The final flourish was missing at the end of a superb UEFA Europa League campaign. The trophy went to Aston Villa, but a sense of pride remains strong at SC Freiburg. “It was a special journey with a special team. We achieved something great, even if we couldn’t take the final step,” said head coach Julian Schuster after the defeat in the Europa League final.

Nevertheless, SC Freiburg delivered a highly convincing European campaign. The matches at the Europa-Park Stadion against KRC Genk in the round of 16 and the second leg of the semi-final against Sporting Braga stood out in particular. Three players also especially impressed throughout the season in Europe. The UEFA Technical Observer Group selected the Team of the Season and included two Freiburg players in the XI. Maximilian Eggestein, who only missed one match due to a suspension, the first leg of the round of 16 in Genk, impressed the panel, as did Matthias Ginter. The central defender scored twice, provided two further assists, and was a consistently reliable presence at the heart of Freiburg’s defence.

A special distinction also went to Johan Manzambi. The 20-year-old was named “Revelation of the Season”, recognising his outstanding performances throughout the Europa League campaign, in which he scored twice and registered two assists. In addition to his goal in the second leg of the semi-final against Sporting Braga, the jury were also impressed by the 33 shots he put up across all matches. The “Revelation of the Season” award is given to players under the age of 21 and was introduced following the 2021/22 season, when Eintracht Frankfurt won the UEFA Europa League. Since then, four Bundesliga players have received the honour. Before Manzambi, UEFA selected Florian Wirtz (2023 and 2024) and Ansgar Knauff (2022) as the best young players in the competition.