The former England international and Aston Villa goalkeeper decided to take up an unlikely business venture more than a decade ago and chose to walk away from football.
Former England goalkeeper and Aston Villa legend Nigel Spink took his football pitch to the open road after retiring from the sport. The 67-year-old, who won his only England cap in 1983, was called up to the Three Lions squad the following year after heroically filling in for the injured Jimmy Rimmer during Villa’s win in the 1982 European Cup final.
Spink, making his second appearance for the club, started a long spell as Villa’s number one with a clean sheet against Bayern Munich. He made 460 appearances for the Villans, including appearances as an outfielder, and also won the European Super Cup and League Cup before leaving Villa Park in 1996.
Internationally, the highlight of his career was when he replaced England’s Peter Shilton against Australia and did not lose in a 1-1 draw. After retiring, Spink went on to become a successful coach, but in 2013 he decided to take a break from football and began a new career as a courier.
At the beginning of his coaching career, the Villa icon managed Forest Green Rovers for two years. He then worked as goalkeeping coach under Steve Bruce at Birmingham City, Wigan and Sunderland.
Towards the end of his time at Sunderland, when future business partner Paul Munro lent him his van to clear out his flat, Spink began to consider the idea that would eventually lead to him quitting football in 2013.
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“In November of that year, we actually loaded up the van and drove back and thought, what a great job this was,” he previously told Birmingham Live. “We spent the better part of 18 months researching. We did a lot of homework and preparation.”
The pair now run S Courier and M Courier, operating across the UK. Spink doesn’t seem to regret leaving football.
But he recently returned to the ground where Villa lifted the European Cup before beating Feyenoord in the Europa League.
“I’m enjoying every minute of it,” Spink said of his delivery business. “We have some great clients that we work with all the time and are open to anything. We both drive a Villa livery van and the club is still a big favorite for both of us.
“We work Monday to Friday. After years of working every weekend and public holidays as a soccer player, this is perfect because now I get to spend quality time with my family on the weekends.”
Spink rose to prominence on club football’s biggest stage, earning the privilege of representing his country and becoming a Villa legend.
While many fans dream of Spink’s playing career, he seems equally happy with his unexpected new profession.
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