Aston Villa’s trio that signifies meteoric rise to Champions League quarterfinals

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Twelve years ago, Mings, McGinn, and Watkins were far from the Champions League stage. Through setbacks and perseverance, they helped drive Aston Villa’s rise from the Championship to Europe’s elite, sealing their place with a commanding win over Club Brugge.

Transcript

00:00Twelve years ago, Tyrone Mings was driving a battered £100 Citroen Saxo, juggling jobs

00:08as a barman and a mortgage advisor while playing non-league football for Yatetown and later

00:15Chippenham Town.

00:17His dream of becoming a professional footballer was slipping away until 2012 when he called

00:24in sick to attend a trial at Ipswich Town.

00:28Six months after nearly quitting, he had broken into the professional circuit.

00:34John McGinn, meanwhile, was making his first steps at St Mirren.

00:38His pre-season tour was anything but glamorous, featuring games against Accrington Stanley

00:44and Carlisle United.

00:47But it was a start and he seized the opportunity, slowly building his career.

00:53As for Ollie Watkins, the youngest of the three was just signing schoolboy terms with

00:58Exeter City.

01:00Nine years earlier, he had failed a trial at the club.

01:03A raw but inconsistent wide forward, he was prolific at youth level but had much to refine.

01:10Hours of extra training helped him develop into a complete player.

01:15Fast forward to today and these three players symbolise Aston Villa's meteoric rise.

01:20Their journey mirrors the club's own transformation from a mid-table championship side to Champions

01:27League quarter-finalists.

01:28Of course, to play a quarter-final is fantastic, it's fantastic, we're very excited, very motivated

01:37against everything we were expecting to play.

01:42Of course, to play against PSG is very difficult.

01:45They show their capacity playing against Liverpool or visiting Paris, and I will visit

01:51there playing against them, it's been fantastic.

01:55Their paths converged in a defining moment, Villa's 3-0 victory over Club Brugia 6-1 an

02:01aggregate, securing a Champions League quarter-final spot.

02:07As fireworks lit up the night sky and fans roared, the trio stood as proof of Villa's

02:12remarkable ascent.

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