In 1980 – 81 Cooper made 61 appearances as Ipswich reached the League Cup fourth round , the semi-finals of the FA Cup and the final of the UEFA Cup , in which they defeated AZ Alkmaar 5 – 4 on aggregate to win the club 's first European trophy . However , they missed out on the league title after losing seven of their last ten matches , something that Cooper has said is the only disappointment of his career . At the end of the 1980 – 81 season Cooper was named Player of the Year by Ipswich supporters . During this time , Cooper was the only regular first team member at Ipswich not to play for his country , although he was considered unlucky not to do so , facing competition from Peter Shilton and Ray Clemence . In 1981 , he was also one of several Ipswich players to appear in the film Escape to Victory , with Cooper used as a stand-in for Sylvester Stallone , whose character played in goal . The following season saw Ipswich finish as league runners-up for a second consecutive season , although Cooper missed 10 league games , Sivell playing in nine and John Jackson making his only Ipswich appearance in the other
Player of the Year
Ipswich Town F.C. Player of the Year
Paul Cooper (footballer, born 1953)