Vincent Kompany gets behind UEFA Europa League finalists Freiburg
Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany has hailed Freiburg's run to the 2025/26 UEFA Europa League final as "great for German football".
Freiburg overcame a first-leg deficit to beat Portugal's Braga 4-3 on aggregate in their semi-final tie on Thursday. Following Bayern's UEFA Champions League semi-final exit to holders Paris Saint-Germain, Die Breisgauer are the only German team left in European competition this season.
"It's a small club that has built everything using its own resources. There's a philosophy, a vision," Kompany told media at his pre-match press conference on Friday, after Freiburg reached their first European final.
"Julian [Schuster] deserves great respect - but also the people around the club making the decisions with him. It's great for German football and a really good example to lots of other clubs, I think.
"We also hope they win the trophy for German football."
Merlin Polzin, whose Hamburg side are set to face a jubilant Freiburg on Sunday, was also full of praise for the humble Black Forest club.
"First of all, we’d like to send our very best wishes to Freiburg," he said ahead of the Bundesliga Matchday 33 contest.
"I have the utmost respect for what they’ve achieved – those were fantastic matches in the semi-finals, and overall it's been a fantastic season in Europe.
"We're keeping our fingers crossed for the final, so that their journey comes to a happy conclusion."
After ending their Bundesliga season with games against HSV and RB Leipzig, Freiburg will take on English Premier League outfit Aston Villa in the Europa League final in Istanbul on 20 May.
They are bidding to become the second Bundesliga club of the Europa League era to win the competition, after Eintracht Frankfurt went all the way under Oliver Glasner in 2021/22.
