Jimmy Rimmer, the veteran goalkeeper who won the European Cup with both Manchester United and Aston Villa, has died at the age of 78.
Aston Villa announced the death of Reimer in a post on their X platform on Friday, without providing any further details. They described the former goalkeeper as "one of the best goalkeepers of his generation, and perhaps one of the unluckiest when it came to big occasions."
Rimmer was born in Southport and was part of the United squad that beat Benfica in the 1968 final, sitting on the bench in that historic match.
His most notable stint was with Aston Villa, where he led the team to the European Cup final in 1982. He played in the final against Bayern Munich, but a neck injury forced him to leave after only 9 minutes, with his teammate Nigel Spink taking over and Villa winning 1-0.
Reimer's role wasn't limited to the final; he played in every league match that season and was the starting goalkeeper in Aston Villa's 1980-81 league title-winning campaign. In total, he made 229 league appearances for the club, having previously played for Arsenal and Swansea City, and winning Arsenal's Player of the Year award in the 1974-75 season.
On the international level, Reimer played only one international match for England, against Italy in 1976.
Following the announcement of his death, Aston Villa, Manchester United, and Arsenal all paid tribute to him, expressing their deep sorrow. His former United teammate, goalkeeper Alex Stepney, also wrote on social media: "Sad news of Jamie's passing, may God rest his soul. My thoughts are with his family."
