Soccer

Unai Emery wants Aston Villa to win Champions League opener in tribute to Gary Shaw

The 1982 European Cup winners make Champions League return in Bern on Tuesday

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery. Photograph: Bradley Collyer/PA Wire
Ben Fisher
Mon Sept 16 2024 - 19:09

Unai Emery has said Aston Villa plan to dedicate victory to Gary Shaw if they beat Young Boys in the Champions League after the 1982 European Cup winner died on Monday aged 63. Shaw fell seriously ill this month after being hospitalised with a head injury.

Shaw was part of a revered Villa side that won the First Division in 1981 and then the European Cup and European Super Cup. He is regarded as one of Villa’s greatest forwards and was the only local player in the team that beat Bayern Munich in Rotterdam in 1982.

On Tuesday, Villa return to the European football’s most prestigious club competition 41 years after they last played on the stage in the 1982-83 European Cup quarter-finals against Juventus, when Shaw featured. Emery, asked if Villa would like to dedicate victory to Shaw if they emerge victorious in Bern, replied: “Yes, yes, I think it’s sad and we can use it as another motivation.

“My condolences to the family and all the supporters at Aston Villa. We have a memory always: in our training ground we have a picture of 1982 and the European Cup [team]. He was one of the protagonists of that.”

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Villa travelled to the Swiss capital earlier than they normally would for a European away tie in order to train on the synthetic pitch at the Wankdorf Stadium on Monday evening. Emery insisted Villa, who will wear black armbands, could not use the pitch as an excuse.

“We are going to adapt,” the Villa manager said. “We changed a little bit our usual way for playing in Europe. Normally we have a training session in Birmingham and travel. But we decided to come to train here to know and to adapt for the synthetic pitch. We’re ready and we won’t use it as an excuse. I think we can play with the same personality like we do at home.”

Youri Tielemans said Villa did not want to make up the numbers in the Champions League, with glamour home ties against Bayern Munich, Juventus and Celtic in the coming months. “Maybe we are ahead of schedule in terms of the project and the plan, but we’ve had some really good performances last year, we achieved fourth place in the Premier League and now we’re here so we will try to make the most of it,” Tielemans said. “Now we want to carry on. We don’t only want to participate in this, we really want to make our mark in the competition.”

The Belgium midfielder said Villa acclimatising to the playing surface was important. “In our youth careers, we have all played on AstroTurf,” Tielemans said. “When you get used to Premier League pitches, good grass, it is different. That’s why we’re training here to get used to the surface and make sure it does not become an excuse.” – Guardian