Bruce Grobbelaar is a now retired Zimbabwean international goalkeeper who played most notably for Liverpool F.C., making a total of 628 appearances between 1981and 1994. Grobbelaar won the League six times with the club, as well as three FA Cups, three League Cups and the European Cup in the 1983-1984 season. Additionally, Grobbelaar has earned a total of 32 caps over the course of 18 years for the Zimbabwean national team. Bruce Grobbelaar is available for booking to appear at a multitude of events through MN2S Talent Agency.
Grobbelaar was involved in a number of sports as a youth, being a prominent cricketer at school, as well as playing baseball and football at various clubs. He said of his position on the field: “I’ve always been a goalkeeper since the age of seven. I figured out that there were 20 mad people running around the field trying to chase the ball so I stayed in goal to do my job.”
Grobbelaar joined the North American Soccer League team the Vancouver Whitecaps in 1979 after being scouted by the club, and a series of fortunate events combined with Grobbelaar’s impressive performances saw him catch the eye of Tom Saunders, Liverpool F.C’s head scout at the time. By the spring of 1981 Grobbelaar made the move to Anfield, making his debut for the team in August. By 1994, Grobbelaar had played 627 matches for Liverpool, and had gained a reputation not only as an extremely valuable and charismatic goalkeeper, but also for frequently entertaining fans. His speed, flexibility and confidence were contributing factors to Liverpool’s many championship successes and he shared in the victories of three FA Cups, three Football League Cups and a European Cup. A 1990 sports documentary entitled ‘The Official Story of Bruce Grobbelaar’ focused on the football star’s rise to prominence and featured not only appearances from Grobbelaar himself, but other big names such as Alan Hansen, John Barnes and Kenny Dalglish.
After his time at Anfield, Grobbelaar played primarily for Southampton and Plymouth Argyle, followed by stints at clubs such as Oldham Athletic and Lincoln City. However, he eventually returned to his native South Africa to focus on coaching duties.
The first team that he coached was the Seven Stars Football Club and under Grobbelaar the team succeeded in progressing from the relegation zone to fourth position in the final league tally. Grobbelaar then moved on to Hellenic F.C. (currently Thanda Royal Zulu F.C.) where he performed a similar feat and saved the team from relegation. His time with the team also saw him appear on the pitch in their last match of the season, becoming – until 2013 – the oldest player to have participated in the South African league in the process. Grobbelaar also spent time managing the Zimbabwean national team, the team that he had played for between 1980 and 1998.
Grobbelaar currently resides in Newfoundland, Canada, where he is heavily involved in the local footballing scene, as a goalkeeper for Corner Brook Men’s team the West Side Monarchs and often enjoys an advisory and coaching role in the Corner Brook Minor Soccer Association. Since 2014, Grobbelaar has been the goalkeeping coach for Ottawa Fury F.C. of the North American Soccer League, and has expressed a desire to return one day to Anfield in a coaching capacity. He remains a favourite with the fans and a club legend, frequently being voted high in the rankings of the club’s best goalkeepers.
Bruce Grobbelaar has for many years won the hearts of many Liverpool fans, both through his great talent as a goalkeeper and as an entertaining character on and off the pitch. He is available to appear as an after dinner speaker at a variety of private and corporate events, when booked via London based talent agency MN2S.