Champions of Europe - Aston Villa's night of glory

Listening to Billy Connolly done headphones, Nigel Spink had nary thought what was astir to happen.

The 23-year-old goalkeeper had played conscionable erstwhile for Aston Villa - much than 2 years antecedently - and had nary anticipation to diagnostic successful the biggest crippled successful the club's history.

It was quiescent connected the autobus travelling to look Bayern Munich successful the 1982 European Cup last successful Rotterdam, players wrapped successful their ain thoughts and listening to their caller gifts.

"I retrieve everybody being successful their caller suits, looking large and listening to euphony connected our caller Sony Walkmans," recalls Spink. "It was unbelievable. Sony had fixed america a Walkman each - the old-fashioned, cassette-driven 1 - for reaching the final.

"I had a Billy Connolly cassette due to the fact that I retrieve uncontrollable laughter - helium conscionable makes maine laugh.

"Psychology didn't spell that heavy backmost then, it was much that's what I fancied. I wasn't reasoning 'Oh yeah, that volition unbend me', due to the fact that I wasn't nervous. I didn't deliberation I'd get connected [the pitch] truthful determination were nary nerves to beryllium had."

Yet, aft 9 minutes, goalkeeper Jimmy Rimmer's enarthrosis wounded forced him disconnected and Spink came on, playing for the archetypal clip since a 2-1 decision astatine Nottingham Forest connected 26 December successful 1979.

"For a fewer minutes determination was the hullabaloo of getting maine on, but the crippled restarted and I conscionable didn't deliberation astir it. It was a adust nighttime and the gloves felt bully connected the ball," helium tells BBC Sport.

And successful the 67th infinitesimal Spink watched from 1 extremity arsenic Peter Withe converted Tony Morley's transverse for the victor - with Brian Moore's commentary connected the extremity emblazoned connected a banner crossed the North Stand astatine Villa Park celebrating the 1-0 triumph.

Spink, who went connected to marque 468 appearances for Villa, said: "I didn't realise helium was six yards retired but I did know, due to the fact that that was the extremity we warmed up in, it had a small dip of 2 to 3 inches wherever the writer had been worn away.

"As it came connected to his close ft it bobbled successful that dip and that's wherefore helium gets his limb pulled for scoring with his shin."

On Wednesday, Villa big Bayern Munich astatine the apical array of European shot again.

A 3-0 triumph astatine Young Boys opened Villa's Champions League run successful style, but the six-time champions are a antithetic proposition. Vincent Kompany's broadside are unbeaten this play and enactment put 9 goals past Dinamo Zagreb past month.

The crippled volition beryllium tinged with sadness aft the death of Gary Shaw, the 63-year-old passing distant aft a autumn astatine home.

The 1982 squad person been invited to Villa Park to people their European triumph, but fashionable and talented striker Shaw volition beryllium missing.

Shaw scored doubly successful the 2-0 first-round second-leg triumph astatine Valur successful Iceland, and netted the opener successful the 2-0 quarter-final aggregate triumph implicit Dynamo Kyiv.

The Kyiv necktie came conscionable a period aft manager Ron Saunders quit, pursuing a disagreement with the board, and main scout Tony Barton taking implicit for the remainder of the season.

He had the spot of the squad, who recognition him with maintaining the continuity.

"I didn't spot it coming. I wasn't alert of the underlying occupation Ron had with the board," said Spink. "He wanted to make the squad from winning the title [in 1981] and instrumentality it further. It conscionable didn't enactment out.

"He decided helium was going to spell and it was a brave decision, fixed what we went connected to win.

"It was a daze erstwhile helium left, but Tony kept everything ticking along. Senior players played their portion arsenic well, keeping everybody successful check, and Tony conscionable continued to bid and acceptable the squad up, conscionable arsenic Ron had. That's wherefore it didn't each autumn apart."

Saunders, who had guided them to the rubric conscionable 9 months before, was missed though.

"I went astir to his house," says right-back Kenny Swain. "We'd played a midweek crippled and connected the mode backmost I bought a vessel of brandy from this nine we'd beryllium successful and I thought I'd driblet it successful connected the mode home.

"So we get a taxi to adjacent his house, I walked down his thrust and I enactment a small enactment connected it saying: 'Thank you for everything.'"

Swain did not perceive back, though saw Saunders a fewer times successful the future, but the pressing contented became that nighttime successful Rotterdam.

Villa were underdogs, portion Bayern already had 3 European Cups successful their furniture and fewer gave Barton's boys a chance.

"There was a absorption and a content that you're going to person to beryllium peculiar to bushed us," said Swain, who near a fewer months aft the triumph to articulation Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest.

"Personally, I felt astatine my peak. We were truthful hard to bushed and truthful finely tuned for these games. After Ron left, the focus, the consistency, the tone and the content didn't alteration astatine all.

"They produced a mates of scares but I vividly retrieve 1 infinitesimal down our left. They managed to get a transverse successful and, due to the fact that I was retreating backmost towards our goal, I ended up conscionable extracurricular the six-yard box.

"This shot flew implicit maine and I saw Karl-Heinz Rummenigge - helium looked similar an acrobat. He jumped and did this overhead kick. I conscionable watched it flash past the station and Nigel and I were looking astatine each different thinking: 'This is antithetic gravy.'"

Yet Villa held connected to constitute their names successful the past books.

Spink said: "It was unbelievable due to the fact that it was astir intolerable to instrumentality successful what we had conscionable achieved.

"I retrieve looking implicit and Bayern were shell-shocked. They were each sitting connected the transportation perfectly stunned."

Swain agrees, having besides stumbled connected the crestfallen Bayern dressing country connected his mode retired of De Kuip.

"Looking astatine the enormity of the juncture and the achievement, I was walking on the corridor and the doorway of the Munich dressing-room doorway was somewhat ajar," helium said.

"I could spot determination was idiosyncratic inactive successful determination and determination were kits and socks connected the dressing-room floor. It was Rummenigge and the skipper [Paul Breitner] sitting unneurotic with their heads successful their arms, looking down.

"They some looked up successful shock, truthful I said: 'Hello, champion of luck - possibly spot you adjacent year' and they were perfectly desolate. These were 2 of the starring players successful Europe.

"There's maine conscionable innocuously opening the doorway and past seeing these 2 sitting there, conscionable these 2 large Munich stars.

"The accomplishment is successful the past books and tin ne'er spell away. While you inactive bask beingness connected this earth, it is unbelievable for the nine and each player. It was a infinitesimal to savour."