Aston Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans says club want to ‘make their mark’ in this season’s Champions League as 1982 winners gear up for first appearance in 41 years
- Aston Villa take on Young Boys in the Champions League on Tuesday evening
- The club won the trophy in 1982 but has not played for over 40 years
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Youri Tielemans has revealed that Aston Villa are dreaming of a team that can emulate the 1982 European Cup winners and compete in the competition for the first time in 41 years.
Villa will wear black armbands in memory of Gary Shaw, who died on Monday aged 63, when they take on Young Boys on their artificial turf pitch in Bern on Tuesday.
Shaw was part of the team that beat Bayern Munich in Rotterdam 42 years ago, having helped Villa win the title 12 months earlier.
In the renewed Champions League, all 32 teams play eight matches in one competition.
The top eight automatically qualify for the last 16, with the teams ranked 9th through 24th playing a two-leg play-off match to join them.
Youri Tielemans speaks ahead of his team’s Champions League match against Young Boys
Tielemans and his teammates trained at the Wankdorf Stadium on Monday ahead of the match
Although Villa are not among the favourites, manager Unai Emery’s European experience has given them confidence.
Tielemans said: ‘We don’t just want to participate in this competition. We want to distinguish ourselves.
‘There were always ambitious plans before I signed a year ago, that’s why I bought the project. Aston Villa may even be there sooner than expected.
‘Unai Emery mentioned the Champions League to me in the conversations before I signed. Qualifying was one of his goals when he joined the club, a really big goal for him, and now we have achieved that.’