Villa return to Champions League primed to ruffle feathers again

LONDON: Forty-two years after being crowned shock European champions, Aston Villa return to the Champions League ready to upset the established order again. Villa’s 1982 European Cup final triumph against Bayern Munich still ranks as one of the most remarkable conquests in the history of the competition.

Just five years ago, it was impossible for Villa fans to dream of repeating that kind of iconic victory with their team languishing in English football’s second tier. But, revitalised by boss Unai Emery since his arrival in 2022, Villa unexpectedly finished fourth in the Premier League last season to secure their first Champions League appearance since the 1982-83 campaign. Emery’s side make their long-awaited return to Europe’s elite club competition against Young Boys in Switzerland on Tuesday, before a mouth-watering reunion with Bayern at Villa Park on October 2.

As well as the Bayern clash, it is fitting that Juventus will visit on November 27 after the Italian side extinguished Villa’s last European Cup campaign in the 1983 quarter-finals. The explosion of joy which greeted confirmation of Villa’s Champions League qualification released decades of pent-up frustration at their steep decline since that epic shock victory against Bayern in Rotterdam.

Villa were holding their annual awards night in May when top four rivals Tottenham lost to Manchester City, triggering wild celebrations as Emery and his players sprayed champagne over each other.

“Nobody expected us to be there but we believed in ourselves and believed in our dream,” Villa defender Lucas Digne said, while team-mate Diego Carlos added: “After more than four decades we are back in the Champions League!”

Prince William, a noted Villa fan, gave the royal seal of approval, saying: “We are Champions League! A historic season and an amazing achievement.” Now Emery has to ensure Villa do not suffer the kind of hangover that haunted Newcastle last term, when their first Champions League campaign for 20 years ended in a group stage exit that derailed the rest of the season.

Emery has the track-record to suggest he will not be phased by juggling the exhausting demands of Premier League and Champions League action. The former Paris Saint-Germain and Sevilla boss will be managing his sixth club in the Champions League, having transformed Villa from relegation candidates into a Premier League force. But even a manager of Emery’s quality might struggle to emulate Villa’s astonishing march to European glory in 1982.