 on aggregate in their 2025/26 Europa League semi-final tie.
Unsurprisingly, the party lasted long into the Black Forest night as players, coaches and fans alike celebrated the monumental achievement of reaching the final, where England's Aston Villa await in Istanbul on 20 May.
The unfancied but steely class of 2025/26 are now just one win from landing Freiburg's first piece of major silverware, not including four Bundesliga 2 titles.
Frankfurt Germany's last Europa League winners
Bayer Leverkusen got to the same stage in 2023/24. Xabi Alonso's team had already wrapped up the club's maiden Bundesliga title when they arrived in Dublin to face Italy's Atalanta, but their treble hopes were dashed by a hat-trick from former RB Leipzig winger Ademola Lookman.
The 3-0 loss ended Bayer's record run of 52 competitive matches without defeat across two seasons, though they did bounce back to lift the DFB Cup.
Eintracht Frankfurt went one better in 2021/22, enjoying an unbeaten Europa League season that culminated in a penalty shootout win over Glasgow Rangers on a dramatic night in Seville. Seeing off opponents from six different nations - including Barcelona and West Ham United - the Eagles became only the third club to win the Europa League without losing a single game from group stage to final.
All German teams to reach the Europa League/ UEFA Cup final
Europa League
2025/26: Aston Villa vs. Freiburg (20 May)
2023/24: Atalanta 3-0 Bayer Leverkusen
2021/22: Eintracht Frankfurt 1-1 Glasgow Rangers (Frankfurt won 5-4 on penalties)
UEFA Cup
2008/09: Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 Werder Bremen
2001/02: Borussia Dortmund 2-3 Feyenoord
1996/97: Schalke 1-1 (agg) Inter Milan (Schalke won 4-1 on pens)
1995/96: Bayern Munich 5-1 (agg) Bordeaux
1992/93: Borussia Dortmund 1-6 (agg) Juventus
1988/89: Napoli 5-3 (agg) VfB Stuttgart
1987/88: Bayer Leverkusen 3-3 (agg) Espanyol Barcelona (Leverkusen won 3-1 on pens)
1985/86: Cologne 3-5 (agg) Real Madrid
1981/82: Gothenburg 4-0 (agg) Hamburg
1979/80: Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-3 (agg) Eintracht Frankfurt (Gladbach won on away goals rule)
1978/79: Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-1 (agg) Red Star Belgrade
1974/75: Borussia Mönchengladbach 5-1 (agg) Twente Enschede
1972/73: Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-3 (agg) Liverpool
