The night Johan Cruyff lit up Villa Park
With the passing of legendary Dutch forward Johan Cruyff, memories drift back to one of his rare appearances on English soil, writes Patrick Feeney.
Cruyff was the talisman of a Barcelona team that faced Villa in the quarter-final of the UEFA Cup in 1978.
In the first leg at Villa Park on March 1, Cruyff gave a breathtaking example of why he would go on to be regarded as one of the most gifted footballers of all time.
Ron Atkinson, then manager at Albion, was in attendance at the game and said: "For me, Johan Cryuff comes into the same category as both Pele and Diego Maradona.
"In many ways he was the more complete player. He was the fulcrum of a great Ajax side and a great Barcelona team."
Despite suffering from a knee injury, Cruyff was at his best as he scored the first goal of the game.
The Express & Star's Tom Johnson, who reported on the game, wrote: "He opened the scoring with a magnificent solo effort.
"From then on, he took a roving commission to direct team operations both on and off the ball. Here was an artist at work."
Cruyff's knee injury was so bad he wanted to leave the game at half-time and, once Barcelona had added their second goal with 10 minutes remaining, he departed to a standing ovation.
This was Villa's cue to launch a stirring fightback. Ken McNaught's diving header with five minutes remaining gave the home side hope, before John Deehan prodded home a dramatic equaliser.
Villa may have made headlines with their thrilling late show, but the night belonged to the Dutch master.
The tie would belong to him and Barca as well when, two weeks later, they won 2-1 at the Nou Camp to progress to the semi-finals, where they would fall to eventual tournament winners PSV Eindhoven.
