European Cup Final 1982
In winning their first League Championship for 71 years in 1980-81 little did Aston Villa realise what path to glory they had set themselves upon. That they won the 1982 European Cup Final, perpetuating English dominance for anther season, is a classic story of the triumph of hope over expectation. It was to be Villa's finest hour and high point in their history - a glance at the 1981-82 League table shows them finishing in 11th some thirty points behind the winners; and to look at the 1986-87 table would see them finishing bottom with just 36 points.
But no matter, the club's progression to the final could not be described as in any way easy. The first round game in Iceland was followed by two trips behind the Iron Curtain to see off the challenges of Dynamo Berlin and Dynamo Kiev before winning a close contest with Belgian Champions FC Anderlecht by an aggregate score of 1-0. And to cap it all, title winning manager Ron Saunders left the club after a contractual disagreement before the Kiev tie.
So to the set piece final against the mighty Bayern Munich in Rotterdam. Things started badly for Tony Barton's team as veteran 'keeper Jimmy Rimmer left the field after just 8 minutes, thus leaving reserve goalie Nigel Spink to face the might of the Germans' attack, including the great Karl-Heinze Rummenigge. However, Villa had a great of their own and after some super work on the wing by Tony Morley, Peter Withe rose to nod the ball past Manfred Muller to win the trophy for the Villa.
