Aston Villa Football Club will face the Houston Dynamo on July 26 in the BBVA Compass Dynamo Charities Cup. Here is some trivia on the historic English club.
Aston Villa is one of only seven English teams to stay within the Barclay’s Premier League for all 22 seasons since its inception in 1992. Can you name all seven? Answer below.
Last year, Stoke City came to Houston for the BBVA Compass Dynamo Charities Cup celebrating its 150th anniversary. Aston Villa follows with a trip to Houston this year as it celebrates its 140th anniversary this year after it was founded in 1874.
Villa won the 1982 European Cup, which is now named the UEFA Champions League, the world’s most prestigious club competition. They beat Bayern Munich 1-0 in the final and are one of only five English clubs to win the competition.
Villa is completing its 103rd season in the top flight of English soccer this year. Only Everton (111 seasons) has spent more seasons in the top division.
The club’s home stadium, Villa Park, opened in 1897. It was the first English stadium to host international matches in three different centuries.
Villa set an English top-flight goal scoring record with 128 goals in the 1930-31 season.
Trivia answer: Aston Villa, Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Tottenham are the seven original Barclay’s Premier League members who were part of the league at its start in 1992 and have never been relegated, competing in the top flight for all 22 seasons.
