Sign up NOW for our daily Villa newsletter direct to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

The last time Aston Villa won one of the English game's major trophies was back in 1996 when Brian Little's side beat Leeds United at Wembley.

Savo Milosevic, Ian Taylor and Dwight Yorke scored the goals that helped Villa win the League Cup.

And now the Villans are just one game away from repeating that feat, taking on Premier League champions Manchester City on Sunday in this year's Wembley final.

Dean Smith is the manager hoping to emulate Brian Little next month, and his team have certainly earned their place st Wembley after seeing off a string of Premier League rivals to reach the final.

After beating League Two Crewe 6-1 in the second round, Villa have had to overcome top-flight rivals Brighton, Wolves, Liverpool and Leicester City to set up their Wembley date, but arguably their biggest hurdle yet lies in wait with Pep Guardiola's Man City.

So who will Smith's Villans be looking to emulate when they run out for the March 1 final? We have tracked down those Wembley heroes from 24 years ago...

Relive the highlights from Villa 3 Leeds 0 here

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now

Mark Bosnich

The Australian stopper won two League Cups with Villa in eight seasons in the Midlands - most notably saving three penalties in the 1994 League Cup semi-final shootout against Tranmere Rovers to send Villa to the final.

In 1999, 'Bozza' joined Manchester United on a free transfer before moving to Chelsea.

The keeper was released by the London club after failing a drugs test and went on to develop a heavy cocaine addiction, but got clean in 2007 and made a brief comeback for Central Coast Mariners and Sydney Olympic.

Bosnich is now a commentator and football pundit in his home country for Fox Sports.

Gary Charles

Villa's right back broke his leg against West Ham five games after the League Cup triumph and suffered with injuries throughout the rest of his career.

After spells at Graeme Souness' Benfica, the Hammers and Birmingham City, the twice-capped Englishman retired from football in 2002.

Charles had a brief break from football in 2012 but struggled with alcoholism and was jailed three times before seeking help in the form of former team-mate Roy Keane who welcomed the former Villa man into his home.

The defender went on to get his coaching badges and became assistant manager at Lincoln City before being named as the Director of Football at the University of Nottingham.

He was most recently boss of Nuneaton Town - but was sacked in June 2018 - and also has his own sports clinic.

Gareth Southgate

(Image: Mirrorpix)

For most football fans Gareth Southgate will be remembered for his penalty miss in the semi-final of Euro '96 against Germany, but Villa and Middlesbrough supporters see the defender in a much more positive light.

After five years with Villa, Southgate left in 2000 for Boro and was joined by former claret and blue team-mate Ugo Ehiogu.

The centre-half won the League Cup with his new club in 2004 and finished as a runner-up in the UEFA Cup two years later under a soon-to-be 'Wally with a Brolly' Steve McClaren.

When the manager left for the national side in 2006 Southgate took over, but could not keep Boro from slipping into the Championship three years later and he was sacked shortly after.

After climbing the FA ladder, Southgate now finds himself in charge of England!

He will be looking to make sure the Three Lions qualify for Euro 2020.

Ugo Ehiogu

Ehiogu left for Boro in 2001 with almost 250 appearances for Villa under his belt.

The central defender played at the Riverside for six years before having stints at Leeds United, Rangers and Sheffield United - finishing his career with the Blades.

Ehiogu came out of retirement in 2012 with Ray Parlour, Martin Keown, Graeme Le Saux, Claudio Caniggia and Brian McBride to play for Wembley FC in their FA Cup run, but they were knocked out in the preliminary rounds.

The defender was the U21 team coach at Tottenham but passed away in 2017 following a cardiac arrest at Spurs' training ground.

Paul McGrath

Arguably Aston Villa and Ireland's greatest ever player, Paul McGrath played at Villa Park for seven years before having short spells at Derby County and Sheffield United.

'God' was notoriously injury-prone and an alcoholic and he lurched from one crisis to another during his career – and even attempted suicide.

The defender retired at the age of 38 in 1998 after brief spells at Derby County and Sheffield United.

He now lives in Monageer, County Wexford in the Republic of Ireland with his former Marine son and works as a part-time football pundit.

Alan Wright

Wright made over 250 league appearances for Villa and solidified the left-back position for a number of seasons.

After Villa, the 5'4" defender went on to play for Middlesbrough, Sheffield United, Derby County, Leeds United, Cardiff City, Doncaster Rovers, Nottingham Forest, Cheltenham Town and Fleetwood Town before retiring.

Wright went on to a career in management after hanging up his boots, becoming a coach then assistant manager at Blackpool.

The left-back went on to manage Northwich Victoria and Southport, but was axed in 2013 with the side sitting 18th in the table.

Ian Taylor

Ian Taylor was a boyhood Villa fan and came up through the non-league system to secure himself a spot in his club's starting XI.

Taylor scored 42 goals for Villa in 290 appearances, including the second in the 1996 League Cup final.

Taylor left Villa Park in 2003 for Derby County before ending his career in Northampton Town in 2007 after helping the Cobblers to promotion to League One the season before.

Taylor is now an ambassador for Villa, an occasional pundit and has his own company called iT7 Audio which makes headphones and speakers.

Mark Draper

Draper spent five years at Villa Park and made over 100 appearances before making a loan move to La Liga outfit Rayo Vallecano.

The midfielder then returned to England with Southampton, but was forced to retire at the age of 33 due to a string of injuries.

In 2009, Draper briefly came out of retirement to play for non-league Dunkirk in Nottingham before taking coaching roles at Radford FC and Arnold Town.

Shortly afterwards, Draper became the first-team kit man at his beloved Notts County - where he started his career in 1988. He works with ex-Aston Villa footballer Dave Norton at their soccer school Draper Norton Football.

Andy Townsend

(Image: Shaun Botterill/ALLSPORT)

Andy Townsend captained Villa in the 1996 League Cup final. and also won the Man of the Match Award for his performance.

Townsend made almost 150 appearances for Villa before leaving for Middlesbrough in 1997, forming a strong partnership with Paul Gascoigne.

The midfielder then transferred to West Brom where he ended his career in 2000 due to a recurring knee injury.

After his retirement, Andy Townsend became a pundit.

Dwight Yorke

Dwight Yorke scored 98 goals in 287 appearances for The Villans over nine seasons and was dubbed "the smiling assassin."

The forward scored the final goal in the 3-0 League Cup final victory in 1996, after being left out in the final two seasons earlier.

Yorke left Villa for Manchester United in 1998 and he went on to form arguably the greatest strike partnership in the Premier League era with Andy Cole - winning three Premier League trophies, one FA Cup and one Champions League in the process - including the famous treble.

The Trinidadian then turned out for Blackburn, Birmingham, Sydney FC and Sunderland before retiring and becoming the assistant manager for his national team.

Yorke now regularly works as a pundit on TV.

Savo Milosevic

(Image: Rebecca Naden/PA)

Savo Milosevic scored the first goal in the 1996 League Cup final having joined the Midlands club at the start of the season.

The Serb was dubbed "Miss-a-lot-evic" due to the lack of goals scored at Villa - the forward netted 29 times in three seasons for Villa before moving to Zaragoza and scoring a goal every two games over two seasons in La Liga.

A £22m move to Parma followed, but a lack of game-time for the Italian side saw Milosevic bounce around to Espanyol, Celta Vigo and Osasuna retiring after a brief spell at Rubin Kazan at the age of 35.

Since retiring, the former Villa striker has been an assistant for the Montenegro national team and was the Technical Director of the Serbian FA. He is current manager of Serbian SuperLiga club FK Partizan.

Brian Little

(Image: Rebecca Naden/PA)

Brian Little came to Villa in the 1994/95 season having to rescue the Midlands club from relegation just eighteen months after finishing the maiden Premier League campaign as runners-up.

Little kept the side up and won the League Cup the following year before resigning after a third season at the helm.

The former Villa player went on to manage Stoke City, West Brom, Hull City, Tranmere Rovers, Wrexham, Gainsborough Trinity before being sacked by the Conference National side in 2011.

In 2014, Little became Jersey FA's Director of Football as the island announced their intentions to join UEFA and enjoyed a temporary spell as manager.

He returned to his beloved Villa as an advisor.