LONDON: Former Aston Villa striker Gary Shaw, who helped the club to their shock European Cup triumph in 1982, died on Monday aged 63. Shaw was a member of the Villa side that won the First Division title in 1981 and then memorably stunned German giants Bayern Munich in the European Cup final 12 months later.
The forward died after recently going into hospital following a head injury suffered in a fall. "Aston Villa Football Club is deeply shocked and profoundly saddened to learn that Gary Shaw, one of our European Cup-winning heroes, has passed away,” a statement said. "Gary was one of our own, a talented striker who delighted supporters with his goalscoring exploits which helped fire Villa to success in the 1980s. Individual accolades would also follow for a player who was idolized by many on the terraces.
"He passed away peacefully earlier today surrounded by his family, who asked Aston Villa to release a statement on their behalf.” Shaw’s death came on the eve of Villa’s first match in the Champions League for 41 years.
Unai Emery’s side face Young Boys in Switzerland on Tuesday and the Villa manager urged his team to win the match in tribute to Shaw. "My condolences to the family and all the supporters at Villa,” said Emery, whose team will wear black armbands for the fixture in Bern.
"We have a memory always, in our training ground a picture of 1982 and the European Cup. He was a protagonist of that. My condolences to them. "Yes, I think it’s sad and we can use it as motivation.”
Shaw joined Villa as an apprentice and went on to score 79 times in 213 appearances, including 20 goals in their 1981 title-winning campaign. He was named PFA Young Player of the Year after Villa’s first English title since 1910.
Shaw scored three goals in Villa’s run to European Cup glory, including a crucial quarter-final strike against Dynamo Kiev. Peter Withe’s winner against Bayern in Rotterdam lifted the team to previously unimaginable heights, with Birmingham-born Shaw savoring the triumph more than most.
Yet within a year of Villa’s epic victory, Shaw suffered a knee injury in a match against Nottingham Forest that curtailed his progress and ultimately saw him retire from the game after six operations.
He left the club in 1988 for spells in Denmark and Austria, before ending his career in 1992 after short stints at Walsall, Kilmarnock and Shrewsbury. Shaw later worked as a statistical analyst and a matchday ambassador for Villa. — AFP