Villa European Cup winner Rimmer dies at 78

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Former Aston Villa goalkeeper Jimmy Rimmer, a member of the club’s historic 1982 European Cup-winning side, has died at the age of 78.

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Rimmer, who enjoyed a distinguished career spanning more than two decades and became one of the few players to win the European Cup with two different English clubs.

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A post on Sky Sports Premier League’s X handle on Friday, quoted the club as saying, “Aston Villa have announced the passing of European Cup winner Jimmy Rimmer, who died at the age of 78.”

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Rimmer began his senior career with Manchester United and was part of the squad that won the European Cup in 1968, although he did not play in the final against Benfica.

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He later moved to Arsenal before joining Aston Villa, where he established himself as the club’s first-choice goalkeeper. Rimmer played a key role in Villa’s successful 1980–81 First Division title campaign and their historic European Cup run the following season.

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Villa defeated Bayern Munich 1–0 in the 1982 European Cup final in Rotterdam, with Peter Withe scoring the decisive goal. Rimmer started the match but was forced off with an injury after just nine minutes, with Nigel Spink coming on to produce a memorable performance.

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Despite leaving the field early, Rimmer was recognised as part of the European Cup-winning team and collected his second winners’ medal.

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Rimmer made 229 league appearances for Aston Villa and also represented England at international level, earning one senior cap.

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