Aston Villa. A club which has seen over 1,000 individuals pull on the distinctive claret and blue shirt. A club which has seen countless players create unforgettable moments which will be cherished forever.
As part of our 150th anniversary celebrations, we are catching up with a host of former Villans, and asking them to recall their favourite moment from their time at Villa Park.
It could be a goal, a match, or the moment they signed. Whichever memory stands out to them, while they were representing our famous club.
Our series continues with American goalkeeper, Brad Guzan (Legacy Number 813).
Heading into the 2009/10 season, Guzan was Villa’s second-choice goalkeeper behind fellow American Brad Friedel, having arrived in B6 earlier that summer.
The League Cup gave Guzan a chance to show what he could do, and he shone as Martin O’Neill’s side went all the way to the showpiece final at Wembley Stadium.
Picking out a particular moment from the run proved difficult for the 40-year-old, whose playing career continues to this day, with Atlanta United across the pond in MLS.
From a third-round success and clean sheet over Cardiff City, to four penalty saves in one game against Sunderland in round four – one in normal time and three in a penalty-shoot out as the Villans prevailed 4-2 – that particular competition, and that season, brought the Illinois native unforgettable memories.
He goes on to recall a remarkable semi-final triumph over Blackburn Rovers where, having won 1-0 at Ewood Park in the first leg, O’Neill’s men shared a breathless encounter with the Lancashire outfit at Villa Park in the return, eventually emerging as 7-4 aggregate winners.
At Wembley, the No.1 shirt would be handed back to Friedel, as Villa eventually fell at the final hurdle with a 2-1 defeat to Manchester United, and while there was undeniable disappointment, Guzan still holds that particular cup run close to his heart.
He seized his opportunity to impress that year, with Villa also going on to finish sixth in the Premier League – qualifying for European football the following season – while reaching the FA Cup semi-finals, before going on to establish himself as the club’s first-choice goalkeeper in years to come.
Here is My Villa Moment, in Brad Guzan's own words…
The moment I chose was the 2010 League Cup run. It’s my favourite moment of my Villa career.
I was lucky enough to represent the club for eight years, and to have that cup run was special. I wasn't playing league matches at that time, so to be able to get games was fantastic.
To go to Sunderland and help the team in terms of going to penalties and saving a few penalties, and ultimately being able to go to Wembley with the club and the team, is an experience that I still remember to this day, and I cherish, not only for what it meant to myself individually, but also to the club and to the supporters.
That performance against Sunderland was huge. For sure, I’d say one of the top five in my career. It’s one of those where on another day, maybe, you don't save as many penalties.
I remember as well, maybe extra-time or late in the game, there was a breakaway. I think Kenwyn Jones got played in and I made a big save.
Those were just different moments of the game that, on another day as a goalkeeper, maybe you don't make that save, or do so well on penalties.
To be able to come up with those saves in those moments certainly puts that night up there with one of the best of my career.
The penalty situation doesn't happen quite regularly, and so to have that moment, and to help the team in that moment, was great.
Ultimately, you try to get a little bit lucky, and on that day, I was able to go the right way a few times in the shoot-out, and keep the ball out.
I just remember afterwards, the moment we advanced, everyone was running and coming down towards the goal.
Obviously, the manager, Martin O’Neill, was extremely excited, and he was hugging me with the goalkeeping coach.
Everyone was celebrating, and it was just one of those special nights.
It’s a time I look back on with fond memories, and that really gave me the confidence to say: “OK, I can compete at this level.”
I didn't do myself individually any favours in the semi-final against Blackburn, and I certainly didn’t help the team that night, but then to be on the pitch, to see Villa Park how it was, to know the outcome finished in our favour afterwards, that was special.
It’s funny now, when the club looks back and posts that X amount of years ago, this was the night we won 6-4 in the semi-final.
I talk about it now with a smile on my face, because obviously the result went our way.
Individually, I didn't do the team any favours but thankfully the quality of players in front of me went and saved the day.
I remember driving to Wembley and seeing all the fans lining the streets, the banners, the flags.
I remember walking out into Wembley and seeing half the stadium in claret and blue. It gives me chills, to reminisce and think back, and play it all out.
You want to play, but with where I was and where the team was, and with the players that we had, we were all fighting and competing each and every week to try and get a game.
I was playing behind someone like Brad Friedel at the time, who was playing extremely well. You get those moments in in a cup run and it’s up to you to take them.
I didn't do myself any favours, because in the semi, I wasn’t great individually, but luckily enough we were able to come out on top and obviously advance to the final.
You never really know what the manager's thinking in those moments, and whether he's going to go with the experienced goalkeeper or the more inexperienced goalkeeper.
Coming off the semi-final, it was always going to be a big decision, because of what had happened in the Sunderland game, but then to go from one high to then one low, in terms of my performance.
For me, as a young goalkeeper in that league, it was just about trying to develop that consistency and trying to find those performances week in, week out, every time that I was on the field, and trying to help the team.
It was disappointing, but it still made for a special day. I remember my family coming over and being a part of it, and just being in the stands. It's not every day that you get to walk out onto the pitch at Wembley Stadium, especially in a cup final, so it was a special moment.
Obviously, the result didn't go our way, but still, it was just an unbelievable moment for an American kid living his dream, playing for a massive Premier League club and to be able to walk out into Wembley in a cup final. It was it was brilliant.
It was the first couple of years of me being at Villa. It was tremendous, in terms of where we were finishing in the table, qualifying for Europe, and the quality of players that we had within the team.
You look, and you see the likes of James Milner, Gabby Agbonlahor, you look at Ashley Young, you look at Stewart Downing, you had Stiliyan Petrov, and these are guys that I still speak to, to this day. For that, I'm extremely grateful.
It's a moment that I look back on, and being an American soccer player, an American footballer, being able to play for a Premier League team, to have a cup run like we did and go to Wembley, it's something that I'll cherish forever.
More so, being able to have the opportunity to represent the club, to represent Aston Villa and wear the crest, that doesn't happen regularly for Americans. That’s something I tell my kids about.
This past off-season here, my wife and I went back to Birmingham for the first time with our four kids.
We showed them Villa Park and the Villa Store. We met some fans in the store, and it just brought back a flood of memories. It was really special.
When I first got there, the club was in a different place to when I left, but it's never lost on me, the opportunity I had to be able to represent the club.
I've turned my eldest into a massive Villa fan, and it’s the first game and result we check for on the weekends.
Seeing how the club's doing is great, and it's pretty special to see how he views the club, which is pretty unique.
I'm just extremely thankful and grateful, because I understand what I was able to do for eight years doesn't happen regularly in football, especially at a club like Villa. I never take that for granted.
"I'm just extremely thankful and grateful, because I understand what I was able to do for eight years doesn't happen regularly in football, especially at a club like Villa. I never take that for granted."
