Aston Villa Mourns Loss of European Cup Hero Jimmy Rimmer at 78

The football community is mourning the loss of Jimmy Rimmer, a former Aston Villa goalkeeper who played a crucial role in the club's historic European Cup victory in 1982. Rimmer, who passed away at the age of 78, had a distinguished career spanning over two decades and is one of the few players to have won the European Cup with two different English clubs. According to a post on Sky Sports Premier League's X handle, Aston Villa announced Rimmer's passing, stating, 'Aston Villa have announced the passing of European Cup winner Jimmy Rimmer, who died at the age of 78.' 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. 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. In the 1982 European Cup final, Villa defeated Bayern Munich 1-0 in Rotterdam, with Peter Withe scoring the decisive goal. Although Rimmer started the match, he was forced off with an injury after just nine minutes, with Nigel Spink coming on to produce a memorable performance. Despite leaving the field early, Rimmer was recognised as part of the European Cup-winning team and collected his second winners' medal. Throughout his career, Rimmer made 229 league appearances for Aston Villa and also represented England at international level, earning one senior cap.