Bruce Grobbelaar Biography | Who is Bruce Grobbelaar?| Bruce Grobbelaar
Bruce Grobbelaar (born Bruce David Grobbelaar) is a former Zimbabwe international footballer who played as a goalkeeper, most prominently for the English team Liverpool between 1981 and 1994.
He is remembered for his gymnastic-like athletic ability, unflappable confidence and eccentric and flamboyant style of play.
Additionally, he has been the goalkeeper coach for the Ottawa Fury FC of the North American Soccer League since 2014. In March 2018 he was announced as goalkeeper coach for the Matabeleland football team.
Bruce Grobbelaar Age |How old is Bruce Grobbelaar?
Bruce David Grobbelaar was born in Durban, South Africa on 6th October 1957. He is 62 years as of 2019.
Bruce Grobbelaar Family
Grobbelaar was born in South Africa and grew up in neighboring Rhodesia (today Zimbabwe). He served in the Rhodesian Army before he joined the Vancouver Whitecaps of the North American Soccer League in 1979.
In his teenage years, Bruce was a talented cricketer and was offered a baseball scholarship in the United States, but a career in football was his main ambition.
Bruce Grobbelaar Wife
He was married to Debbie Grobbelaar from 1983 to 2008. Together they have two daughters Olivia and Tahli.
Bruce Grobbelaar Career
Early Career
His footballing career began with a Bulawayo-based group, Highlanders FC, in Rhodesia’s second greatest city.
In his late adolescence, he was joined by Durban City Football Club in South Africa, yet left professing to have been sidelined inferable from his shading in this dominatingly dark group — the group had played in an all-white class until the earlier year.
Following leaving Highlands Park, he was recruited into National Service, going through eleven months on dynamic administration in the Rhodesia Regiment during the Rhodesian Bush War.
In 1979 he was marked by the Vancouver Whitecaps of the NASL after he had gone to their exploring camp in South Africa.
Vancouver Whitecaps
At the Whitecaps, Grobbelaar played under the management of former England and Blackpool goalkeeper, Tony Waiters. Making his premiere on 4 August 1979 against the Los Angeles Aztecs away.
The Whitecaps lost 0–2, Johan Cruyff scoring one of the Aztecs’ goals. He spent the rest of the season as the second choice to former Wolverhampton Wanderers keeper Phil Parkes.
Although the Whitecaps had signed former Scotland international David Harvey from Leeds United, Grobbelaar emerged as first choice and became a cult figure for the Whitecaps faithful.
Liverpool
When Liverpool FC had finished their examination on Grobbelaar, he had come back to Vancouver with his credit spell now finished.
Liverpool drew nearer Tony Waiters with taking Grobbelaar to Anfield, and Waiters, who had a working association with Liverpool during the 1970s, prepared for the move.
Grobbelaar marked for Liverpool for £250,000 on 17 March 1981 as their save goalkeeper, yet in mid-1981, normal goalkeeper Ray Clemence’s unexpected takeoff to Tottenham Hotspur gave him his chance.
Grobbelaar made his premiere on 28 August 1981 however neglected to counteract Wolverhampton Wanderers winning the class apparatus 1–0 at Molineux. Additionally making their presentations were safeguard Mark Lawrenson and midfielder Craig Johnston.
His first spotless sheet came a fortnight later at Anfield on 5 September, Arsenal were the guests who were beaten by a 2–0 scoreline.
Over a period of 13 years, Grobbelaar was retained by three of Liverpool’s greatest managers; Paisley, Fagan, and Dalglish. His strengths were his gymnastic-like agility and 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 on Jim Beglin in the first all Merseyside FA Cup final against Everton in 1986. Over the course of his Liverpool career, he won more medals than any of his contemporaries.
In 1984–85, Grobbelaar brought down a spectator who had invaded the pitch during a game, allowing the police to handcuff the offending spectator
Although there were occasional challenges to his position as Liverpool’s number 1, he 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 an ever-present in his first five league campaigns at Anfield when Liverpool were champions four times and runners-up on the other occasion. However, from 1988 to 1989, injuries and illness restricted his first-team opportunities. He played 21 times in the league, with Mike Hooper taking his place on the other 17 occasions.
It was the marking of David James from Watford in mid-1992 that spelled the start of the end for Grobbelaar. In spite of the fact that James attempted to intrigue from the outset, Grobbelaar’s emphasis on playing for Zimbabwe gave James shots.
He was ever-present until he was harmed in the last moment of a 2–0 rout at Leeds United on 19 February 1994. It ended up being his last appearance for the club.
In 14 years at the club, he had won six association title decorations, three FA Cup champ’s award, three Football League Cup victor’s decorations, and a European Cup champ’s decoration.
Southampton
In mid-1994, Grobbelaar left Liverpool moving on an allowed to Southampton. He made his introduction on 20 August 1994 in the 1–1 group draw with Blackburn Rovers at The Dell.
He went through two seasons with the Saints rivaling another goalkeeper with a notoriety for unconventionality, Dave Beasant. In spite of the complain brought about by the match-fixing charges (see underneath), administrator Alan Ball kept up confidence in him, and he kept his place in the group for the greater part of the 1994–95 season.
Claims that Grobbelaar had been coordinate fixing initially showed up in November 1994. All things considered, in his next game, at home to Arsenal, he figured out how to keep a spotless sheet regardless of the media free for all that encompassed the game.
The Southern Daily Echo announced that Grobbelaar was “cleared along on a tsunami of feeling, to develop triumphant from the hardest match of his life”. In the 1995–96 season, he just oversaw two games for the Saints, before proceeding onward to Plymouth Argyle.
Bruce Grobbelaar Photo
Retirement
He appeared on Norwegian TV-channel TV 2 during the World Cup 2010 in South Africa.
As of 2012, Grobbelaar resided in Corner Brook, Newfoundland, Canada, where he was active in the local soccer scene. He played 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 for Ottawa Fury FC of the North American Soccer League and subsequently the United Soccer League.
In May 2018 he became goalkeeping coach for the Matabeleland football team, and on 1 June it was announced that he would join the playing roster for their remaining group games. It was subsequently announced by head coach Justin Walley that he would start in goal against Chagos Islands on 7 June 2018.
Bruce Grobbelaar Net Worth
With his great football coaching career, you can tell he has garnered quite a good amount of wealth. His estimated net worth is around $19 Million.
Bibliography
More than Somewhat: Autobiography, Collins Willow, 1986 ISBN 0-00-218188-6
Honors
Liverpool
Football League First Division: 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1987–88, 1989–90
FA Cup: 1985–86, 1988–89, 1991–92
League Cup: 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84
FA Charity Shield: 1982, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990
European Cup: 1983–84
Football League Super Cup: 1986
Appearances in popular culture
Grobbelaar made a guest appearance as himself in an episode of Brookside, the Liverpool based TV soap opera on Channel 4 which was aired on 14 January 1994.
His name is mentioned in the song It’s a Kuruption Ting by Kurupt FM as follows: “Run up on a fan-like Cantona, saving a man like Grobbelaar, Beats I’ll be the man y’kna, Kurupt yeah that’s the fam y’kna”