Inter Milan 1994. Big Ron's last hurrah

[Pat McMahon]

on TV and club football its the only time i have ever heard a commentator and his sidekick both shout "YESSS!!!" when the home nation team won. in our case after that penalty shoot out. Parry and Keegan were totally on Villa's side and some of the commments particularly towards the end of the game and the shootout were very funny and cool - especially from Alan Parry.

Don't forget Keegan was doubly chuffed as it was a Thursday night game and we played his Newcastle 2 days later.

For a while I thought of him as our lucky commentator - IIRC he was the expert for the 1994 league cup semi and final plus the above Inter
tie.

[ZhongYi]

yeah Pat ! and Alan Parry did quite a few Villa games in the early 90s, he was a decent commentator, some really witty remarks too - that Inter game had more than a few.

[ACVilla]

Saturday Night by Whigfield was at No.1 in the singles charts at the time.

Now people of certain age will have that tune going round their head for hours

I was of a certain age where I found Whigfield, ahem, interesting to look at.

[Deano's Mullet]

Brian Moore covered the final

[ez]

[tomd2103]

1990 and 94 were both great but 1994 edges it for me - I preferred BFR's team even though it was on the decline and we actually won the tie whereas the 2-0 in 1990 is tainted by the fact we actually lost in the end. Nothing will top Kent Nielsen's goal though.

I would have to go with the game in 90, simply because of the quality of the side we not only beat but totally outplayed that night.  I would also probably go with it for a more sentimental reason, in that it was the first season I had seen Villa play in Europe due to the ban on English clubs.  I can't split that and the Tranmere 2nd leg as my favourite ever Villa game.   

[Neil Hawkes]

https://youtu.be/3CJ06T2fUUc

For those who always mock Villa Park for having no atmosphere, that night proved that when we click, it's as raucous as anywhere.

I don't have any recollection of the 1990 game, but 94 was a brilliant night.  How cool and calm was Phil King?  Amazing to think he hardly played for us again after that.

Sent shivers down my spine, thanks for that.

[KevinGage]

Aye, that Inter Milan team in 1990 had half the Italian national side and three German internationals in it.

The 1994 side was still decent - I think they had won the UEFA Cup the previous season - but they were struggling in the league.

[tomd2103]

Aye, that Inter Milan team in 1990 had half the Italian national side and three German internationals in it.

The 1994 side was still decent - I think they had won the UEFA Cup the previous season - but they were struggling in the league.

The Inter Milan team that night:

Walter Zenga, Sergio Battistini, Giuseppe Bergomi, Riccardo Ferri, Andreas Brehme, Lothar Matthäus, Nicola Berti, Paolo Stringara, Fausto Pizzi, Jürgen Klinsmann, Aldo Serena

Goodness knows what that team would be worth now, as in Brehme, Matthaus and Klinsmann they had three players who had just won the World Cup a few months earlier and were easily among the best players in the world in their respective positions. 

I was only ten at the time, but I remember the footage on Central News of them arriving at the airport and a picture in one of the papers of Klinsmann standing alone on an empty Holte End.  The atmosphere was electric that night and the only real shame was that Inter didn't bring many fans and the bottom of the North Stand was practically empty, when there could have been more Villa fans there.   

[PeterWithesShin]

Yeah they had the whole of the Lower North and brought about 20 fans. I remember there being rumours around the ground just before KO that they'd been kicking off in town, so were expecting there to be hundreds of them. They didn't being many more for the second game.

[KevinGage]

Remember Bergomi being asked about the draw back in 94 and he said something like 'It's way too early to face a side as strong as Aston Villa,' or words to that effect.

[HolmesyVilla]

I was at the home legs (90 & 94) but me and my friends also caught an official coach to the 1st leg. There was some kind of transport strike so the San Siro was pretty sparse but still an amazing venue. We lost out to a Ruben Sousa penalty.

Yep, the gate was something like 22000 in a 80000+ seater stadium. I vaguely remember everyone in the Villa end singing "shit ground, no fans" at various times throughout that night.

That's right Chris. We started that chant outside the ground. I remember they gave us a natty silk scarf as we entered the stadium and all the policeman were about 5 feet tall.

They also kept us at a service station all afternoon and coined us throughout the match

I went to that one in 94/Milan on the official Villa bus... I'm sure it was bergkamp who scored the penalty though?
What a trip that was so many memories. Was it Switzerland we stayed? Im sure there was a hotel that when we arrived had about 20 flags outside. The next morning there was none!