Plumes of smoke followed the fireworks.
A large tifo cascaded from the roof of the Holte End, displaying three lions facing forward, mouths open and roaring.
Villa Park mimicked the animals’ sound. Thunderous again in atmosphere as the song Crazy Train, performed by Aston’s favourite son Ozzy Osbourne, made way for the Champions League anthem.
Supporters strained and bellowed ‘Hi Ho Aston Villa’ to the tune of Jeff Beck’s Hi Ho Silver Lining. White-and-claret placards were held up and, in the Holte End, a mural of the Champions League trophy emerged.
These are special nights at a special stadium, with a crowd totally obsessed with its manager and everything he is instigating.
Unai Emery is inspiring Villa’s assault on the Champions League (Darren Staples/AFP via Getty Images)
Aston Villa’s crest has seen several facelifts over the years. The lion remains, though, having been brought in originally at the request of the club’s renowned Scottish legends, George Ramsay and William McGregor, the founder of the Football League and the man who made Villa dominant in the Victorian era.
The Holte End was rebuilt in 1994 but still bears Villa’s traditional hallmarks. It is a steep, two-tiered stand, with stained glass windows on the outside and a capacity of 13,000, once the largest single end in Britain. It is adorned with banners that separate tiers. ‘Sultan of Unai’ — king or ruler in Arabic — one reads. Another, along the back walls, captures the essence of the Holte End and, broadly, Villa Park itself: ‘Football in every sense’.
It is what makes these Champions League nights. However much Villa Park pushes to be modernised and populated with hospitality areas, the place remains imbued with history. No supporter takes these nights for granted. They watch, enthralled, but fully aware that this is no ordinary Villa team.
Emery’s Villa continues to break new ground and demand to achieve more.
“The players are with the same message I am giving you here,” said Emery in his pre-match press conference. “The words I use repeatedly since I arrived here to now is: ‘I don’t want to waste my time here’. That’s the message for everyone. I don’t want you to waste your time here.
“We want to keep the level we have now, which is the Champions League, and add something more like being a contender for a trophy.”
Tyrone Mings was back in the Villa squad after long-term injury (Aston Villa/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images)
Those in the lower tier of the Holte End and the opposing North Stand stand throughout. Grandparents, parents, sons and daughters watch intently, all captivated. Kick-off is met with a guttural roar.
In an increasingly thankless time when the rising costs and extortionate prices mean those who have held the same seats for generations are battling to keep going to games, Emery’s Villa provides the antidote — being entranced by them offers brief escapism from the economic pressures.
There are 30,000 people on a season ticket waiting list, but such demand is not taken for a ride in these parts. Villa Park was not at capacity on Tuesday night, with a notable number of tickets being sold on secondary markets on the day. The bottom row of the North Stand had empty seats and so, too, did pockets of the Trinity Stand.
Sadly, ticket touts are par for the course for big events but the controversy regarding Villa charging supporters up to £97 ($126) for Champions League fixtures exacerbated the deep unfairness at some then being sold for as little as £30.
As has been the case in recent years, on-field excellence has been a shield against off-the-field missteps, all centred on the treatment of supporters. If it was not for Emery, the rich gleam of the Holte End would feel far more dreary with the hospitality section sandwiching the tiers — installed last season with no warning — appearing more prominent.
Following the 2-0 victory against Bologna, Villa became the third side since the Champions League was rebranded in 1992 to win their first three games without conceding.
Incredibly, Villa have done it all with a verve and inner confidence that suggests it is not their first time in Europe’s premium competition in 40 years.
John McGinn wheeled towards the right of the Holte End after scoring Villa’s first. The stand broke out into song for their captain and seemed to straighten the hunched back of McGinn, fuelled to thud into more tackles and claim the “duels” Emery stressed the necessity of winning to players before.
McGinn is buried beneath joyful Villa team-mates (Aston Villa/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images)
Jhon Duran scored the second, a consequence of Emery’s game plan to become even braver against a man-for-man press to tire Bologna’s legs and minds. Villa played more short passes to entice pressure and made more runs forward. Duran, this season’s chief protagonist, refused to break his air of goalscoring inevitability.
Chants of ‘Villa boys from Aston’ echoed in the closing stages, with ‘oles’ ending the game, indicative of the control Villa had seized. “We are top of the (Champions) league,” sang some supporters sporadically, breaking out across each of the four stands. Villa are, at least for the night, top of the pile.
Tyrone Mings was back in the squad after 437 days injured and Boubacar Kamara came on after 254 days away. For the first time, Emery has a fully fit, full-strength squad from whom to choose. It is little wonder Villa Park recognises the importance of bathing in this glory, but they are allowing themselves to dream of what may come.
“I am delighted with how we are facing this competition,” said Emery. “Each match playing disciplined and serious. The journey we had in Conference League (last year) was a perfect way of helping this year.
“There are other teams contenders and favourites for the top eight (of the Champions League), but we are feeling comfortable.”
Emery departs victorious (Aston Villa/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images)
In his typical no-frills manner, Emery headed straight for the tunnel at full time. His undeviating concentration did, however, soften when he tilted his head to look around. He grinned and high-fived supporters while his players, naturally, gravitated towards a packed Holte End, where scarves and smiles met them and the most striking banner of all read: “Do you want to bet against us?”
Right now, no one dares to.
(Top photo: Andrew Kearns – CameraSport via Getty Images)
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