Norwich City fans will love what Tim Krul has just said about Emi Buendia | OneFootball

The Argentine attacker received Player of the Match in the Europa League final

Former Norwich City star Emi Buendia took centre stage on Wednesday night as Aston Villa were crowned Europa League champions.

In truth, the Argentine became one of the most important players in European football throughout this season, scoring four goals and providing six assists in 15 appearances.

While tributes have poured in from everywhere in the hours since Villa's 3-0 win over Freiburg, one message in particular will have caught the eye of supporters at Carrow Road.

Norwich City fans will love what Tim Krul said about Emi Buendia

Taking to X in the aftermath of the final, another former Norwich player, goalkeeper Tim Krul, posted a heartfelt message celebrating his old teammate's crowning moment.

It read, "5 years ago winning the championship with @NorwichCityFC and now scoring the winner in the @EuropaLeague final," Krul wrote. "Congratulations @EM10Buendia."

The post included three pictures - one of the pair together at the match in Istanbul, one throwback image from their time together at Norwich, and one of the Europa League trophy itself.

With Aston Villa already ahead through Youri Tielemans' volley in the 41st minute, it was Buendia who effectively killed the contest on the stroke of half-time.

Receiving the ball from John McGinn on the edge of the area, he controlled it with his right foot and, with his very next touch, curled a stunning left-footed effort into the top corner from the edge of the box.

In the second half, Buendia turned provider for Morgan Rogers’ goal, so it’s no surprise the 29-year-old ended up receiving the official UEFA Player of the Match award.

How important Tim Krul and Emi Buendia were to Norwich City's 20/21 side

For Norwich City supporters, the sight of Krul celebrating Buendia's achievement will have surely stirred some very happy memories.

The pair were so important to the Canaries' dominant 20/21 Championship title-winning campaign, a season in which then-manager Daniel Farke guided his side to a remarkable 97 points and secured an immediate return to the Premier League.

Buendia finished that season with 15 goals and 16 assists in the Championship, the most assists of any player in the division. Krul, meanwhile, was putting together one of the finest goalkeeping seasons the Championship had seen in years.

As per FotMob, the Dutchman had 17 league clean sheets with a save percentage of 80.2%.

Norwich dominated the PFA Championship Team of the Year with six players included, with both Krul and Buendia named alongside Max Aarons, Grant Hanley, Oliver Skipp and Teemu Pukki.

Buendia, of course, left for Aston Villa that summer for a fee reported at around £38m including add-ons, and it's fair to say he'd more than proved himself at the highest level.