Fixtures
- Aston Villa Vs. FC Bayern München – Wed, Oct 2nd 2024, 20:00
Dennis Mortimer believes Aston Villa “have got every chance” when they face Bayern Munich on Wednesday night – just like his European Cup-winning side of 1982.
Villa’s captain from that memorable night in Rotterdam sat down with The Official Aston Villa Podcast ahead of our UEFA Champions League encounter.
Peter Withe’s 67th-minute strike proved the difference in the final 42 years ago, with Mortimer lifting the trophy to the sky to mark the club’s most famous night.
Speaking to The Official Aston Villa Podcast, Mortimer recalls his younger days, joining Villa, making his debut, his career in claret and blue, becoming captain and securing silverware.
The midfielder, among other glorious moments, reflects on our First Division title-winning campaign and the club’s 1982 European Cup triumph, including the final against Bayern.
Wednesday’s clash at Villa Park will be only the second-ever meeting between the two clubs.
And Mortimer said: “I think they (the current squad) have got every chance, like we did.
“You can’t go into a game thinking ‘it’s Bayern Munich’. They’re a great team, they’ve got great tradition, the number of times they’ve been in the semi-finals, number of times they’ve won it.
“They’re one of the great clubs of Europe.
“But, what I find about Aston Villa at the moment, is they had a great season last season, they were phenomenal in the way they played.
“That’s all down to the manager because he brought a system into that team which has really complemented the players themselves and their attributes.
“That system is there because he’s identified the players, he’s put them in there and they’ve worked it for him.
“They know exactly what they need to do, exactly like we did; we had a team and we knew what we had to do.
“I think what Unai Emery has done, he’s given them a real focus on the football pitch on how to play the game of football.”
The Official Aston Villa Podcast is here!
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