Villa Park hosted 55 FA Cup semi-finals, more than any other stadium. The club hosted the League Cup Final in 1980–1981 when Liverpool beat West Ham 2–1 in a replay. In 1999, the stadium hosted the last final of the European Cup Winners' Cup in which Lazio beat Real Mallorca 2–1. During the construction of the new Wembley Stadium between 2001 and 2005, the FA Trophy Final was held at Villa Park. The 2012 Community Shield was held at Villa Park instead of Wembley due to Olympic Games at the stadium. The venue has also hosted two first-class cricket matches. The first
Aston Villa F.C. in the 1870s defeated England in under four hours. Aston Park, though, was where Villa met with their most significant fate of the decade. A 21-year-old Scot called George Ramsay turned up and begged a game. His dribbling wizardry entranced the young Villa players. Ramsay was immediately offered membership, and the captaincy, by his new Villa team-mates. He became a Villa legend on and off the pitch. He helped develop Villa's first permanent home, Wellington Road, and enthralled crowds with his skills there. A fixture of Villa's history until his death in 1935, Ramsay also helped Frederick Rinder negotiate the purchase of Villa