The ex-German star owed his Aston Villa stint on ‘manage life independently’
For the former German star, his spell in Aston Villa proved to be more beneficial than he had expected before.
One of Aston Villa’s new signing this summer is German international, Leon Goretzka. The ex-Bayern man joined Villa on free transfer and finally made his debut as a substitute when Unai Emery’s side trounced Fenerbahce 6-0 in the Champions League.
Goretzka is not the first German player in Bodymoor Heath. Yet, he is the first one since Thomas Hitzlsperger in the 2000s. The first ones were Matthias Breitkreutz and Stefan Beinlich who both arrived in Villa Park back in early 1990s. Unfortunately, only the latter had brighter career.
Beinlich even went on playing at the top level after leaving Villa. He was playing for Bayer Leverkusen, Hertha Berlin and Hamburg SV before retiring. During the interview with Der Speigel in 2004, the former attacking midfielder owed his life to his brief stint in the West Midlands.
”Aston Villa was the most important. When I went to Birmingham, England, in 1991 at the age of 19, where we won the reserve league title, I acquired the tools for my professional career. A young footballer only develops with enough games at a consistently high level. I even played 16 games in the Premier League. Furthermore, I learned to manage everyday life independently during that time.”
Beinlich’s stint in Aston Villa
Stefan Beinlich made 16 appearances for The Lions. He contributed one goal and one assist. He made his debut in the old England top tier, First Division 1991/92. The former attacking midfielder played for 45 minutes each against Nottingham Forest and Chelsea consecutively on matchday 39 and 40.
He went on playing for 14 more games, mainly as a substitute before eventually registering his only goal and only assist in the 1993/94 campaign. Ironically, it was the two fixtures when Villa were routed in 5-1 loss against Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle United and Southampton. It was all kinda too little too late. The former attacking midfielder with five international caps with Die Mannschaft was eventually sold to Hansa Rostock in summer 1994. He was instrumental in helping his side gain promotion to Bundesliga in his first season.
Why did Beinlich fail?
Despite his talent and fairly fine form plus quite positive reception from the fans, why did Beinlich fail to thrive in B6? The first probable reason was that he was physically unsuitable for the Premier League demand. At that time, the Berlin-born midfielder was slightly lightweight and still 19 years old at that time.
Another reason was surely the tight competition to fight for the spot in the starting XI. Beinlich had to compete with the senior figures like Ray Houghton, Gerry Parker and Kevin Richardson. Last but not least, he was not exactly the part of the immediate plan for the manager who brought him to Villa Park, Ron Atkinson. They were only used as a squad player without a proper opportunity to develop themselves by playing regularly or being given a clear role in the team.
