Aston Villa first played in the European competition in the mid-1970s when their legendary manager, Ron Saunders, was still in charge.
Aston Villa starts off their continental campaign in the UEFA Champions League this midweek. It is their second UCL in three years and the fourth continental competitions in a row since Unai Emery took charge of The Lions.
The Clarets and Blue have competed in all competitions in Europe from UEFA Cup, Cup Winners Cup, European Cup which then becomes Champions League and the most recently introduced one, UEFA Conference League. Their first one to qualify in history was not European Cup.
Aston Villa made their continental debut in the 1975/76 season. It was their first campaign in the top flight too after securing promotion in summer 1975 as well as lifting their second EFL League Cup in history. Thus, they qualified to compete in the UEFA Cup, the predecessor of the Europa League. At that time, it was UEFA’s third-tier competition after the European Cup and the Winners Cup.
The Lions knew their squad needed upgrading to do well on the continent. They soon hunted for some players to bolster their squad and managed to sign three names. Andy Grey joined from Dundee United in October 1975 for £110,000, followed by John Burridge from Blackpool and later Dennis Mortimer in December. He moved to Villa Park for £175,000.
Ron Saunders also promoted young players from their own youth side: John Deehan, John Overton and Gordon Cowans. The last one would eventually turn into one of the best academy players in the club’s history. He and Mortimer would also become part of Villa’s squad when they snatched the European Cup seven years later.
Villa began their campaign by taking on Royal Antwerp with young Louis Van Gaal in the squad in the first round. They were the league runner-up in the previous season. Charlie Aitken and Co had to visit Antwerp in the first leg. Unfortunately, they were hammered instantly in their first game. Guy Thys’ men ran rampant against the Midlands side in a 4-1 victory. They even already bagged four goals in the first half. Jos Heyligen opened the scoring from a free kick, followed by Karl Kodat’s hat trick. Villa could only net a consolation away goal in the 80th minute from Ray Graydon.
In the reverse fixture, Ron Saunders changed the starting XI, hoping they could put up a better fight and probably score more goals. The Lions did perform better with Brian Little, John Robson and Jake Findlay between the sticks instead of James Cumbes. Sadly, they remained the inferior side at the end of the game as Karl Kodat bagged another goal to put an end to their campaign prematurely.
Despite heading to the exit early in the continental campaign, Villa did not do well in the domestic competition either. They were also eliminated early in the third round for both the League Cup and the FA Cup. The Clarets and Blue also only finished in 16th place in the final standings. It was fairly satisfactory for the newly-promoted side but certainly degrading in the domestic cup.
Ron Saunders’ side eventually improved their campaign in the following season. They were able to sit in fourth place and clinch another League Cup title at the end of the season.
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