Aston Villa hasn’t hosted a match in the Champions League for 41 years, but that changes on Wednesday when they play against Bayern Munich. “I didn’t think I’d see it again. It’s fantastic,” said Villa fan Stephen Morley, who is 63 years old.
The last time Villa played a home game in the European Cup was back in 1983 when they were the defending champions. In recent years, Villa’s spot in the top tier of English soccer hasn’t been secure.
As recently as 2019, the team, which has won the English championship seven times, was in the second division, having spent three years away from the Premier League. In 2022, they faced the risk of being relegated again, but the hiring of Unai Emery changed their luck and reignited hope among the fans.
“It’s been a long time since Champions League nights at Villa Park — everyone is excited and looking forward to it,” said striker Ollie Watkins on Tuesday. “Playing Champions League football for Villa is the best it can get really.”
These are exciting times for a club that last fought for the domestic title in the 1992-93 season and was last crowned champion in 1981, which allowed them to enter the European Cup.
At that time, the competition was a knockout format with only the champions from each country and the current European Cup holders.
Against the odds, Villa managed to win 1-0 against Bayern, who had already won the title three times, in the final held in Rotterdam, even after their title-winning manager Ron Saunders left midway through the season.
Morley, who has been a fan since then, was just 21 and among about 13,000 Villa fans who traveled from England to the Netherlands. He remembers the trip by bus and ferry and how hot it was in Rotterdam in May, as well as the wild celebrations after Peter Withe scored the winning goal.
“It was just crazy. We couldn’t believe it because you’re playing against a team of that caliber,” he recalled. “When you’re 21, you don’t realize what an achievement it was, and I don’t think I really took in the significance of winning the European Cup until later.”
The trip back home went through Germany before arriving in Birmingham, where fans filled the streets to welcome the winning team.
“I remember sitting in a little café at six in the morning, drinking,” said Morley. “The next day, I went to Birmingham when they brought the cup back into the city center. It was a proper celebration.”
“There’s six of us that went, and only three of us are alive now.” Villa’s last home game in the European Cup was against Juventus in 1983, where they lost 2-1 in the first leg before being eliminated in the quarterfinals.
Morley still holds a season ticket and will be at Villa Park on Wednesday for the first game against Bayern since the final.
He believes Emery is responsible for the club’s amazing turnaround. “He’s without a doubt the best coach we’ve ever had at Villa,” he said. “He’s just a tactical genius. He has every answer.”
When Emery was hired in October 2022, Villa was only three points above the relegation zone. He helped the team finish seventh that year and in his first full season, led them to fourth place, earning a spot in the Champions League.
To put that into perspective, Villa had finished 14th, 11th, and 17th in the three years prior after being promoted back to the Premier League.
The positive momentum under Emery is still going this season, and only a 2-2 draw with Ipswich on Sunday kept fifth-place Villa from moving up to second in the league.
“We’ve got a manager that we trust — he’s been there and experienced it all. He always keeps us focused on the next game and what needs to be done,” Watkins said.
Emery has coached teams like Valencia, Spartak Moscow, Sevilla, Paris St-Germain, and Villarreal in the Champions League.
