2015. I got to speak to one of my childhood heroes. Liverpool Legend Bruce Grobbelaar.
We met up at at hotel lobby on a rare rainy night in Los Angeles and the old adage “Don’t Met Your Heroes” kept running through my mind. I wanted 10 minutes to chat with the goalkeeper instead it ended up being 40 plus minutes. We sat in the bar area and spoke like we had known each other for years. Patrons of the bar were googling my guest and one of them approached me and asked if this was a reunion. It certainly felt like it. A reunion with my childhood.
A Day later I was invited to an event in Pasadena where Grobbelaar was the speaker and Carlsberg were the sponsors. I hope you enjoy this Flashback Interview as much as I enjoyed meeting one of my heroes.
I wrote this transcript of part of the interview for NASL website.
It is a rainy day in Los Angeles and it’s night time and I’m driving on the 405. It’s not where I want to be. I want to be at home conducting an interview over the phone and working on my podcast in its 10th year of production. But when someone calls and says “Do you want to interview Bruce Grobbelaar?” I don’t care about the weather or driving on the worst freeway in America. I just want to meet a Legend. The legend that I watched growing up. I had a poster of Bruce on my wall when I was a lot younger and now I’m on the freeway speeding to get to where he is to interview him.
I want to ask Bruce about his time at Liverpool. I want to ask him the questions that I personally want answered. What was he saying to himself when he was walking back to face Conti? Did he really swing on the cross bar during an off season match? Who’s his favorite goalkeeper?
But I also want to ask him about his time in the old NASL with the Vancouver Whitecaps and his new coaching role in the new NASL with the Ottawa Fury.
Here’s a snippet of the interview.
Simon Allen: How are you sir?
Bruce Grobbelaar: Very good
SA: Welcome to Los Angeles.
BG: I’ve been here a few times but I haven’t been back here in quite a few years.
SA: You brought the rain with you…
Bruce laughs
SA: Most People will want to ask you about your days in Liverpool but I want to start with your time in 1979…you in ended up in Vancouver…playing for the WhiteCaps…How did you end up with the Whitecaps?
BG: I came out of the army in Rhodesia and I went to South Africa because I didn’t want to go through the army then civilian life…so I went to South Africa and I was playing soccer in South Africa. But I didn’t last 18 months there because I got my call up papers for the South African Army because I was born in South Africa and I knew there were two years you were given grace if you left the country and had come back and if you had stayed two years you were going to be called up if you were of age. I didn’t like that and the person I was living with at the time in Durban got me a trial at West Bromwich Albion (but) at that stage I couldn’t get a work permit in the UK. So Tony Waiters was out in Derby County at the time and they were looking for a goalkeeper and so I went up there and did a training session with him and he said “I want to take you to Vancouver!” And that’s how I ended up in Vancouver.
SA: Did you learn anything in the NASL? What’s your memory of playing in the NASL?
BG: You asked if I learned anything in the NASL? Yes! Vancouver was the first team to give me an opportunity to play professional football and we had a manager that used to play for England…so that was good for myself. Plus! I played with Greats! The late Alan Ball, Willie Johnstone, John Craven, John Samuels, Trevor Whymark, Peter Kenyon so I learned from those guys!
SA: Do you remember your nickname at Vancouver?
BG: Pali Blue…I think it was at Vancouver…
SA: The papers referred to you as the “Jungleman”
BG: Oh yeah! But the “Jungleman” was given to me by the Africans in Rhodesia.
SA: How did that happen?
BG: I played for an all-white team in a black league in Rhodesia and when I moved from the all-white side I joined (black team) The Highlanders and because I played them in (the beginning of the season) and beat them…it was them at that game that got me the nickname. So when I signed with The Highlanders they said “This boy is not white! He’s a black man in a white man’s skin…He’s the Jungle Man!”…and that’s where I got it from…
SA: Is it true that Bob Paisley flew all the way to Vancouver to pick you up?
BA: It is true!
But it wasn’t Bob Paisley…it was a chap named Tom Saunders. Tom Saunders was watching a player for Crewe (Alexandra)…a midfielder and he went all the way down to Portsmouth…and it was our second to last game of the season.
(Saunders) was standing behind the goal and he was listening to some guys saying we weren’t going to get the two points to go up…”look at that baboon they have in goal!”
That was me! As it happened Crewe Alexandra scored two goals in that game and we drew 1-1. Same player scored in both ends. So when (Saunders) went to Liverpool…the saying goes that he went to Bob Paisley and said “Forget about the midfielder! Have a look at the Goalkeeper!”
So they came to watch the last game of the season. The manager there…Tony Waddington said “Bruce, we got two very important people coming to watch you…please don’t do something stupid!”
So they came and watched my warm up…and I ran up with my umbrella cos it was raining. So they watched (me) at the warm up then left to (go) watch another game. Six weeks later they came to Vancouver because they thought I was a Crewe player so they were ringing Crewe everyday and at the end of the season Tony Waddington used to go on holiday and he came back six weeks later…so Bob Paisley thought I was on holiday as well but I was at Vancouver.
So he went back to Crewe and said “We want to sign your goalkeeper!”
So they said “Oh David Fel…”
Bob responded “No No No..Not him! Where’s that…Grobbeldy Jack?”
“Oh he’s back in Vancouver!”
So they rang Tony Waiters. Flew over and watched the game in San Diego…we lost 2-1 in overtime. Tony Waiters says to me “There’s two very important people here to see you..get out of the bath and go to my office!” And I said “ Oh! Bob Paisley and Tom Saunders!”
He says “How did you know?”
“It’s taken them a long time to come here!”
So I went in (the office.) Met (Bob Paisley!) He asked me “Do you want to play for Liverpool?”
I said “Yes. I’d love to play for Liverpool!”
Then (Bob Paisley) walked out the door and flew back to Liverpool.
Six weeks later I get a call from my manager and he says “Here’s your ticket” and off you go.
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