The Aston Villa A to Z

Formed in 1874, Aston Villa are the fifth most decorated club in English football history. As well as 19 major domestic honours, including seven league championships, Villa are one of just five British clubs to have won the European Cup. This they achieved in 1982 under manager Tony Barton when Peter Withe scored the only goal of the game to defeat Bayern Munich. They followed this a year later with the European Super Cup, which was won with a two-leg victory over Spanish giants Barcelona. Over the years the club has featured many of the country’s leading players including Gareth Barry (385 appearances), Dwight Yorke (60 goals), England manager Gareth Southgate (who won 42 England caps while at the Villa) and Britain’s first £100 million player Jack Grealish who left to join Manchester City in the summer of 2021 but is still recognised as a Villa legend. In this illustrated A to Z gift book, superfan Simon Goodyear looks at the major events in the club’s history, including the sensational appointment of Steven Gerrard as manager in November 2021 who kicked off his reign with a 2-0 home win against Brighton.