How an unlikely scouting trip led to Aston Villa 'gate-crasher' conquering Europe

"I'm not sure I should be here!" were the words heroic back-up goalkeeper Nigel Spink muttered to Gordon 'Sid' Cowans as Karl-Heinz Rummenigge leaped up into the air to send his overhead kick just inches past Aston Villa's far post. Spink simply didn't have time to register that he was to replace the stricken Jimmy Rimmer in Villa's goal in the ninth minute in Rotterdam as the might of Bayern Munich continued to pile forward.

However, Chelmsford-born Spink soon eased into it, catching an early ball to settle any nerves. "I was just in disbelief," Spink said of involvement in Villa's most-decorated night. "Jimmy just never got injured and I played one game, against Forest in December 1979, prior to the European Cup final. I wasn't even aware of Jimmy's injury - I think it was his neck - that he had been carrying."

As for Rimmer, the former Manchester United and Arsenal keeper wept in the dressing room as Bayern just kept on coming forwards as Villa held firm at the back. "I owe so much to Jimmy," Spink said. "In a time where there were no goalkeeping coaches, I learnt all my skills off Jimmy. He played in all of the League-winning campaign and every single minute up until the final, yet there was me to gate-crash it. It's not that I felt guilty because I backed myself but I felt for Jimmy."

Spink, meanwhile, put in a man-of-the-match display in Rotterdam, denying the likes of Rummenigge and Bernd Durnberger time and time again. Bayern did manage to squirm one underneath Spink in the second half - but the offside flag was rightly waved.

"It's just crazy how it's 40 years ago," added Spink, with Villa celebrating their 40th anniversary of their European Cup win this weekend prior to kick-off against Crystal Palace. "The