Bruce Grobbelaar

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Bruce Grobbelaar
Bruce Grobbelaar
Bruce 'Jungleman' Grobbelaar
BornBruce David Grobbelaar
(1957-10-06) October 6, 1957 (age 66)
Durban, South Africa
ResidenceCanada
Occupation
  • Footballer
  • Football Coach.
Years active1973 to present
Notable workWon European Cup with Liverpool in 1984
Spouse(s)Debbie
ChildrenDaughters: Tahli Grobbelaar, Olivia Grobbelaar


Bruce "Jungleman" Grobbelaar is one of the most celebrated footballers to have played for the Zimbabwe national soccer team. He is also one of the legendary players to have featured for Liverpool Football Club winning the UEFA Champions league with the team in 1984 when the competition was still known as the European Cup.

Background

Bruce David Grobbelaar was born on 6 October 1957 in Durban, South Africa.[1]
He attended Hamilton High School in Bulawayo.

National Team Caps

29

Teams Played For

  • Liverpool Football Club
  • Highlanders Football Club

Football career

Bruce was once a goal minder for Highlanders Football Club.[2] He played for Crewe Alexandra in December 1979 a match which was watched by Liverpool scouts, he was later on signed by the cub for £250,000 on 17 March 1981.[3] He then made a move to England where he played for Liverpool from 1981 to 1994 and achieved a lot with the club. He was also popular for his theatrics during penalty shootouts as well as running out far away from his 18 yard box to intercept opposition forwards to claiming just about every ball that came relatively within his goal area. He is widely credit for Liverpool's European triumph over AS Roma when when he is said to have unsettled Roma's penalty taker by chewing the net while he was supposed to be facing the penalty taker. When the Roma player eventually took the penalty, he skied his effort. He did an almost similar stunt by wobbling his legs mimicking terror and his opponent went on to miss his penalty. He made a total of 440 appearances for Liverpool playing alongside some of Liverpool's greatest players such as Kenny Dalglish[2] Bruce also had a very successful international career with the warriors team playing alongside other greats such as Rahman Gumbo, Peter Ndlovu and Benjamin Nkonjera under the guidance one of the most iconic figures to have coached the warriors, Reinard Fabisch.

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Accolades

  • UEFA Champios League x1
  • League titles x3
  • FA Cup winners medal x3
  • First division titles x6

Video

Bruce in the final against Roma

Multi-talented

Apart from his footballing prowess, it is said that Bruce was a very prominent cricketer as a teenager and was even offered a baseball scholarship to the United States of America.[4]

Coaching Qualifications

Uefa A Licence coaching license[2]

Match Fixing Allegations

The former Bosso goalie was involved in a protracted lawsuit with The Sun after he was said to have been caught on camera having a discussion with a bookmaker. The goal minder was acquitted in 1997 and won a £500,000 award. The Sun would appeal and his award would be reduced to just £1.[2]

Trivia

Grobbelaar served in the Rhodesian army during the liberation struggle.




References

  1. Bruce Grobbelaar, Player Profile, Published: No Date Given, Retrieved: February 13, 2015
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Michael Madyira Zim has turned its back on me: Grobbelaar, The Standard, Published: November 4, 2012, Retrieved: February 13, 2015
  3. Chris Clark Was Bruce Grobbelaar the original sweeper keeper?, Think Football, Published: January 15, 2015, Retrieved: February 13, 2015
  4. Bruce Grobbelaar, Famous Birthdays', Published: No Date Given, Retrieved: February 13, 2015


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