Prince William admitted he found it all "slightly surreal" after watching his beloved Aston Villa finally end their long trophy drought. The Prince of Wales, a long-time Villa fan, was in attendance in Istanbul as they thumped German side Freiburg 3-0 to lift the Europa League.
First Trophy in Decades
It is Villa's first trophy since 1996 and their first in Europe since winning the European Cup in 1982, a month before Prince William was born. The future king shed tears of joy as Villa stormed through their opponents with first-half goals from Youri Tielemans and Emi Buendia, before Morgan Rogers sealed the triumph after the break.
Royal Chat with Podcast Hosts
As Villa players and fans celebrated, Prince William summoned the hosts of Reach PLC's dedicated Villa podcast, Claret and Blue, to his executive box at the Tupras Stadium. Mat Kendrick and Dan Rollinson obliged and had a chat with the royal, who revealed he never misses an episode to get his Villa fix, declaring: "Where do you think I get my information from!"
When asked how he felt after the final whistle, William replied: "Good, unbelievable... it's slightly surreal." Pressed on why he stayed in the box rather than joining the on-pitch celebrations, he added: "I was tempted to go down there but thought 'let everyone else have their moment'. This is about the players, the fans."
A Smooth Victory
Prince William, often seen experiencing a rollercoaster of emotions following Villa, noted this was more of a procession as Unai Emery's side coasted to victory. He said: "I was expecting a rollercoaster, but it's actually gone quite smoothly hasn't it? I was more nervous before the Nottingham Forest second leg... I felt more comfortable today. We sat here with Elmo [Ahmed Elmohamady] and he knew already before Youri had hit the ball that it was going in the net, he was already celebrating. I said 'how did you know it was going in?', he said 'I've seen it in training'."
Atmosphere and Sportsmanship
William toasted the fantastic atmosphere and the relationship between Villa fans and their beaten opponents. He remarked: "What I loved also, the Freiburg fans sat the whole way through and supported us and we clapped for them and gave them a guard of honour. It was proper good sportsmanship, it's always been a thing about the club, we've done it properly." Villa's jubilant stars then invited him into the dressing room for beers, before joining their families at an afterparty that lasted late into the Istanbul night.
