 Grobbelaar in 2008 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Bruce David Grobbelaar | ||
| Date of birth | (1957-10-06)6 October 1957 (age 68)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Durban,South Africa | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1] | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1973–1974 | Highlanders | 2 | (0) |
| 1975 | Chibuku Shumba | 13 | (0) |
| 1976 | Highlands Park | 0 | (0) |
| 1977–1978 | Durban City | 23 | (0) |
| 1979–1981 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 24 | (0) |
| 1979–1980 | →Crewe Alexandra (loan) | 24 | (1) |
| 1981–1994 | Liverpool | 440 | (0) |
| 1993 | →Stoke City (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 1994–1996 | Southampton | 32 | (0) |
| 1996–1997 | Plymouth Argyle | 36 | (0) |
| 1997 | Oxford United | 0 | (0) |
| 1997 | Sheffield Wednesday | 0 | (0) |
| 1997–1998 | Oldham Athletic | 4 | (0) |
| 1998 | Chesham United | 4 | (0) |
| 1998 | Bury | 1 | (0) |
| 1998 | Lincoln City | 2 | (0) |
| 1999 | Northwich Victoria | 1 | (0) |
| 2002 | Hellenic | 1 | (0) |
| 2007 | Glasshoughton Welfare | 1 | (0) |
| Total | 574 | (1) | |
| International career | |||
| 1977–1998 | Zimbabwe | 33 | (0) |
| 2018 | Matabeleland | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1997 | Zimbabwe | ||
| 1998 | Zimbabwe | ||
| 1999–2001 | SuperSport United | ||
| 2001–2002 | Hellenic | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Bruce David Grobbelaar (born 6 October 1957) is a Zimbabwean former professionalfootballer who played as agoalkeeper, most prominently for English clubLiverpool between 1981 and 1994, and for theZimbabwean national team. Regarded as one of the best goalkeepers of his era, he is remembered for his gymnastic-like athletic ability, unflappable confidence, eccentric and flamboyant style of play, as well as his rushing ability, which has led pundits to compare him retrospectively to thesweeper-keepers of the modern era.[2][3]
Born in South Africa, Grobbelaar grew up in neighbouringRhodesia (today Zimbabwe), and served in theRhodesian Army before he joined theVancouver Whitecaps of theNorth American Soccer League in 1979. He gained Liverpool's attention during a loan spell atCrewe Alexandra during the 1979–80 season, and signed for the Merseyside club in 1981. Making 628 appearances for Liverpool over the next 13 years, including 440 in the League, he won the League championship with the club six times, as well as threeFA Cups, threeLeague Cups and the1983–84 European Cup.
Grobbelaar left Liverpool forSouthampton in 1994, transferred toPlymouth Argyle two years later, and thereafter played for an assortment of English lower-league teams, never for more than a few games. He was appointed as goalkeeper coach forOttawa Fury FC of theNorth American Soccer League in 2014.[4] In March 2018 he was announced as goalkeeper coach for theMatabeleland football team.[5]
In his teenage years, Grobbelaar was a talentedcricketer and was offered abaseball scholarship in the United States, but a career in football was his main ambition. He attended David Livingstone Primary School in Harare before moving ontoHamilton High School inBulawayo. His footballing career started with a Bulawayo-based team,Highlanders, inRhodesia's second biggest city. In his late teens he was signed up byDurban City in South Africa, but left claiming to have been sidelined owing to his colour in a predominantly black team — the team had played in an all-white league until the previous year. Immediately after leaving Highlands Park, he was conscripted into National Service, spending eleven months on active service in theRhodesia Regiment during theRhodesian Bush War.[6]
In 1979, Grobbelaar was signed by theVancouver Whitecaps of theNASL after he had attended theirscouting camp in South Africa. At the Vancouver Whitecaps, Grobbelaar played under the management of formerEngland andBlackpool goalkeeper,Tony Waiters, making his debut on 4 August 1979 against theLos Angeles Aztecs away. The Whitecaps lost 0–2,Johan Cruyff scoring one of the Aztecs' goals. Grobbelaar spent the rest of the season as second choice to formerWolverhampton Wanderers keeperPhil Parkes.
During 1979, he visited England to see family friends, and a chance phone call fromRon Atkinson, brought him an impromptu trial withWest Bromwich Albion. Atkinson was keen to sign Grobbelaar but owing to difficulties over gaining a work permit, the deal fell through. In steppedCrewe Alexandra, signing Grobbelaar on loan on 18 December 1979. In an early League appearance for the Railwaymen in the Fourth Division, the unknown Grobbelaar was named on the team sheet in theYork City matchday programme as "Bill Grobbelaar". During his time at Crewe, Grobbelaar played 24League games and scored his only professional goal, a penalty, in his last game. By good fortune, on the evening when he gave his greatest performance for Crewe, he was spotted by Liverpool's head scout Tom Saunders.[citation needed]
At the end of the loan period, Grobbelaar returned to Vancouver for the1980 NASL season.
_in_duel_met_Liverpool-doelman_Bruce_Grobbelaar_(links%2c_Bestanddeelnr_931-7560.jpg)
By the time Liverpool had completed their research on Grobbelaar, he had returned to Vancouver with his loan spell now over. Liverpool approached Tony Waiters with the idea of taking Grobbelaar toAnfield, and Waiters, who had a working relationship with Liverpool in the 1970s, paved the way for the move. Grobbelaar signed for Liverpool for £250,000 on 17 March 1981 as their reserve goalkeeper, but in mid-1981, regular goalkeeperRay Clemence's departure toTottenham Hotspur gave Grobbelaar his opportunity.
Grobbelaar made his debut on 28 August 1981 but failed to preventWolverhampton Wanderers winning the league fixture 1–0 atMolineux.[7] Also making their debuts were defenderMark Lawrenson and midfielderCraig Johnston. His first clean sheet came a fortnight later at Anfield on 5 September,Arsenal were the visitors who were beaten by a 2–0 scoreline.[8]
Grobbelaar's early days as No.1 were strewn with errors and the Reds struggled to obtain any sort of consistency, Grobbelaar taking a lot of the blame. By the end of the calendar year Liverpool were mid table in the league and looked to be out of the running fortitle honours, especially as they had just lost toManchester City 3–1 at Anfield in theBoxing Day fixture – a defeat which putJohn Bond's team top of the league. The New Year brought a new momentum asBob Paisley began to get the best out of his players; they began the year inSouth Wales visiting theVetch Field to playSwansea City in theFA Cup, Liverpool were in fine form and beat the hosts 4–0. This set them on their way in the league, dropping just seven of the 50 available points, overhauling the points gap thatIpswich Town had opened on them.
Grobbelaar added the championship medal to theLeague Cup winners medal he had gained atWembley on 13 March; the Reds beat Spurs 3–1, who had Ray Clemence in goal.
During the period 1981–1994, Grobbelaar played 627 first team games for Liverpool, becoming known for his eccentric and flamboyant style. In the1984 European Cup final between Liverpool andAS Roma, he became the first African player to feature in aEuropean Cup final. The game finished 1–1 after extra time and went to apenalty shootout. As Roma'sBruno Conti prepared to take his kick, Grobbelaar walked towards the goal smiling confidently at the cameras lined-up behind, then proceeded to bite the back of the net, in imitation of eating spaghetti. Conti sent his spot kick over the bar. Grobbelaar then produced a similar performance beforeFrancesco Graziani took his kick, wobbling his legs in mock terror. Graziani missed and Liverpool went on to win the shootout 4–2. Grobbelaar became the first African to win theEuropean Cup/UEFA Champions League.
Grobbelaar was retained by three of Liverpool's greatest managers; Paisley,Fagan andDalglish, over a period of 13 years. His strengths were his gymnastic-like agility, and an unflappable confidence. He was never afraid to be seen to berate his defenders if he thought they had given easy opportunities to the opposition, such as in his verbal assault onJim Beglin in the first allMerseysideFA Cup final againstEverton in 1986. Over the course of his Liverpool career he won more medals than any of his contemporaries.
In1984–85, Grobbelaar brought down a spectator who had invaded the pitch during a game, allowing the police to handcuff the offending spectator.[9]
Although there were occasional challenges to his position as Liverpool's number 1, Grobbelaar was a virtual ever-present from Clemence's departure to the start of the 1990s which coincided with the end of the club's dominance. He was a mainstay in his first five league campaigns at Anfield, when Liverpool were champions four times and runners-up on the other occasion. However, in1988–89, injuries and illness restricted his first team opportunities and he played 21 times in the league, withMike Hooper taking his place on the other 17 occasions. However, he was fit to face Everton in the 3–2 FA Cup win on 20 May 1989, though six days later he conceded a last minute goal to Arsenal midfielderMichael Thomas on the final day of the league season as the league title waswrenched from Liverpool's grasp and headed toHighbury instead. A month earlier, he played in the FA Cup semi-final win overNottingham Forest which was played atOld Trafford afterthe original match atHillsborough was cancelled due to the tragedy that led to 97 fans dying on the terracing behind Grobbelaar's goal. Grobbelaar attended many of the victims' funerals.
The signing ofDavid James fromWatford in mid-1992 spelt the beginning of the end for Grobbelaar at Liverpool. Although James struggled to impress at first, Grobbelaar's insistence on playing forZimbabwe gave James chances; Grobbelaar only played six times for Liverpool during 1992–93 and spent a short period on loan atSecond Division sideStoke City where he made four appearances. James's uncertainty allowed Grobbelaar to regain his place in the first team at the start of the 1993–94 season, in which his performance, like the team's, started well but fell away badly. In a notorious incident in a Merseyside derby that year, Grobbelaar even physically assaulted young teammateSteve McManaman.[10] He was a consistent starter until he was injured in the final minute of a 2–0 defeat atLeeds United on 19 February 1994, in what would be his final appearance for the club.
In 14 years at the club, he had won six league title medals, three FA Cup winner's medal, three Football League Cup winner's medals and a European Cup winner's medal.
Grobbelaar left Liverpool in mid-1994, transferring on a free transfer toSouthampton. He made his debut on 20 August 1994 in the 1–1 league draw withBlackburn Rovers atThe Dell.[11] He spent two seasons with the Saints competing with another goalkeeper with a reputation for eccentricity,Dave Beasant.[12] Despite the fuss caused by the match-fixing allegations (see below), managerAlan Ball maintained faith in him, and he kept his place in the team for most of the 1994–95 season.[13]
Allegations that Grobbelar had been match-fixing first appeared in November 1994. Nevertheless, in his next game, at home toArsenal, he kept a clean sheet despite the media frenzy that surrounded the game.[14] TheSouthern Daily Echo reported that Grobbelaar was "swept along on a tidal wave of emotion, to emerge triumphant from the toughest match of his life".[14]
In the 1995–96 season, Grobbelaar only managed two games for the Saints, before moving on toPlymouth Argyle.[15]
Grobbelaar spent the 1996–97 season with Plymouth, after which he spent short spells atOxford United,Sheffield Wednesday,Oldham Athletic,Chesham United,Bury,Lincoln City andNorthwich Victoria over the next two years before returning to his native country.
Grobbelaar was born inDurban, South Africa to ethnicAfrikaner parents. When he was two months old, he emigrated to Rhodesia with his mother and sister to join his father, who had got a job on the railways there.[16]
Grobbelaar grew up and learnt his football in Rhodesia. He made his international debut forRhodesia as a 19-year-old in a friendly versusSouth Africa in 1977.[17] Grobbelaar played for Zimbabwe in both of their1982 World Cup qualifying matches versusCameroon.[11] He also appeared for his country in a qualifying match for the1986 World Cup versusEgypt.[11]
In 1992, he returned to the national team after an absence of several years.[11] With a team including Grobbelaar andAdam andPeter Ndlovu, Zimbabwe came just a victory short of qualification for the1994 World Cup under the guidance of managerReinhard Fabisch.[18] Grobbelaar earned 32 caps for Zimbabwe between 1980 and 1998.
On 7 June 2018, Grobbelaar played a one-off game forMatabeleland in theConIFA World Cup against theChagos Islands, playing 30 minutes.[19]
On 10 November 1994,[20] Grobbelaar was accused by the Britishtabloid newspaperThe Sun ofmatch fixing during his time at Liverpool to benefit a betting syndicate, after being caught on videotape discussing match-fixing. He was charged withconspiracy to corrupt, along with theWimbledon goalkeeperHans Segers andAston Villa strikerJohn Fashanu (only recently signed from Wimbledon), and a Malaysian businessman,Heng Suan Lim.
Despite these allegations, Grobbelaar and Segers were allowed to continue playing, while Fashanu retired from playing less than a year after being charged. Grobbelaar pleaded not guilty, claiming he was only gathering evidence with the intent of taking it to the police. After two successive trials, in both of which the jury could not agree on a verdict, he and his co-defendants were cleared in November 1997. Grobbelaar later suedThe Sun forlibel and was awarded £85,000.The Sun appealed, and the case was eventually taken to theHouse of Lords where it was found that, though the specific allegations had not been proved, there was adequate evidence of dishonesty. The Lords slashed his award to £1, the lowest libel damages possible under English law, and ordered him to payThe Sun'slegal costs, estimated at £500,000. In his judgement,Lord Bingham of Cornhill observed:
The tort of defamation protects those whose reputations have been unlawfully injured. It affords little or no protection to those who have, or deserve to have, no reputation deserving of legal protection. Until 9 November 1994 when the newspaper published its first articles about him, the appellant's public reputation was unblemished. But he had in fact acted in a way in which no decent or honest footballer would act and in a way which could, if not exposed and stamped on, undermine the integrity of a game which earns the loyalty and support of millions.[21]
Grobbelaar was unable to pay the costs and was declaredbankrupt.[22] He and Segers did not retire from playing until some time after being cleared of their involvement in the alleged match fixing.
Grobbelaar moved back to South Africa, his place of birth, where he coached a number of teams with various degrees of success. He managedSeven Stars in 1999 and took the team from the relegation zone to finish fourth in the final league table. In 2001, he took over strugglingHellenic. While at the club, he saved them from relegation, and played in their last match of the season, against Kaizer Chiefs, starting the game, and substituting himself after 20 minutes after cracking his ribs. He was the oldest player ever to have played in the South African league, at 44 years old, until his record was beaten in 2013 by fellow keeper Andre Arendse.[23] He also spent time coachingSupersport United,Manning Rangers (2004) andUmtata Bush Bucks (2004), as well as in Zimbabwe, where he was twice briefly player-manager ofZimbabwe's national team in 1997 and 1998.
Grobbelaar briefly returned to the United Kingdom to help coach a number of clubs. Grobbelaar has previously stated that he "hopes to one day return to Anfield as the manager of Liverpool FC."[citation needed]
Grobbelaar returned to England in 2006 to play in a replay of the 1986 FA Cup final againstEverton for the Marina Dalglish Appeal, a charity for Cancer research set up by former team-mate and manager Kenny Dalglish and his wife, Marina, a cancer survivor. Liverpool won the match 1–0.
Grobbelaar played inSky One'sThe Match in 2004 andThe Match 3 in 2006, keeping a clean sheet in both games.
Grobbelaar, also known as "Brucie", is still a firm favourite amongst the Anfield faithful, and was voted as No.17 in a poll100 Players Who Shook The Kop conducted in mid-2006 by the official Liverpool Football Club website. Over 110,000 worldwide voted for their best ten players in the Anfield club's history, with Grobbelaar finishing 2nd in the goalkeeping stakes.
In March 2007, Liverpool's official website announced that Grobbelaar would come out of retirement for a one-off game and play for non-leagueCastleford sideGlasshoughton Welfare to help them in their fight for survival. He played againstMaltby Main on 14 April 2007, helping Glasshoughton to a 2–1 win.[24]
On a 16 April 2009 episode of ITV'sHell's Kitchen, Grobbelaar wore a black armband on his left arm in remembrance of the 20th anniversary of theHillsborough disaster. On 22 April, he left the show citing a need to be reunited with his wife.[25]
He was persuaded to play forWinterbourne United in theirGloucestershire FA Trophy game againstPatchway Town on 5 December 2009 but in the end did not make an appearance. Winterbourne at that time were managed byNicky Tanner, who was a teammate of Grobbelaar at Liverpool.[26]
During theWorld Cup 2010 in South Africa, he appeared on Norwegian TV-channelTV 2.
As of 2012, Grobbelaar resided inCorner Brook, Newfoundland, Canada,[27] where he was active in the local soccer scene, playing keeper for Corner Brook Men's Soccer League team West Side Monarchs, and occasionally lending his expertise to the Corner Brook Minor Soccer Association as a coach.
From July 2014 to January 2018, he was the goalkeeping coach forOttawa Fury FC of theNorth American Soccer League and subsequently theUnited Soccer League.[4]
In May 2018, he became goalkeeping coach for theMatabeleland football team, and on 1 June it was announced that he would join the playing roster for their remaining group games.[28] It was subsequently announced by head coach Justin Walley that he would start in goal againstChagos Islands on 7 June 2018.[29] He later became the goalkeeping coach with Norwegian clubØygarden FK.[30]
From 1983 to 2008 Grobbelaar was married to Deborah. They have two daughters.[31] He then married Karen Phillips. They have a daughter.[32] He is now married to Janne Hamre Karlsen.[33][34]
Source:[35]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other[A] | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Vancouver Whitecaps | 1979[36] | NASL | 1 | 0 | ― | ― | ― | ― | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 1980[36] | NASL | 23 | 0 | ― | ― | ― | ― | 23 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 24 | 0 | ― | ― | ― | ― | 24 | 0 | ||||||
| Crewe Alexandra (loan) | 1979–80[37] | Fourth Division | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 1 |
| Liverpool | 1980–81[11] | First Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1981–82[11] | First Division | 42 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 62 | 0 | |
| 1982–83[11] | First Division | 42 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 60 | 0 | |
| 1983–84[11] | First Division | 42 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 67 | 0 | |
| 1984–85[11] | First Division | 42 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 64 | 0 | |
| 1985–86[11] | First Division | 42 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ― | 6 | 0 | 63 | 0 | ||
| 1986–87[11] | First Division | 31 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 0 | ― | 2 | 0 | 45 | 0 | ||
| 1987–88[11] | First Division | 38 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ― | ― | 46 | 0 | |||
| 1988–89[11] | First Division | 21 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ― | 2 | 0 | 28 | 0 | ||
| 1989–90[11] | First Division | 38 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ― | 1 | 0 | 50 | 0 | ||
| 1990–91[11] | First Division | 31 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ― | 1 | 0 | 42 | 0 | ||
| 1991–92[11] | First Division | 37 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ― | 55 | 0 | ||
| 1992–93[11] | Premier League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
| 1993–94[11] | Premier League | 29 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ― | ― | 36 | 0 | |||
| Total | 440 | 0 | 62 | 0 | 70 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 628 | 0 | ||
| Stoke City (loan) | 1992–93[37] | Second Division | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ― | ― | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Southampton | 1994–95[11] | Premier League | 30 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ― | 0 | 0 | 38 | 0 | |
| 1995–96[38] | Premier League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ― | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Total | 32 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ― | 0 | 0 | 40 | 0 | |||
| Plymouth Argyle | 1996–97[39] | Second Division | 36 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ― | 0 | 0 | 41 | 0 | |
| Oldham Athletic | 1997–98[40] | Second Division | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ― | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Chesham United | 1998–99[35] | Isthmian League Premier Division | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ― | ― | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Bury | 1998–99[41] | First Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ― | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Lincoln City | 1998–99[41] | Second Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ― | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Northwich Victoria | 1999–2000[35] | Conference | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ― | ― | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Hellenic | 2001–02[35] | Premier Soccer League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ― | ― | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Glasshoughton Welfare | 2006–07[35] | Northern Counties East League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ― | ― | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Career Total | 574 | 1 | 70 | 0 | 75 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 775 | 1 | ||
Liverpool
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
