Aston Villa were not invited to join the European Super League. Which, as they were in the lower half of the Premier League when the botched attempt at a breakaway was revealed in April 2021, is not entirely surprising. And yet their league position was not the determining factor.
After all, Manchester United, founder members of a competition that has never started, are 12th in the English top flight now. Aston Villa are top of the Champions League, though. There is a suggestion it is a Super League by another name, with reasons to believe it is a step in that direction.
But there is still a crucial difference, enough of a meritocracy to render unlikely feats possible. Unai Emery has taken Villa into the Champions League. Now he has taken them to the top of it, a 2-0 win over Bologna giving them a two-point lead.
If it is safe to say the early standings may not have permanence, Villa are a reminder European football should not be a closed shop; like West Ham winning the Conference League or Newcastle demolishing Paris Saint-Germain 4-1 last year, such feats mean more to those accustomed to watching on from the outside. Premier League revenues have facilitated all; there may be less moneyed outfits elsewhere in Europe who struggle to see the romance in an English club topping the standings. They may find more to celebrate if, say, Brest were to displace Villa.
That would be more of a triumph for the underdogs. But Emery’s European trophies came with Sevilla and Villarreal, a.