The late Aston Villa legendary goalkeeper, Jimmy Rimmer, was once in tears in the dressing room during the 1982 European Cup final.
Aston Villa’s former goalkeeper reportedly passed away today at the age of 78. He was well known as the last league-winning goalkeeper following Villa’s most recent triumphant campaign in the English top flight back in 1980/81. He featured in each and every First Division game, keeping 15 clean sheets, the best form of his career.
However, he was often described as one of the unluckiest goalkeepers in European Cup history. Despite winning it twice, Rimmer never stayed on the pitch for even ten minutes.
He first won it as Manchester United’s unused substitute in the 1968 European Cup final. Yet, the second one was truly painful as he had to be sidelined because of a neck injury in the 1982 final when the match was only on the ninth minutes.
According to a report in Sky News, the former Arsenal shot-stopper was reportedly devastated.
“Rimmer was in tears in the dressing room as he received treatment from club doctor David Targett, although he was back in the dugout in time to witness Peter Withe’s winning goal and join in the post-match celebrations.”
His neck injury might actually have been the result of what happened to him five days before the final in Rotterdam. It was the final league match against Swansea. Rimmer came out to collect a cross when he collided with Swansea player Bob Latchford. He did manage to catch the ball, but he landed on the back of his neck.
During one of his interviews with the press, Rimmer recalled that terrible moment.
“Next day my shoulder was terrible. The doctor wasn’t sure the jabs would work, but Tony Barton wanted me to play, so we tried to make sure nobody knew.
“I had injections in my neck and my shoulder. Cortisone takes pain away, but eight or nine minutes into the game, I knew there was no chance. You’ve got to have a goalkeeper who can make saves. I couldn’t lift my arm.
“You’ve got to be a man; there was a decision to make. I had to make it as a senior player. I could’ve stayed on. We’d worked hard to get there, and we wanted to win. It’s a team game, not Jimmy Rimmer’s game. I cried in the dressing room.
“The good thing was that I think I made the right decision. The lad came on and was magnificent. Full credit to him.”
Despite being considered a legend for the Lions, Rimmer never received a call-up for England while playing for Villa. His one and only cap came in 1976 when he was still playing for Arsenal.
Wearing shirt number 20, he was handed his debut against Italy in a friendly match in May by England manager Don Revie.
Sadly, it did not end well for him despite England’s 3-2 victory over Gli Azzurri, with Dino Zoff and Fabio Capello in the line-up.
Rimmer only featured in the first half but conceded twice from Francesco Graziani’s brace within three minutes. The Three Lions were 2-0 down as they headed into the interval.
He was then substituted for Joe Corrigan, who kept a clean sheet as England scored three times in the second half.
The post Remembering the Late Aston Villa’s Jimmy Rimmer, Who Was ‘in Tears in the Dressing Room’ in the European Cup Final appeared first on AVillaFan.com – Aston Villa Fan Site.
