Have Aston Villa ever played in the Champions League? How Villa fared in 1982-83 European Cup - including squad and fixtures
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
As many of you may know by now, the 2024/25 season is a significant one for supporters of Aston Villa as it marks their first campaign in the European Cup since 1983 and their first time playing since the competition was rebranded into Champions League. On Wednesday, they host Bayern Munich in their first home game of the competition after kicked off their European campaign with victory over Swiss side Young Boys last month.
The rebrand in 1992 was more for commercial reasons but the competition slowly expanded the number of teams, with the 36 sides this year an increase of the 32 we have become accustomed too in recent years. Not only did Villa play in the 1982/83 European Cup, they also entered the competition as reigning champions. In the 1981/82 season, they defeated German giants Bayern Munich by a score of 1-0 to become the fourth English club to lift the coveted trophy - preceded by Liverpool, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdUnai Emery’s men have finally managed to replicate a fraction of their success from the early 1980s - but it remains to be see how far they will go in this year’s competition. In this piece, we’ll be taking a deep dive into Aston Villa’s last tilt at the Champions League trophy - we’ll be running through their squad and the fixtures in which they played during that year.
Aston Villa’s 1982/83 squad
Aston Villa’s full 1982/83 squad was as follows:
Goalkeepers: Jimmy Rimmer, Nigel Spink, Kevin Poole.
Defenders: Kenny Swain, Allen Evans, Brendan Ormsby, Ken McNaught, Mark Jones, Eamon Deacy, Colin Gibson, Pat Heard, Gary Williams.
Midfielders: Alan Curbishley, Andy Blair, Ray Walker, Dennis Mortimer, Des Bremner, Gordon Cowans, Paul Birch, Mark Walters, Tony Morley.
Forwards: Gary Shaw, Peter Withe, David Geddis, Robert Hopkins.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdAston Villa’s 1982/83 European Cup campaign
Back in 1982/83, the European Cup was a straight knockout competition, with games played over two legs - there were no group or league stages during this era of the competition.
In the first round, Villa took on Besiktas, who were the reigning champions of the Turkish league at the time. In the first leg, which took place at Villa park, the Villans ran out of 3-1 winners - Tony Morley, Peter Withe and Dennis Mortimer scored first half goals to seal the deal. Besiktas were unable to stage a comeback in the away leg, as the tie petered out with a 0-0 draw at the BJK İnönü Stadium.
As such, Villa progressed through to the second round, where Villa were drawn against Dinamo București. They travelled to Bucharest in the first leg, with Gary Shaw scoring two goals to seal a 2-0 win. In the second leg at Villa Park, Shaw this time netted a hattrick, with Mark Walters adding a fourth late on.
Dinamo tried to fight back with goals from Gheorghe Mulțescu and Pompiliu Iordache, but Villa ran out as deserved winners. This would be Villa’s last victory in the European Cup until they defeated Young Boys this year.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdVilla faced a daunting task in the quarter finals, as they took on Juventus. The Italians drew first blood in the first minute, when Paolo Rossi found the back of the net - Gordon Cowans would equalise in the second half, only for Zbigniew Boniek to net the winner and give Juve a major advantage going into the second leg.
At Juventus, took control of the tie - Michel Platini scored twice, with Marco Tardelli adding a third. Villa attempted to stage a valiant comeback, as Peter Withe scored a late goal, but it was too little, too late.