The Aston Villa A-Z – The Best of the Villans

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.

Currently flying high under new manager Steven Gerrard the team has settled down following the departure of their talisman captain Jack Grealish, who became Britain’s first £100 million footballer when he joined Manchester City in the summer of 2020.

Over the years the club has featured many of the country’s leading players including Gareth Barry (385 appearances), Dwight Yorke (60 goals) and England manager Gareth Southgate (who won 42 England caps while at the Villa).

In this illustrated A to Z gift book, superfan Simon Goodyear (a director of the Supporter’s Trust) looks at the major events in the club’s history, the greatest matches and the legendary players including today’s superstars Tyrone Mings and Ollie Watkins.

It’s not hard to see why Prince William and Prime Minister David Cameron are both lifelong fans!