According to a 2015 article published by The Spectator, “The poor drummer is
music’s goalkeeper – you only notice him if he screws up…”
A trite and slightly floral observation, perhaps, but the comparison is apt and regularly
made for a reason. While steady reliability is a core skill in any goalkeeper’s toolkit,
a 1% of renegades remain, players like Jorge
Campos, René Higuita and José Luis Chilavert, who bring an unlikely dash of drama
to the sport. Those who are less Charlie Watts and more Keith Moon.
Comprised of equal parts eccentricity, charisma and excellence, Bruce Grobbelaar
certainly belongs to that latter category. Grobbelaar is perhaps best remembered for
the penalty shoot-out at the end of the 1984 European Cup final, when his goal-line
antics prompted Roma’s Francesco Graziani to shoot onto the crossbar and over.
But there is far more to his career than a single moment of gamesmanship. From the killing
fields of Zimbabwe’s war of independence, to domestic and continental
glory on the pitch and the unspeakable tragedy of Hillsborough and Heysel off it,
his is really a remarkable story. Born in South Africa in October, 1957, Grobbelaar
was still a teenager when he was conscripted into the Rhodesian army and parachuted
to the frontline of the nation’s civil war in an uprising against white rule.
It was here that he told fellow fighters of his ambition to play for Liverpool. It was
also here that he first killed a man. After two years’ service, Grobbelaar, a
gifted sportsman in his youth, returned to football. Visa issues obstructed potential
moves to English sides West Brom and Derby County, but, in 1979, he agreed a move
from Durban City in South Africa to the North American Soccer League’s Vancouver
Whitecaps. He debuted for a team which included Ruud Krol, Alan Ball and Johnny
Giles, and in a 2-0 defeat against Los Angeles Aztecs, for whom Johan Cruyff
among the scorers. A loan spell at Crewe Alexandra shortly after saw Grobbelaar’s
improbable ambition draw closer. However, he treated speculation about a move
to Liverpool with familiarly comedic irreverence. Manager Bob Paisley travelled
to see the acrobatic keeper in a game against York City and was reportedly greeted
with dismal weather and a transfer target who, when not walking on his hands
or hanging from the crossbar, was sheltering from the conditions. “It was
raining”, recalled Grobbelaar, “I asked the tea
lady, Mavis, if I could borrow her umbrella.” Paisley actually left after the warm-up. Far
from being unimpressed though, Grobbelaar’s habit of catching every shot
and cross had caught his eye, and he decided there and then to take him to Anfield.
In March 1981, he was signed for £250,000, considerably more than the goat,
cow and sheep that had exchanged as a signing-on fee when Grobbelaar joined Highlanders
at the start of his career. He was immediately charged with replacing
England number one Ray Clemence and, more challengingly, winning over Liverpool’s
band of hardened professionals. This was no easy task for the flamboyant but error-prone
star, whose personality and background made orthodox professionals suspicious.
His transition wasn’t easy. His early Liverpool career was pockmarked with errors
and, arguably, he was culpable for the club’s elimination from the European Cup in
two successive seasons. His performances drew heavy criticism, even the occasional
threat from his own fans, and Grobbelaar’s confidence was buffeted by what he
believed to be overly negative reporting from the local press. Replacing a goalkeeper
of Clemence’s stature, who had won five league titles between 1972 and 1980 and
three European Cups in 1977, 1978, 1981, was also particularly challenging,
especially given Grobbelaar’s stylistic differences.
By his second season, though, Grobbelaar sensed the confidence building around him.
He won his first title in 1982 and, perhaps more importantly, had become a regular
participant in the first-team’s notorious drinking sessions, endearing himself to his
teammate’ with his party trick of opening beer bottles with his eyebrow.
Whatever those bonding sessions bred, it has stood the test of time: Grobbelaar would
win 13 major trophies in 14 years with Liverpool. However, his was a career backdropped tragedy.
On May 29, 1985, Liverpool played Juventus at Belgium’s national stadium in
Brussels, hoping to defend the European Cup they had won 12 months earlier.
Fighting between rival fans resulted in the collapse of a wall, running battles between
supporters and the death of 39 people. To the disbelief - and against the wishes of
- the Liverpool players - the game went ahead.
In an interview with the BBC, Grobbelaar recalled feeling compelled to play
by the authorities’ fear that a postponement would catalyse further violence
and inflame the situation. Liverpool would lose the game to a Michel
Platini penalty, but the result hardly mattered. English clubs were subsequently
banned from European football for five years and Liverpool were excluded for six,
but the domestic game was then shattered by a national tragedy which even now, some
30 years later, remains harrowingly vivid. With 96 fatalities, the Hillsborough
stadium disaster on April 15, 1989, is the worst in British sporting history.
The crush occurred in the first-half of the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and
Nottingham Forest, with a critical overcrowding of the central pen in the Leppings
Lane terrace behind the goal Liverpool were defending. Grobbelaar was the closest
player to the supporters as the tragedy unfolded and, as the situation grew
increasingly dire, several fans called out to him directly for help. He would plead with
an attending police officer to open one of the pitch side gates and relieve the pressure,
but to no immediate effect. Grobbelaar was the Liverpool player most exposed to the
tragedy, to its harrowing sights and sounds, and in the aftermath, he contemplated
retirement. He would play on. By the end of the 1980s,
Liverpool’s great side had fallen into terminal decline. Before Grobbelaar departed
the club following a deterioration in his relationship with then manager Graeme Souness,
he would win a further two major trophies: the league championship in 1990
and the FA Cup in 1992. He joined Southampton on a free-transfer in 1994.
Unfortunately, the tail end of his career has had a profound effect on his legacy. In
1994, The Sun claimed he had accepted money to throw Premier League matches, a
tabloid sting orchestrated by friend and fellow Zimbabwean army veteran Chris
Vincent. Wimbledon players John Fashanu and Hans Segers were also charged, but all
three were ultimately cleared in 1997 after two lengthy trials. Nevertheless, the
decision was reached despite video evidence of Grobbelaar confessing he had blown a
£125,000 windfall after accidentally saving a shot in a match against Manchester
United despite diving the wrong way. To this day, Grobbelaar denies all charges.
What can’t be contested though, is that he was one of the most successful goalkeepers
in British football history, Unorthodox and impulsive, but frequently excellent and
blessed with the strength of character needed to excel for a side of their size and
standing, he is inseparable from Liverpool’s imperial 80s period.