Having defeated Ajax, a team Villa had only played once before, the European Conference League campaign continues apace in April with a Quarter Final tie against OSC Lille.
Villa have also played Lille before, although not significantly more than the vanquished Dutch giants. The teams have faced off twice previously – both as part of a two-legged Intertoto Cup tie in August of 2002. This is the story of those summer meetings.
Aston Villa’s 2001-2002 season had been an odd one. John Gregory had resigned in January 2002, a decision that was a surprise even given a fairly awful November and December, even more so given Villa had won the two games directly preceding Gregory’s departure. Of equal surprise was the return of Graham Taylor to the vacant manager’s role – a decision that looked uninspiring until Villa beat Southampton and Chelsea in their final two league games to solidify an unprecedented eighth place. Those heady heights meant an Intertoto Cup campaign beckoned in 2002-2003.
Villa kicked off in the third round against FC Zurich. An inauspicious 2-0 loss hardly boded well, but a comprehensive 3-0 win in front of just 18,349 at Villa Park meant Villa advanced to the semi-finals. The goals were scored by new signings Michael Boulding and Marcus Allback, alongside the erstwhile Steve Staunton. As was the vogue at the time Villa wore their white MG away kit in the home leg, which added some uniqueness to an otherwise low-key pre-season feel.
The Zurich aggregate win set up a semi-final against Lille, and the club’s first ever meetings with the team they are about to meet again, twenty-two years later, in the Conference League. The Lille of 2002 bore similarity to the 2024 vintage, in that they were not seen as being amongst the royalty of French football, but nevertheless had a strong history and standing. There are also key contrasts – the Lille Villa faced in 2002 hadn’t won Ligue 1 since the 1950s, but of course have won it twice since in 2011 and 2021. The Lille Villa shaped up to compete with in 2002 certainly didn’t have the European pedigree of the current vintage – nor the star power of the current squad.
In what might be some useful background reading for Villa fans making the journey across the Channel on the 18th of April, Rob Bishop wrote about ‘La belle Lille’, describing the future European City of Culture as an appealing blend of ‘old and new’. Amusingly, Bishop described Lille residents as more deeply engrossed in their chess games in the City’s courtyards than football – ‘not many we spoke to were even aware a game was scheduled’. Lille’s stadium address is Allee du Petit Paradis – which Bishop felt was an accurate summary of Lille in general.
With all that in mind, Villa were relatively confident of the possibility of progress. A 1-1 draw in the away leg at Stade Grmonprez-Jooris was a decent result, certainly in terms of returning home for second leg.
Villa lined up as follows:
Postma, Delaney, Mellberg, Staunton, Samuel, Hadji, Taylor, Hitzlsperger, Barry, Allback, Crouch
Substitutes: Myhill (GK), Vassell (for Hadji 69), Stone (for Allback 82), Wright, Boulding, Moore, Ridgewell.
Villa had started well, with a Peter Crouch goal disallowed and the Lille keeper making some decent stops although the French team grew into affairs. It was Villa who made the breakthrough however as Ian Taylor poked in after Lille had cleared an Olof Mellberg header. Lille would equalise through D’Amico at the death, but as the big Swede said – ‘It was disappointing to concede such a late goal, but at 7pm, we would have settled for a 1-1 draw’. Ultimately Taylor’s vital away goal meant Villa headed back to B6 as favourites to reach their second Intertoto Final in two years.
Graham Taylor was cautious in the build up to the home leg – ‘What we have to do now is give Lille more problems, but we don’t underestimate them at all’, selecting what looked like his strongest (and most attacking) side:
Enckelman, Delaney, Barry, Mellberg, Staunton, Allback, Taylor, Hitzlsperger, Vassell, Dublin, Crouch
Substitutes: Postma (GK), Hendrie (for Dublin 46), Boulding, Samuel, Ridgewell, Hadji, Moore (for Crouch 80)
Again, donned in their white away kit, Villa came out firing and both Crouch and Vassell would have been disappointed not to take an early advantage. However, from those early promptings it all untangled unceremoniously with a goal either side of half time, the second from an Enckelman error. It was an aggregate lead that Villa only ever momentarily threatened, with a Hadji fee kick against the crossbar a scant highlight. As it was Villa limped out of European competition that night at Villa Park, and the stage was set for an equally uninspiring season in which Villa finished a lowly sixteenth. It was Villa’s worst showing in nearly a decade and the Graham Taylor experiment would soon be over for good.
Whatever the result against Lille this time around, the season will likely be judged a success. But there are remainders in these 2002 Intertoto games of not underestimating an opponent or judging a job done at any point. Lille present a serious challenge to how Villa’s season will extend and continue – let’s hope for a more positive outcome than 22 years ago.
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