My Villa Moment: Andreas Weimann

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 have caught up with a host of former Villans, 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 ends with cult hero and Villa academy product, Andreas Weimann (Legacy Number: 825).

Arriving in B6 aged just 15, Weimann rose through Villa's academy at Bodymoor Heath, eventually breaking through the youth ranks and reserves sides and into the first team, making his debut in August 2010, having just turned 19. 

Fast forward three years, and the Austrian international had established himself as a mainstay in Villa's side, and was starting a Premier League encounter against would-be champions Manchester City at Villa Park. 

A star-studded visiting team packing names such as Sergio Agüero, David Silva, Yaya Touré and Vincent Kompany took control early on in the game, twice taking the lead either side of the break thanks to goals from Touré and Edin Džeko. 

But a Villa rally saw them take all three points on home soil, with two goals in the space of three frantic minutes. Leandro Bacuna bent a free-kick home 17 minutes from time, shortly before Weimann's moment arrived. 

A long punt upfield from Brad Guzan found the forward, who poked past the onrushing Joe Hart to send The Holte End into raptures. The goal completed a memorable comeback at a raucous Villa Park, as Paul Lambert's charges defeated the side who would go on to lift the Premier League trophy for a second time. 

Now 33, and still plying his trade in England, with Blackburn Rovers in the Championship, we caught up with Weimann to discuss his most treasured memory in a claret and blue shirt.

Here is My Villa Moment, in Andres Weimann's own words…

I’ve chosen the Manchester City game when I scored the winner. We won 3-2. It was a special game. They had a really good team – they won the league that year and to score the winner was really special.

It was a big win because we probably weren’t getting the results we wanted to before that.

I just remember when we came up against them and saw their line-up, they had a really good team. I thought it would be a really tough match.

They had so many good players. Yaya Touré, Kompany at the back, Agüero, Džeko, they had David Silva, some amazing footballers.

In the game, we didn’t have much of the ball and we knew it was going to be a defensive job we had to do.

We went behind twice, but came back to turn it around. It was a really, really good game. We probably had three chances and scored them all, so it felt like a big win.

The games before, we probably didn’t play that well or get the results we wanted, so to go behind twice against a team like that and even come back to 2-2 was great.

Leo Bacuna scored a free-kick to make it 2-2, then just three minutes after that, I scored.

I remember the goal well. It wasn’t one of my best goals I scored for Villa, not one of the nicest to look at. I remember Brad Guzan had the ball in his hands and we had a 2v2 at the back. It was me and Libor Kozák up against I think Kompany and Kolarov.

Guz spotted it and hit a nice volley out of his hands, and it just went all the way through. I don’t think anyone got a touch on it. I just chased it and saw Joe Hart come out and all I tried to do was just get a touch on it.

I knew he was outside his box so couldn’t save it with his hands. I just got a flick to it. It seemed to take forever to roll into the net but when it hit the net it was just pure elation.

Villa Park was bouncing, even at 2-2, then when my goal went in, it was pretty special. That’s why I chose it as my moment.

Moments like that are special. For me or anyone else who comes through the youth team, it probably means a little bit more as well. We work our way through the youth team and then into the first team.

You dream of playing in the first team when you’re in the youth team, and to then score goals and celebrate with the fans, and certainly score a winner like that, was special.

There’s a famous picture where I’m stood in front of The Holte End with my arms out celebrating. You see me from behind and you just see all the fans in The Holte End going wild, and you see how much it meant to them in their faces.

My parents have got a big print of that picture up at home, so it’s a special picture for them as well. It’s right above the dining table. I’ll definitely never forget that.  

It will always be a special club to me, Aston Villa. I came here a month before my 16th birthday, so I was quite young, coming over from Austria by myself.

But I never looked back. I loved my time here. I came through the youth team and the reserve team, and you dream of making your debut in the Premier League.

I managed to do that and play in the Premier League over 100 times for Aston Villa. You can only dream of that. I didn’t expect it when I came over from Austria at 15 years old.

I’m still trying to go strong now. I’m 33 now, so it’s been a long time I’ve been in England, but I’ve got my wife and kids now, and England is definitely like my home, now.

My eldest is 10 years old now and he’s slowly becoming a Villa fan, too. I’ve gone to a couple of games with him to watch Villa, so it’s definitely a club I’ll always look out for.