Debasis Sen in Birmingham
Kenny Swain was part of the legendary Aston Villa team that beat mighty Bayern Munich in the European Cup final in 1982. Having started off as a striker at Chelsea, Swain became the right-back at Villa, where he spent four memorable years. In this exclusive chat with RevSportz, he talks about that magical night in Rotterdam, taking on Bob Paisley’s Liverpool, the ongoing Club World Cup, and much more.
You spent years at Chelsea, but would you say the highlight of your career was the spell with Aston Villa?
Kenny Swain: Absolutely yes, because of the success I had. Victories and winning trophies don’t come easy. That was without a doubt the highlight of my career. I also have to say those five years at Chelsea were a good grounding. It was a very young team that I was involved with. And also, they lost some superstar players, Chelsea, because of some financial problems. I always felt that I was a footballer at Chelsea. But after having joined Aston Villa, within the first week I realised I am now a professional footballer. There was a different culture, a different mindset and a different expectation level. I think that’s why we did so well because everyone was so focussed. They were so competitive and nobody wanted to give off their shirt. Everybody wanted to play week in and week out. That was the big difference.
What are your thoughts about the current team under Unai Emery?
Swain: I think he is getting very close to where we were all about, the squad I was in. What I did realise after a while, that no individual is going to win or be successful for you. You have to do it all as a team, so the work ethic and team ethic was really strong at Villa. Everybody pulled their weight, and I think that was one reason that we were successful, because we felt we could outrun, outlast the opposition and I think that was a strong feature in our success at Villa.
How do you look at Unai Emery as the manager of Aston Villa?
Swain: Unai has done a fantastic job so far. He has only been here two or three years, and he has totally turned it round in that time. If you look at the trajectory from when he arrived and the end of the season now. Think about the trajectory, it’s been on a steady incline. It’s not gone up massively, but I suppose to reach the quarter finals of the Champions League this year was an immense challenge. To have got to that stage and playing the likes of PSG, who obviously eventually won it and are without doubt one of the best teams in the Champions League.
The great Ron Saunders resigned part of the way through that 1981-82 season. Tony Barton led you into the European Cup final. How did the players deal with that situation?
Swain: We often talked about this even if not publicly. We were all shocked as there was no hint at all. He walked out and shook all of us to be honest. We were in for training next day, then obviously put a plan in place by introducing Tony Burton who was the assistant under Saunders. He took over as the temporary manager. In fairness to him (Tony) and to give him credit, he didn’t mess around with the squad too much. He did not mess around with team selection. We were a well-oiled machine and I think that was probably the one thing he looked at, for he didn’t want to tinker with the squad. But equally, it was a tribute to the players as well because of the sort of culture they engineered the previous years.
When you won the league in 1981, Bob Paisley’s Liverpool were almost a dynasty. Looking back, how big an achievement was that?
Swain: Well, you know, when you talk about Bob Paisley, he is a true legend. He is in the same league as Brian Clough, Alex Ferguson and some foreign managers like Jose Mourinho who have done well in this country. Liverpool, in that period, were always the yardstick to measure yourself and we certainly had some good performances against Liverpool. They (Liverpool) were always a big club then, as they are now.
Was there real belief that you could beat Bayern Munich?
Swain: There are two things that determine the outcome of football matches – one is belief and the other is fear. Too much fear in your body and too much fear in your head, and you’ve got no chance. If you’ve got belief, you’ve got a strong chance of being successful and that was something that Villa had in that four-year period I was there. It was evident in our training every day and social get togethers.
What made that Villa team special? Who were the real strong characters?
Swain: I cannot say anybody was a particular strong character, above others. But certainly, I would say it was the younger players of the team – Gary Shaw, Gary Williams, Colin Gibson –and then there was the older brigade including myself, Jimmy Rimmer the goalkeeper, Ken McNaught and Dennis Mortimer, who was a schoolboy colleague of mine as well. So, the blend was right. In terms of the characters, you probably wouldn’t have seen the older players performe and behave like the younger ones.
How did someone who started out as a striker end up playing full-back?
Swain: When I was at Chelsea, I remember thinking a couple of times we were losing games. I looked at some of the instances where we lost and I was talking and thinking like a coach. But I did really think I can do the job. The change at Villa was brought about by circumstances. They had a great full-back then, John Gidman, who was leaving and Ron Saunders said I can fit in there. He said to me: let’s see how you go after six games, and we will have a chat about it.
Your thoughts on the ongoing Club World Cup?
Swain: I have little thoughts for it, to be honest. When you think, here we are now in July, when normally the clubs used to start their training. Irrespective of the money and other things involved, the razzmatazz that goes with it, to expect players to go through 70-odd games and then barely have a week or couple of weeks off, I think the players’ workload needs to be understood. You need to have a good time to recover. We all like to keep ticking over, but where is the gap or break in all of this? I think it is one step too far.
What are your thoughts on Todd Boehly as an owner at Chelsea?
Swain: He saw an opportunity there which he has taken with both hands. He probably got his fingers burnt in the early days but I think Chelsea are back to where they were before. I really do think that he will probably get himself sorted out now by surrounding himself with lieutenants, advisors, people who will recommend things and have some reliability in their judgement. It didn’t surprise me that this younger lot of Chelsea players were struggling a year or two ago. But I think they are getting together now and they will only get better.
Finally, in a glittering career, what has been the highlight for you?
Swain: I have got to say, without a doubt, that night in Rotterdam. It was an amazing event. When we were on the coach going for the game, there were so many fans outside the stadium. It was about 38 or 40,000 spectators [46,000 in attendance] that night. Seeing the hullabaloo that was going on around the ground. We entered the change room and on to the pitch and the players had their mini-cameras. They are just taking pictures of each other, photographs of their wives, girlfriends and it felt like it was a day out, and not anything to do with football.
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