Emi Martinez Magic, Jadon Sancho special, SC Freiburg first - records on the line in UEFA Europa League final showdown

The Villa boss’s run of victories in the competition, winning four of his five previous finals – curiously, all with teams that contain ‘villa’ in their name - has been the quirky talking point ahead of the Istanbul clash, but this oddity is not the only one for the Premier League side.

Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez will be playing in his fifth final as a player, while on-loan winger Jadon Sancho will remarkably be playing in a European final for the third successive season.

The Villa fans who have descended on Turkey, as well as those watching back home, will be hoping, that these players’ experience, rather than mere coincidence, will be the thing that propels them to a first major trophy in 30 years.

Having moved to England from Argentina to join Arsenal as a teenager in 2010, Martinez spent a decade on the fringes of the first team as a back-up, featuring primarily in cup competitions but mostly going out on loan.

An injury to chosen Gunners No. 1 Bernd Leno in the Covid-interrupted 2019/20 campaign afforded him the opportunity for more regular football in the closing weeks of that season, including a run to the FA Cup final.

Martinez started in goal at Wembley as Mikel Arteta’s side triumphed in a 2-1 win over Chelsea.

That run in the Arsenal team seemingly wasn’t enough to guarantee him a starting berth and, just weeks after the FA Cup win, Martinez made his move to Villa.

An impressive first season in the midlands saw him selected for Argentina’s 2021 Copa America squad, the tournament opener actually being his competitive debut for his country.

Argentina’s run to the final saw him save three penalties in the semi-final shoot-out win over Colombia and with a 1-0 victory over Brazil in the Rio final, Martinez had helped his country lift the trophy for the first time since 1993.

Ending droughts with Argentina was a theme that would continue a year later, but this time on the biggest stage of them all.

Fully established as his country’s No. 1, Martinez and Argentina would face holders France in the showpiece match in Qatar, with the stopper producing further penalty heroics in the shoot-out following an unforgettable 3-3 draw.

After denying Kingsley Coman, and watching Aurelien Tchouameni send his kick wide, Martinez led the celebrations – in his own unique way – as Argentina were crowned world champions for the first time since 1986.

There was a second continental success in 2024 as Martinez conceded just one goal throughout the tournament in a 1-1 quarter-final draw with Ecuador, but ultimately masked this with two penalty saves in the eventual shoot-out.

Argentina and Martinez successfully defended their title with a 1-0 win in the final over Colombia.

In addition, the 33-year-old also started Argentina’s 2022 Finalissima win over Italy as well as Arsenal’s 2020 Community Shield victory over Liverpool, and was also on the bench for the Gunners’ wins in 2014 and 2015, respectively.

Should he feature for Villa at Besiktas Park, Jadon Sancho is set to become the first player to play in three successive European finals for three different sides in three different competitions.

The on-loan Manchester United winger has been involved in 12 of Villa’s 14 matches in the competition this season to date, scoring once.

He has previously played in Europe for his parent club, Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea, making a combined total of 65 appearances, scoring 11 goals and registering 11 assists.

Sancho starred at Dortmund during his initial stint between 2017 and 2021, earning a move to United, but was back on loan to the Bundesliga side in the 2023/24 campaign, helping them reach the final of the competition after his impressive displays in the knockout stage.

He was unable to help BVB get over the line and could only watch on as goals from Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Junior gave Real Madrid the win at Wembley.

Sancho was again on loan the following season, this time to another Premier League club, Chelsea.

The Blues were competing in the UEFA Conference League, where Sancho contributed two goals and four assists in eight appearances.

One of these goals would come in the final as he scored the decisive third in an emphatic 4-1 win.

Should he play and find the target, Sancho will become the first ever English player to score in successive European finals.

He would also join the likes of Marco van Basten, Ronaldo and Cristiano Ronaldo as players to have scored in European finals for different clubs.

But while the likes of Sancho, Martinez and, of course, Emery will hope to improve their own respective records, Freiburg will be eyeing their own shot at history.

The German side will be hoping to become the 49th team to win a European final in their very first appearance and just the 10th German team to lift a continental trophy – the first new side since Schalke beat Inter in the 1996/97 then-UEFA Cup.

Whoever comes out on top on Wednesday will see their name inscribed into the history books, one way or another.

Wednesday's match is the first of three European club finals, with all exclusively live on TNT Sports and HBO Max.

The focus will shift to the UEFA Conference League final between Crystal Palace and Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday, May 27 at Red Bull Arena in Leipzig, live from 18:30 UK time on TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports Ultimate and HBO Max. 

There will be expert analysis from a team including Glenn Hoddle, Joel Ward and Joleon Lescott.

The TNT Sports’ cameras then head to Budapest as Arsenal take on reigning European champions Paris Saint-Germain on May 30 in a quest for their first Champions League title.

TNT Sports' coverage will kick off with a 'Champions League Final – Super Weekend' show presented by Reshmin Chowdhury live from 10:30 UK time with guests from across the sporting and entertainment world. 

Live coverage of the game will begin from 15:00, kick-off at 17:00, and Laura Woods will be joined by Steven Gerrard, Owen Hargreaves and Martin Keown.

All three European Finals will be available for no extra cost to all HBO Max* subscribers on any Monthly or Saver Plan – starting from Basic with Ads (£4.99/month**) and above.

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