5 clubs you did not know were European club champions

#1 Aston Villa - 1982

Aston Villa beat the mighty Bayern Munich to win the European Cup in 1982

The club that finished 17th in the English top flight last season and lies in the relegation zone this year. The Birmingham-based club actually won the then European Cup in 1983 one year after winning their seventh (that is two more than Chelsea) and final English crown.

The Villans were managed by the wily Ron Saunders who was in his ninth year at the helm. The Midlanders trounced Icelandic club Valur 7-0 over two legs in the first round and scraped past East German Champions Dynamo Berlin on away goals in the second. But with Villa about to face Dynamo Kyiv in the quarter-finals, Saunders infamously quit the club over a contract dispute.

Up stepped assistant manager Tony Barton. Barton’s Villa got the better of the Ukranians and then saw off Anderlecht by a solo home goal to face European giants Bayern Munich in the final at the Feijenoord Stadium in Rotterdam.

Villa lost their first choice goalkeeper Jimmy Remmer inside the first ten minutes owing to an injury – but it proved to be a blessing in disguise as his replacement Nigel Spink, in only his second game for the side, produced an amazing performance to deny the Bavarians. With 67 minutes on the clock, Peter Withe beat Manfred Muller to give Villa the unlikely lead.

The Bayern side comprising of Rummenigge and Breitner could not find the equaliser and after both sides had a goal each ruled offside in the closing stages, the Villans went on to claim European glory. They would do an encore in the European SuperCup by beating Barcelona 3-1 on aggregate, but missed out on the chance to be crowned World champions when they lost 2-0 to Uruguayan Champions Penarol in the Intercontinental Cup.

The last time Aston Villa were involved in Europe was during the 2010-11 season where they lost to Austrian side Rapid Vienna in the playoff round of the Europa League.