Aston Villa Football Club (commonly known as "Villa"), officially Aston Villa F.C., is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. The club's nickname is "The Villa".
In 1876, George Ramsey introduced the short passing tactic. In 1886, he became the first professional manager. In 1888, the club was one of the founding members of the Football League (William McGregor, a director, was a founder of the league). From 1890 to 1910, the club won the league title 5 times and the FA Cup 3 times, achieving a double in the 1896-97 season. It was the most successful club of the Victorian era.
In the 1930-31 season, 128 goals were scored, setting a record for the top league. In the 1980-81 season, Ron Saunders led the team to win the league championship for the 7th time. In the 1981-82 season, the team won the Champions League final 1-0 against Bayern Munich. The following year, they won the European Super Cup, becoming the fourth English team to win the Champions League.
Founded in 1992 as a member of the English Premier League, they won the League Cup in 1994 and 1996. Relegated in 2016, they returned to the Premier League in 2019. In 2022, Unai Emery took over as manager, and in the 2023-24 season, they finished fourth in the Premier League, returning to the Champions League after 41 years to continue their legendary journey.