Villa European Cup winner Rimmer dies at 78

Former Aston Villa goalkeeper Jimmy Rimmer, a key member of the club's 1982 European Cup-winning team, has passed away at the age of 78. Rimmer, who enjoyed a long and distinguished career spanning over two decades, became one of the few players to win the European Cup with two different English clubs. Although he did not play in the final against Benfica, Rimmer had a successful senior career, starting with Manchester United and later moving to Arsenal before joining Aston Villa.

He played a crucial role in Villa's successful 1980-81 First Division title campaign and their historic European Cup run the following season, where they defeated Bayern Munich 1-0. Rimmer started the match but was forced off with an injury after just nine minutes, with Nigel Spink stepping in to produce a memorable performance. Rimmer made 229 league appearances for Aston Villa and also represented England once.

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