Jimmy Rimmer, a goalkeeper who won the European Cup with both Aston Villa and Manchester United, has died at the age of 78. Rimmer was a member of the Manchester United squad that defeated Benfica in the 1968 European Cup final, though he was an unused substitute for the match.
He later played a pivotal role for Aston Villa in their 1982 European Cup victory. Rimmer started in goal for Villa's 1-0 win against Bayern Munich in the final. However, he sustained a neck injury nine minutes into the game and was replaced by Nigel Spink. Rimmer had been Aston Villa's starting goalkeeper for their entire European Cup campaign that season, as well as during their 1980-81 league title-winning season. He made 229 league appearances for the club.
Beyond his European Cup successes, Rimmer also represented Swansea City and Arsenal during his career. He was named Arsenal's player of the season for 1974-75. Rimmer earned one cap for the England national team in a friendly against Italy in 1976.
Both Aston Villa and Manchester United expressed their sadness at Rimmer's passing, with Arsenal also offering tributes. Former Manchester United goalkeeper Alex Stepney shared his condolences on social media, remembering Rimmer as "such sad news" and wishing "lots of love to Jimmy's family."