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The 1981–82 English football season was Aston Villa's 82nd season in the Football League. In May 1982, just three months after being appointed manager, Tony Barton guided Villa to a 1–0 victory over Bayern Munich in the European Cup final in Rotterdam. As of December 2023, Villa remain one of only six English teams to have won the European Cup, along with Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest. They were the underdogs in the final and were expected to lose.[1]
1981–82 season | |
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![]() Aston Villa celebrating their historic European Cup victory | |
Chairman | ![]() |
Manager | (1) ![]() (2) ![]() |
Stadium | Villa Park |
First Division | 11th |
FA Cup | Fifth round |
League Cup | Fifth round |
European Cup | Winners |
Top goalscorer | League: Peter Withe (10 goals) All: Peter Withe (13 goals) |
38--28--25 | |
As defending First Division champions for the first time in 71 years, they qualified for the European Cup for the first time in their history. Their first game in the competition was against Valur of Iceland,[2] following by a second round clash with BFC Dynamo of East Germany, Dynamo Kiev of the Soviet Union in the quarter-finals and then Anderlecht of Belgium in the semi-finals before beating Bayern Munich of West Germany 1–0 in the Final in Rotterdam, with Peter Withe scoring the winning goal.
The season began with Ron Saunders, who had been the club's manager since 1974, still in charge, but he resigned on 9 February 1982 following a disagreement with the board over his contract. He had been in charge for nearly eight years, winning a league title and two League Cups in the process. His successor was his assistant manager Tony Barton, who had been in charge for three months by the time Villa won the European Cup.
First-team squad
edit- Squad at end of season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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First Division
editLeague table
edit
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
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9 | West Ham United | 42 | 14 | 16 | 12 | 66 | 57 | +9 | 58 | |
10 | Manchester City | 42 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 49 | 50 | −1 | 58 | |
11 | Aston Villa | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 55 | 53 | +2 | 57 | Qualification for the European Cup first round[a] |
12 | Nottingham Forest | 42 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 42 | 48 | −6 | 57 | |
13 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 42 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 43 | 52 | −9 | 52 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
Notes:
- ^ Aston Villa qualified for the European Cup first round as the 1981–82 European Cup winners.
European Cup
editFirst round
editFirst leg
editAston Villa | 5–0 | Valur |
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Morley 6' Withe 37', 68' Donovan 40', 69' |
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Second leg
editValur | 0–2 | Aston Villa |
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Shaw 25', 70' |
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Villa won 7–0 on aggregate.
Second round
editFirst leg
editBFC Dynamo | 1–2 | Aston Villa |
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Riediger 50' | Morley 5', 85' |
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Second leg
editAston Villa | 0–1 | BFC Dynamo |
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Terletzki 15' |
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2–2 on aggregate. Villa won on away goals rule.
Quarter final
editFirst leg
edit
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Second leg
editAston Villa | 2–0 | Dynamo Kiev |
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Shaw 4' McNaught 44' |
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Villa won 2–0 on aggregate.
Semi-final
editFirst leg
editAston Villa | 1–0 | Anderlecht |
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Morley 27' |
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Second leg
editAnderlecht | 0–0 | Aston Villa |
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Villa won 1–0 on aggregate.
Final
editAston Villa | 1–0 | Bayern Munich |
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Withe 67' |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Ward, Adam, p. 124
- ^ "40 years on: Villa begin European Cup campaign v Valur". Aston Villa Football Club. 16 September 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ Donovan was born in Liverpool, England, but qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in 1979.
- ^ "Berliner FC Dynamo 1-2 Aston Villa, 1981-82 European Cup, 21 Oct 1981". AVFC History.
- ^ "FC Dynamo Kyiv 0-0 Aston Villa, 1981-82 European Cup, 3 Mar 1982". AVFC History.