1981–82 season of Aston Villa
Aston Villa 1981–82 football season
Second City Derby Football team season
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]
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
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.
First Division
League table
Source:
World Football Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
Notes:
European Cup
First round
First leg
Second leg
Villa won 7–0 on aggregate.
Second round
First leg
Second leg
2–2 on aggregate. Villa won on away goals rule.
Quarter final
First leg
Second leg
Villa won 2–0 on aggregate.
Semi-final
First leg
Second leg
Villa won 1–0 on aggregate.
Final
See also
References
National teams
League competitions
Levels 1–4 Level 5 Levels 6–7 Levels 8–9
Isthmian League (Two )
Athenian League (level 8 only)
Cheshire County League (One , Two )
Combined Counties League (Eastern , Western ) (level 8 only)
Town & Country League (level 8 only)
Essex Senior League (level 8 only)
Hellenic League (Premier , One )
Kent League (level 8 only)
Lancashire Combination (level 8 only)
London Spartan League (Premier , Senior )
Midland Football Combination (level 8 only)
Midland League (Premier , One )
Northern League (level 8 only)
South Midlands League (Premier , One )
Sussex County League (One , Two )
United Counties League (Premier , One )
West Midlands (Regional) League (level 8 only)
Western League (Premier , One )
Yorkshire League (One , Two )
Cup competitions
FA cups Football League cups
European competitions