Aston Villa have a treasured European history. Despite being away from the European scene for much of the past few decades, they are one of six English clubs to have won the European Cup. Now challenging for Europe more regularly these days, they could yet add to their continental trophy cabinet.
Villa have lifted a European trophy (of some description) on four separate occasions. Football FanCast has taken a look back at how they claimed continental silverware.
1982 European Cup
Unquestionably the biggest moment in the history of Aston Villa Football Club. They climbed to the peak of the European mountain, becoming just the fourth English side to do so.
They remain only one of six to lift the European Cup from these shores – achieving something that sides have spent decades (and a lot of money) striving to do.
This came during a true golden era for English football in Europe. Liverpool won the European Cup in 1977 and 1978. Nottingham Forest then won it the two years after that before Liverpool grabbed a third in 1981. Villa’s time was next, though, as they beat Bayern Munich in Rotterdam.
Villa claimed their European berth in the first place by winning the old First Division the year prior. Liverpool had finished a wayward fifth as the West Midlanders pipped Ipswich Town to the championship in what was their first title in over seven decades.
They did so with a grand total of 60 points – with only two points awarded for a win back in those days. Also catching the eye when looking back is West Brom finishing as high as fourth, while Chelsea were all the way down in 11th (of the Second Division).
With Liverpool winning the European Cup that year, England would have two participants in the tournament during 1981/82. The pair were on collision course for the final, though the Reds fell at the quarter-final stage.
Of course, the European Cup was a lot different back then, too. Villa merely had to navigate four two-legged ties plus the final to become the undisputed kings of Europe.
It would be no mean feat nevertheless, with the likes of Bayern Munich especially boasting a side awash with talent.
Villa coasted through the first round after coming up against Icelandic outfit Valur. Doubles from Peter Withe and Terry Donovan helped set the Claret and Blue on their way with a 5-0 first-leg victory, before Gary Shaw bagged a brace of his own in the return game.
The second round was a much tighter affair. East German side BFC Dynamo were their opponents, and although Villa were able to take a slender lead back to the second leg on home turf, they were made to hang on after falling behind early on at Villa Park.
Their 1-0 defeat was, however, enough to see them through to the quarter-finals, as another double – this time from Tony Morley in the first leg – ensured Villa progressed on away goals.
A tie with Dynamo Kyiv awaited in the last eight. Kyiv came into the contest with European pedigree intact – they had won the Cup Winners’ Cup just seven years prior and were no strangers to domestic silverware.
A goalless draw away from home left the tie finely poised heading into the decisive leg, but Villa’s defence remained firm and saw out a 2-0 success through goals from Shaw and Ken McNaught.
It meant a first-ever European semi-final for the club as they took a step closer to immortality.
Morley was the hero once again in the first leg, with Villa able to take the smallest of advantages to Belgium, as they faced an Anderlecht side already with two Cup Winners’ Cups under their belts in recent years.
They would go on to win the following edition of the UEFA Cup, so there is no knocking the size of the task that laid ahead for the Villans.
Another scoreless stalemate ensured their passage through to the final – where they would take on Bayern Munich, who were already three-time European champions at this point.
The German giants were also double-reigning Bundesliga champions and about to embark on a hugely dominating period domestically – a run since eclipsed by the current crop’s stretch of 11 straight titles.
They had also just dispatched CSKA Sofia – Liverpool’s conquerors – after coming from 3-0 down in the first leg to eventually prevail 7-4 on aggregate.
The likes of Paul Breitner and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge accounted for five of those goals between them, including a brace each as the Bulgarians were trounced 4-0 in the second leg at the Olympiastadion.
And so, to Rotterdam. Villa’s date with destiny had already seemed to have the odds stacked against them before losing goalkeeper Jimmy Rimmer to injury inside the first ten minutes.
Replacement Nigel Spink was a more than capable stand-in, as his saves were crucial to keeping Bayern at bay.
As the favourites probed to no avail, a foray forward into Munich territory saw Withe get the winner, writing himself forever into Villa’s history (and making up for the fact he’d actually left Forest during the season they won their first European Cup).
The trickery and cross from Morley pierced the Bayern defence, leaving Withe to tap home from inside the six-yard box. Dieter Hoeness would later see a goal chalked off for offside as Villa held on one last time to secure their place in folklore.
Even if Villa never repeat this success, they achieved something incredible here, and something that remarkably few European clubs can match.
Here’s a round-up of Villa’s path to European glory:
First round, first leg
Aston Villa 5-0 Valur
Morley, Withe (2), Donovan (2)
First round, second leg
Valur 0-2 Aston Villa
Shaw (2)
Second round, first leg
BFC Dynamo 1-2 Aston Villa
Riediger; Morley (2)
Second round, second leg
Aston Villa (a) 0-1 BFC Dynamo
Terletzki
Quarter-final, first leg
Dynamo Kyiv 0-0 Aston Villa
None
Quarter-final, second leg
Aston Villa 2-0 Dynamo Kyiv
Shaw, McNaught
Semi-final, first leg
Aston Villa 1-0 Anderlecht
Morley
Semi-final, second leg
Anderlecht 0-0 Aston Villa
None
Final
Aston Villa 1-0 Bayern Munich
Withe
1983 European Super Cup
While the journeys and achievements that followed pale in comparison to their triumph in Rotterdam, Villa weren’t done just yet when seeing off continental opponents.
Indeed, Villa rode the wave of their success to pick up a second European trophy that year. They faced Cup Winners’ Cup holders Barcelona across two legs in January 1983 – but were made to work for it.
Barcelona won the first leg in Catalonia thanks to a Marcos Alonso goal. Villa showed just how good they were, however, by rebounding to beat Barca back at home.
Gary Shaw scored the only goal in normal time but the visitors had gone down to 10 men on 50 minutes.
Villa took advantage of that in extra-time, as although both teams would lose a further man to red cards the European champions scored twice more. Gordon Cowans and McNaught found the goals to deliver the trophy.
2001 Intertoto Cup
The Intertoto Cup was a bizarre tournament that took place across pre-season and finished with a two-leg final in mid-August. It also had three winners per year (at least).
Villa would beat Basel in the final, having knocked out Slaven Belupo and Rennes in previous rounds. Paul Merson’s goal in Basel handed over an advantage in a 1-1 draw, with Darius Vassell, Juan Pablo Angel and David Ginola all scoring in a 4-1 home win in the second leg.
Villa won the trophy, then – as did Paris Saint-Germain and Troyes, if you were wondering.
2008 Intertoto Cup
This was the final year of the Intertoto Cup and it had actually gotten even stranger by this point. Villa technically won the competition – but they were one of 11 clubs that did so. Stay with us here.
Villa beat Odense 3-2 on aggregate in their ‘final’, which was also just sort of the third round. John Carew and Martin Laursen scored in Denmark as the sides drew 2-2. Ashley Young found the sole goal at Villa Park to wrap things up on aggregate.
And so that was enough for Villa to be named ‘winners’ of the competition as the Intertoto Cup ended there. The 11 winners were all then put into the UEFA Cup, where the team who went furthest would be named ‘overall winner’ of the Intertoto Cup.
Braga got that so-called honour as they reached the last 16 before losing to PSG. Villa fell one round short, losing to CSKA Moscow in the round of 32. Thus, technically, they weren’t the overall champion of the Intertoto Cup, but they do go down as a ‘co-winner’.
No, it isn’t quite the same as winning the European Cup.
Villa’s comfortable qualifying win over Hibernian means they’re already on the path to further success, and albeit within Europe’s third-string competition, emulating the triumph of West Ham United from last May would see them finally add to their European story, some 40-plus years after that night in Rotterdam.
Will the Conference League provide the Villans with another trophy? Time will tell, but the road to this year’s final in Athens starts now.
