Bruce Grobbelaar
|
|
Bruce Grobbelaar (born October 6, 1957 in Durban, South Africa) was a football goalkeeper for Zimbabwe and a number of clubs, most notably Liverpool F.C.
| Contents |
Career
He joined Liverpool in 1981 from the Vancouver Whitecaps of the North American Soccer League, and played 627 first team games. At Liverpool, he became famous for his eccentric and flamboyant style. In 1984, the European Cup final between Liverpool and AS Roma finished 1-1 after extra time, and went to kicks from the penalty mark (penalty shootout). Before Roma's Francesco Graziani took his kick, Grobbelaar famously wobbled his legs in mock terror. Graziani missed, and Liverpool won the shootout 4-2.
Grobbelaar left Liverpool in 1994, transferring to Southampton. However, the same year he was accused by the British tabloid newspaper The Sun of match fixing during his time at Liverpool to benefit a betting syndicate, after being caught on videotape discussing match-fixing. He was charged with conspiracy to corrupt, along with the Wimbledon goalkeeper Hans Segers and Aston Villa striker John Fashanu, and a Malaysian businessman, Heng Suan Lim.
Grobbelaar pleaded not guilty, claiming he was only gathering evidence with the intent of taking 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 sued The Sun for libel. and was awarded £85,000. The Sun appealed, and the case was eventually taken to the House of Lords. The Lords slashed his award to £1, the lowest libel damages possible under English law, and ordered him to pay The Sun's legal costs, estimated at £500,000. Grobbelaar was unable to do so and was declared bankrupt. He has since moved back to South Africa.
Teams
- Vancouver Whitecaps
- Crewe Alexandra F.C.
- Stoke City F.C.
- Liverpool F.C.
- Southampton F.C.
- Plymouth Argyle F.C.
- Lincoln City F.C.
- Northwich Victoria F.C.
- Oldham Athletic A.F.C.
- Bury F.C..
He later coached and managed in Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Honours
- Six League titles
- European Cup (1984)
- Three FA Cup titles
- Three League Cup titles
External links
- Liverpool FC profile (http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/team/past_players/players/grobbelaar/)
- 2004 interview in The Guardian (http://football.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,9753,1380496,00.html)