Former Aston Villa captain Dennis Mortimer reveals he no longer has his 1982 European Cup-winning shirt and has spent years trying to track it down.
The midfielder cemented his place in footballing history when he captained ‘The Villans‘ to their first major continental success with a 1-0 win over Bayern Munich amid a period of English dominance in Europe.
The midfielder made over 300 appearances for the West Midlands side during his ten years at the club and helped Villa to their most recent league title in 1981, as well as the 1977 League Cup.
Speaking to FourFourTwo, Mortimer discussed the preparation for the final against Bayern Munich, coming into the fixture as huge underdogs.
“Bayern had more control of the ball – there’s no doubt that they were the better side,” he said.
“They prevented us from playing our game by not allowing us to counter-attack, which was our main strength. Their defensive players didn’t push high – they just remained in their own half. The first time we got in behind Bayern’s backline was when we scored the only goal.
“Goalkeeper Nigel Spink, who’d made only one appearance for Villa beforehand, had to come on after nine minutes and then try to play the game of his life, which he did. It’s a story he’ll cherish for the rest of his days.
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“We managed to keep the European Cup in England as the previous five winners had also been English [Liverpool three times and Nottingham Forest twice], which is a terrific thing from an English point of view.
“Being the captain was a major factor for me as well. We played nine games in Europe and I played every second of them. When reflecting on your career, these are the moments you think about the most.
“So many players go through an entire career and don’t win anything. Knowing I had my moment of glory means the world to me.”
However, Mortimer revealed that the shirt he wore on the night quickly vanished from his clutches, with the unsuccessful retrieval of the shirt spanning a number of years.
“I kept mine [my shirt] on during the celebrations on the pitch, but afterwards the kitman told those of us who hadn’t swapped shirts with a Bayern player to hand them over.
“He stuffed them in a bag and took them to the Bayern dressing room, before returning holding a pile of their jerseys. I grabbed a top that had No.3 on the back [from Udo Horsmann].
“My nephew had the idea to try to track down my original No.6 shirt, but it hasn’t been easy so far. He started ages ago and has tried a lot of avenues: he’s been to the club, he’s been to the kitman who was working at the time, he’s asked someone to ask all of the players who are still around if they’ve got it and we’ve even had articles in the newspaper. Unfortunately, we haven’t come up with any answers.
“Peter Withe got his shirt back. He contacted Bayern and asked them if they still had his shirt, and whether he could exchange it for the top he took from one of their lads.
“They had his shirt and agreed to it. The other one was Nigel, the goalkeeper, who’d swapped with the Bayern keeper [Manfred Muller]. Many years later, he called Bayern and asked the same question: whether he could get his shirt back by doing a swap.
“They said that wasn’t a problem, and when Nigel went on holiday to Germany, he drove past the Bayern stadium and collected his shirt. It was presented to him in a lovely box, nice and flat, whereas Nigel had turned up in Munich with his Bayern jersey shoved in a carrier bag!
“So, I know some of the players have had success tracking down their shirts from that evening, but we’ve been searching for mine for a while now.”
Aston Villa have the opportunity to add to their collection of European trophies this season after a 2-1 win over Lille in the first leg of their UEFA Conference League quarter final tie.
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