Beşiktaş Villa fan's joy at cup final ticket

A self-described Aston Villa obsessive, who lives a stone's throw away from the Istanbul stadium where the team will play in the Europa Cup, has described his joy at getting a ticket for the game.

Jamieson Hill, originally from Malvern in Worcestershire, moved to Beşiktaş in Turkey in 2014 after meeting and falling in love with his wife, Şeyda Hill.

"I fell in love with a Turkish lady in Birmingham. I proposed in a Mexican burrito café at Birmingham New Street station. And four months later I moved here and my life changed forever."

Despite living near the stadium he still feared he would not be able to get a ticket to Wednesday's final. Luckily, a friend came forward and helped him out.

Villa are set to play Bundesliga side SC Freiburg on Wednesday.

Discussing his love for Villa, Hill described himself as an "absolute Villa obsessive".

"I absolutely watch every game of Villa," he said. "The worst is when it's the transfer window. I check the news 10 times a day, I'm like a statto of transfer news.

"I absolutely love Villa news, the games and Villa never feel far away. Even though it's 2,000km away, it feels like the centre of my existence."

Tickets were highly prized for Villa fans. The club got an allocation of 10,758 seats - less than a quarter of Villa Park's 42,640 capacity.

Hill said he almost cried when he got a ticket.

"I never cry in front of people, but I have a mate who knows I've been through a hard time, my mum's been really ill, and yesterday a ticket appeared, VIP hospitality and I just can't believe it," Hill said.

"It's like if Carlsberg made something happen. I've lived here 12 years and the team that I've loved all my life is now going to be playing 10 minutes walk away."

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