Aston Villa play Ajax in the UEFA Europa Conference League on Thursday and it will represent the first meeting in more than 15-years between the two.
The Dutch giants play host to the Villains at the Johan Cryuff Arena on Thursday in the first leg of their European clash. More than 2,000 Villa fans are expected to descend on the capital of the Netherlands, in the hope of securing a victory against one of European football's most respected clubs.
Villa and Ajax have only met once competitively and that was on October 23, 2008. The format of European football was slightly different then and so there wasn't a home and away matches in the group stages, so they only played once.
Villa won the match 2-1 thanks to a winner from Gareth Barry after former Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen had cancelled out Martin Laursen's opener. Ajax had some names who would go on to play in England or be recognisable, such as Jan Vertonghen who played for Spurs, as well as Luis Suarez who was a hero at Liverpool. Klaas Jan-Hunterlaar played for Ajax that night too and at the time was considered one of Europe's best forards, but Villa were able to keep him at bay.
The group would end up with Hamburg topping things, Ajax finishing in second and Villa third. Villa played Russian outfit CSKA Moscow in the knockouts but lost 3-1 on aggregate, whilst Ajax would make it to the Round of 16 before losing to Marseille.
We're taking a trip down memory lane and have looked at the 13 players that featured against Ajax that night, having been chosen by then boss Martin O'Neil. Some players are still playing today in the Premier League, whilst others hold roles off of the pitch.
1. GK: Brad Friedel
Retired with Spurs in 2015. Became the head coach of the USA under-19's team and then had a stint at New England Revolution, but lasted just a couple of seasons.
2. RB: Luke Young
Retired from professional football in 2014. He's been living in Spain since retiring, and was looking to go in to player agency and player management, to help give guidance to younger players.
3. CB: Carlos Cuellar
Retired in 2019 with Israeli outfit Bnei Yehuda. Played in the Scottish Masters last year but not much has been said about him since he hung up his boots.
4. CB: Martin Laursen
Retired in 2009. He took a management job with BK Sollerod-Vedbaek in 2012, and since then has been working as a pundit in Denmark.