Matthias Ginter is relishing the "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity to help Freiburg win their first-ever major trophy, after they teed up a Europa League final clash with Aston Villa.
Freiburg beat Braga 3-1 at the Europa-Park Stadion on Thursday, with Lukas Kubler's brace proving decisive, to overturn a 2-1 first-leg deficit in their last-four tie.
Having scored Braga's winner in the first leg, Mario Dorgeles received the earliest-ever red card in a Europa League semi-final, only seven minutes in, and Freiburg took full advantage to reach their first European final.
They are the first German side to progress from a European semi-final tie after losing the first leg since Werder Bremen against Hamburger SV in the 2008-09 UEFA Cup.
Aston Villa await them in the final in Istanbul on May 20, when a place in club history – and Champions League qualification – will be up for grabs.
"We just need to take that final step now," centre-back Ginter said afterwards.
"We've come this far, we're now facing the most important match in the club's history, and we're determined to win it.
"For Freiburg, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The whole day, the atmosphere... it was incredible."
2026 UEFA Europa League final #UELfinal pic.twitter.com/YqT8jxLuTm
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague" >@EuropaLeague) May 7, 2026
Head coach Julian Schuster, meanwhile, held back tears as he acknowledged the scale of Freiburg's achievement.
"I feel an incredible sense of joy when I look at everyone's faces. That's what matters most today," he said.
"I believe the most important thing is to know who you are. That's what sets the people here in the region apart – they know what moments like this mean."
Freiburg have won 11 straight home games in the Europa League, matching the competition record first set by Sevilla between April 2014 and March 2016.
The Opta supercomputer assigns Freiburg a 35% chance of lifting the trophy, compared to Villa's 65%.