John McGinn will lead Aston Villa into the final in Istanbul, and he says it is the proudest moment of his career. Villa have not won a trophy in more than three decades, which is why this run carries real weight. McGinn joined from Hibernian in 2018, and the club now go to the Tupras Stadium with a chance to end that wait.
Why this final means so much to McGinn
"On a personal level, for all the time I've been here, this is definitely the proudest moment," McGinn said. That is not just captain's talk. He also said he had pictured leading the team out, because the dream from the start of the season was to get to the final.
He pointed back to the European near-misses too. Villa fell short in the Conference League two seasons ago and again in the Champions League last season, but this time they have handled each round with the same respect they will give SC Freiburg. McGinn has also been in useful form, with 1 goal and 1 assist in his last 5 matches and a 7.5 average rating.
Villa's rise gives the story its edge
The bigger picture is Villa's climb. Seven years ago they were in a final to get into the Premier League, and now they are back in a European final with a real chance to lift a trophy. Their Europa League league phase was strong too, as they finished 2nd with 21 points from 8 matches, winning 7.
McGinn's own European numbers fit that rise. He has 11 appearances, 5 goals and 1 assist in the Europa League this season. He has 29 Premier League appearances, 5 goals and 4 assists as well, which shows he has not been doing this on one front only.
For Villa, this is a rare chance to turn a good season into something more permanent. For McGinn, it is the moment he has been talking about since the start of the campaign. If he leads them through it, the club's next European chapter starts with a trophy chance, and not a memory of the ones they missed.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →
