Foxes to Repeat Villa's Heroics of 1982!
Foxes to Repeat Villa’s Heroics of 1982
With Claudio Ranieri’s East Midlands Italian Job a distant memory and Shakespeare’s classic performance in putting Seville to the sword fresh in mind, Leicester supporters eagerly await the forthcoming quarter final clash with Atletico Madrid on the ultimate stage!
This would be an opportune moment to draw parallels with the crisis experienced by another midlands club thirty-five years ago, when turmoil within the club’s hierarchy threatened to upset the European apple cart.
Aston Villa under the stewardship of the wily Ron Saunders, using only 14 players, very much against the odds, became Champions of England in May 1981. As was the custom, Villa would represent England in next season’s European Cup, which ironically was the real champions league, restricted to league title winners across the continent. Another twist of irony was the fact that in those days, English clubs could mix it with the best that Europe had to offer. Indeed, as Aston Villa commenced in their quest to conquer Europe, the benchmark set by previous representatives was intimidating to say the least, with either Liverpool or Nottingham Forest having claimed the huge trophy, both in size and stature, the previous five years!
Eight games against Europe’s cream of the crop would take Villa to the final in Rotterdam and an eagerly awaited clash with the might of West German football, Bayern Munich. In the first round Valur Reykjavik were easily despatched 7-0 on aggregate, but East German outfit Dynamo Berlin proved a tough nut to crack at the next hurdle. However, a brace of goals from the highly rated Tony Morley in the away leg proved priceless, since the midlanders lost the home leg 1-0, but advanced courtesy of the away goals rule.
With Craig Shakespeare’s performers having advanced to the last eight, it has taken them twice the number of games, required of Saunder’s troops to reach the same stage. Club Brugge, Copenhagen and Porto have been dispatched, as well as highly rated Seville. Ironically, it was a Spanish side in the shape of Atletico Madrid who upset the Filbert Street apple cart in the 1961-’62 European Cup Winners Cup and 1997-’98 UEFA Cup. Could this be third time lucky for the Foxes?
When the quarter finals came to pass and a formidable test against Dynamo Kiev, the much- respected Ron Saunders had departed following a dispute with one of the club’s major shareholders, Ron Bendall. The defending champions, languishing in 17thspot just above the relegation zone, turned to chief scout Tony Barton to steady the ship. In the league, Villa would win 7 of their next 12 games.
The harsh winter in Kiev, resulted in the quarter-final first leg being moved 300 miles south to the Crimean city of Simferopol. Thanks to outstanding rear-guard performances by Des Bremner, Ken McNaught and skipper Dennis Mortimer, an outstanding goal-less draw was secured. On the night when mighty Liverpool were dumped out of the competition by CSKA Sofia, goals by Shaw and McNaught sent Aston Villa into the last four.
Belgian champions Anderlecht failed to score against Barton’s men in the semi-finals and a solitary goal by the diminutive Tony Morley in the home leg, proved decisive. Villa supporters could now book their tickets for the ultimate test in Rotterdam.
Few people gave them any chance against a Bayern Munich side containing such stars as Klaus Augenthaler, Paul Breitner and Karl-Heins Rumenigge. What little chance they had seemed to evaporate after only nine minutes when first choice goal-keeper Jimmy Rimmer, nursing a secret injury had to call it a day, and hand over the custodian duties to the inexperienced Nigel Spink, with only one previous first team outing to his name. However, the 23 year-old ‘keeper would rise to the occasion, and having absorbed intense German pressure, cometh the hour cometh the man, when the stalwart Peter Withe, who had tasted previous European glory with Nottingham Forest, netted the winner to send Villa supporters into dreamland!
Just like Ron Saunders’ side, Leicester City had been dragged into the relegation dog-fight, when Ranieri was given his marching orders and the new manager Craig Shakespeare has enjoyed a reversal of fortunes in the league, very much similar to Tony Barton, when he took over at the helm.
With the possibility of a repeat of last season’s heroics in the league, long since dead and buried, success in Europe seems to be their only salvation. In 1982 it was Villa forward Tony Morley’s goals that ultimately proved decisive. Thirty- five years later, another forward in the shape of Jamie Vardy and his priceless goal in Seville, could be the catalyst in propelling the Foxes into the last four!
And who’s to say in this crazy period of the rearranging of world order, that Leicester City will not repeat last year’s miracle, at the top table of European football, cometh the final in Cardiff, with the possibility of the cream of Spanish football, Real Madrid, experiencing the final act of a Shakespeare classic!
Aled Evans
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