Swain heard nothing back, although he saw Saunders a few times in the future, but the pressing matter became that evening in Rotterdam.

Villa were the underdogs, while Bayern already had three European Cups under their belt and few gave Barton’s boys a chance.

“There was a focus and a belief that you have to be special to beat us,” said Swain, who left to join Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest a few months after the win.

“Personally, I felt at my peak. We were so hard to beat and so finely tuned into these games. After Ron left, the focus, consistency, spirit and belief didn’t change at all.

“They caused a few scares, but I vividly remember one moment to our left. They managed to get a cross in and because I was pulling back towards our goal, I ended up just outside the six-yard box.

“This ball flew over me and I saw Karl-Heinz Rummenigge – he looked like an acrobat. He jumped and did a bicycle kick. I just saw it flash past the post and Nigel and I looked at each other and thought: ‘This is other gravy”

Yet Villa continued to write their names in the history books.

Spink said: “It was incredible because it was almost impossible to comprehend what we had just achieved.

“I remember looking back and Bayern were shocked. They were all sitting on the pitch completely stunned.”

Swain agrees, after he also encountered Bayern’s dejected dressing room on his way from De Kuip.

“Looking at the enormity of the occasion and the achievement, I was walking down the corridor and the Munich dressing room door was ajar,” he said.

“I could see that there was someone else in there and that there were kits and socks on the floor of the dressing room. It was Rummenigge and the captain (Paul Breitner) looking down together with their heads in their arms.

“They both looked shocked, so I said, ‘Hello, good luck – maybe see you next year’ and they were absolutely desolate. These were two of the leading players in Europe.

“I just innocently open the door and see these two sitting there, just these two big stars from Munich.

“This achievement is in the history books and can never go away. While still enjoying life on this earth, it is incredible for the club and every player. It was a moment to savour.”