Aston Villa football club is a professional sports team based in Birmingham, England and they currently play in the Barclays Premier League, which is widely regarded as one of the best club competitions in the world. Aston Villa is also one of the oldest football clubs in the world having been formed officially back in 1874, thus making them 134 years old. During these years, they have won many trophies and accomplished many aspects of the game to be regarded as a big club when it comes to football. Aston Villa also have the history of being one of the founding members of the Football League back in 1888.
Apart from the distinction of having been part of starting the Football League in 1888, Aston Villa were also involved in starting the Premier League era in 1992. During the 134 years, Aston Villa has won many titles including seven Championship titles, which places them in the legion of clubs like Manchester United, Liverpool, and Arsenal. Only four clubs from England have won the prestigious European Cup and Aston Villa is one among them, which says a lot about the history and the prestige of this club based in central England, although sadly the chances of them becoming Champions of Europe again this season aren’t great.
In the overall rankings when it comes to titles won, Aston Villa currently rank in the fourth position just behind Manchester United, Liverpool, and Arsenal. Aston Villa is also one of the few clubs to have stayed in the Premier League since its inception in 1992. The club is also quite famous for its claret and blue home strip, while the Golden Lion in the club’s crest is also an icon. Only three major clubs are present in Birmingham – Aston Villa, Birmingham City, and Wolverhampton Wanderers – but Aston Villa share an intense rivalry with Birmingham City.
It is also one of the oldest derbies in the world and it has been played since 1879. Currently, Aston Villa play in the Villa Park, which is recognised as one of the best stadiums in England. The consistent number of international matches that it hosted during the rebuilding work carried out at Wembley is a testament to this fact. The Stadium holds 42,786 people at any given moment, thus putting it in the top even on attendance figures.
The club switched to foreign hands in 2006 when American Randy Lerner purchased the club from Doug Ellis. It also marked a significant change in the history of the club, with the crest changed in 2007 to mark this occasion. Apart from the European Cup, the club has also won the European Super Cup and the Intertoto Cup once. They have also been successful domestically, with trophies like the FA Cup, League Cup, FA Community Shield, and the Football League War Cup joining hands to demonstrate the rich history of the club. Aston Villa’s ‘Hall of fame’ includes many notable players – Gordon Cowans, Peter Withe, Peter McParland, and Eric Houghton – from the past.