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It Was What It Was : The Football History Podcast

Heroic Villains: Aston Villa's European Miracle

It Was What It Was : The Football History Podcast

The Overlap

History, Rob Draper, Jonathan Wilson, Football, It What Was What It Was, The Overlap, Football History, Premier League, Four Four Two, When Saturday Comes, English Football, The Blizzard, Stick To Football, Sports, Soccer

4.9667 Ratings

🗓️ 17 September 2024

⏱️ 68 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Welcome to the latest episode of The Overlap’s football history podcast, It Was What It Was.


As Aston Villa return to Champions League football this week, Jonathan Wilson and Rob Draper take a deep dive into the club's most iconic moment: their 1982 European Cup triumph.


It Was What It Was revisits this historic victory, made even more remarkable by the fact that manager Ron Saunders resigned midway through the season, leaving Tony Barton to step in and guide Villa to European glory.


Jonathan and Rob walk us through the unforgettable campaign, which saw Villa travel to Germany and Ukraine before defeating Bayern Munich 1-0 in the final. The win became even more legendary when first-choice goalkeeper Jimmy Rimmer was forced off with an injury, only for his inexperienced replacement, Nigel Spink, to step up and deliver a crucial performance in just his second-ever first-team appearance, cementing his place in Villa's history on one of the club’s greatest nights.


If you enjoyed the podcast, please hit subscribe to never miss an episode.


***Please note this episode was recorded before the death of the late Gary Shaw.***


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Transcript

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0:00.0

Thank you for listen to It Was What It Was, and this episode on Ashton Villa's European

0:04.5

Cup win in 1982, this is just a note to say that this episode was recorded a few days

0:10.5

before the tragic and untimely death of Gary Shaw, aged 63. Gary was a superb striker,

0:17.6

and this episode reflects what was surely his finest hour. Yeah, I think it's only right.

0:22.0

We acknowledge his death.

0:24.9

You know, he is a key part of this story.

0:26.8

We talk about it a lot.

0:28.3

He's maybe a player who deserves a bigger reputation than he had.

0:32.8

I think he was in the very early 80s, an extremely gifted player who people had great expectations

0:38.9

of unfortunately suffered an injury in September 83 and never really quite got back to what he was.

0:45.8

But in terms of the championship win, in terms of their European Cup win, he was absolutely key.

0:51.3

So hopefully this podcast can stand as some sort of memorial to him after his untimely passing

0:58.2

sure william is William is prepared to adventure down the left There's a good ball played in for Tony Morley.

1:13.0

Oh, it must be, and it is. Peterworth.

1:16.1

I'm Jonathan Wilson, I'm with Rob Draper. And that was Brian Moore's famous commentary

1:20.0

as Asson Villa won the 1982 European Cup final against Bayern Munich.

1:25.5

Today, I know what it was the football Football History podcast, as Asson Villa returned to

1:28.7

its premier competition after 42 years, we'd be looking back at Villa's triumphant run in

1:33.8

1981 to, at the height of English club's domination of the competition.

1:38.5

So, Rob, I understand this is actually your triumph.

1:41.5

There's a myth going around to Peter With scored the goal and Tony Morley put in the cross and people like Des Bremner and Gordon Cowens were crucial to it and Nigel Spink coming off the bench. But apparently this is all about you. So this is the untold story of Villars 82 European Cup success. Why don't you tell us why you're the man that it all depended upon? I might save that story to the end, but let me tease you. There are minor

2:05.5

characters. I am the person who lifted this European Cup at Villa Park for Aston Villa. But

...

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