When Ron Saunders joined Aston Villa in 1974, the club had only recently been down in third tier of English football after a steady, decade-long decline. He put together a side that would go on to be one of the best in the country over the next few years.
Two League Cup wins were quickly achieved in 1975 and 1977 but the best was still to come. In 1980-81, as reigning champions Liverpool struggled to defend their title, Villa’s blend of exciting youth and experience brought an unlikely League Championship – the club’s seventh in total and first for 71 years – narrowly pipping Bobby Robson’s Ipswich Town.
Wearing this Umbro classic to glory, with its striped collar reminiscent of something the pupils of Grange Hill wore when they weren’t at school, were Villa heroes Peter Withe, Gary Shaw, Tony Morley and Dennis Mortimer.
Villa followed up their 1981 League triumph with their famous European Cup win over Bayern Munich in 1982 – this time without their claret and blue Umbro kit and manager Saunders, who had resigned his position just months earlier after falling out with notorious chairman, ‘Deadly’ Doug Ellis.
Classic Retro shirts now available at www.camporetro.com
