Emi Martinez drew a massive cheer when the teams were read out before Aston Villa's Europa League final against Freiburg, while Unai Emery also got a huge reception as the lineups were announced for the match due to kick off at 8pm BST. For a moment, the noise from the Villa end said as much about the occasion as any pre-match analysis could.
Emery had spent the buildup insisting Villa would keep their attention fixed on their own game plan and identity. In the live blog, he said the side had gone through a normal routine: analyse their own performance, analyse the opponent, respect them a lot, and then focus completely on their game-plan, personality and identity. He added that the travelling supporters were part of why the day felt special and said the players on the bench had to make a good impact because Villa had options.
The weight of that message sat alongside a more immediate concern. Ben Fisher reported that Martinez had gone down the tunnel, and Villa goalkeeping coach Javi Garcia spent a couple of minutes taping one of the Argentine's fingers. Martinez later had his glove back on and was practising claiming crosses from coaches and the other goalkeepers, a reassuring sight for a side that does not need any fresh uncertainty in the most important game of the season.
That is because Villa have been here before, and not always comfortably. Their history in European finals includes a goalkeeper problem in 1982, when Jimmy Rimmer went into the European Cup final with a sore neck after taking a whack in training a couple of days earlier. Rimmer lasted nine minutes before 23-year-old Nigel Spink replaced him, a reminder that even the smallest fitness worry can become a story when silverware is on the line.
For Villa, the tension before kickoff was not only about the opponents or the occasion, but whether Martinez would be fully ready to carry the role Emery usually asks of him. The signs before the final whistle were encouraging, yet the brief trip down the tunnel was enough to keep everyone around the team watching his hand, his glove and every warm-up catch a little more closely than they otherwise would have done.
In a live blog built around the moments before kickoff, that is the picture that mattered most: Villa arriving with belief, their manager demanding discipline, and their goalkeeper easing back into action after a small scare. What happens next depends on whether the routine Emery described can survive the pressure of a final where even a taped finger can feel bigger than it looks.
