Villa's long wait brings win over Bayern and memories of 1982 - ESPN

BIRMINGHAM, England — The echoes of history were inescapable on Wednesday at Villa Park. After a 41-year wait to return to top-level European football, Aston Villa's 1-0 win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League repeated the scoreline which secured their sole European Cup triumph on May 26, 1982.

Just like that memorable night in Rotterdam, where Peter Withe scored the most famous goal in the club's history over the German giants, Villa were outplayed for periods of the match and had to weather several storms, but they struck against the run of play to secure another famous victory as striker Jhon Durán wrote his name into folklore.

Villa's 1982 triumph is immortalised all around the stadium: a quote of the commentary for Withe's winning goal hugs the top of the Doug Ellis Stand, while the PA system blared out The Beautiful South's «Rotterdam» moments before the teams walked out on Wednesday.

It was always going to be an emotional evening given that one of the 1982 squad, striker Gary Shaw, passed away on Sept. 16. Memories of Shaw were everywhere: William McGregor's statue was covered in tributes, Shaw's name was included at the foot of the Villa team in the match programme, and a seat was reserved for him in the press room.

Ahead of kickoff, fans of all ages along Trinity Road were wearing their 1982 commemorative jerseys. One fan even wore the same beer-soaked top he had on in Rotterdam all those years ago — he said it has been cleaned since, but the stains suggested it has stories to tell.

For Villa supporters whose memory stretches back that far — including Prince William, who was in attendance on Wednesday — there are two dates etched into their minds: the win over Bayern in 1982, but also their last European