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Page last updated at 13:19 GMT, Wednesday, 18 November 2009

Winterbourne in Grobbelaar coup

Bruce Grobbelaar
Grobbelaar won six League titles at Liverpool before joining Southampton

Former Liverpool and Zimbabwe goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar has confirmed he will play for for non-league side Winterbourne United.

The 52-year-old will turn out for the Hellenic League club for a one-off cup tie against local rivals Patchway.

"I'm delighted Bruce will be involved on the day," said Winterbourne manager Nick Tanner, a former teammate of Grobbelaar from Anfield in the 1990's.

"Our young lads won't have experienced anything like him before."

Tanner continued: "I need now to chat to the club about how we're going to play the occasion. Hopefully Bruce will attract a few more people to Winterbourne and help get us on the map."

It is a coup for the former Bristol Rovers and Liverpool defender who only took over at the South Gloucestershire side less than two weeks ago.

Grobbelaar last played for Northern League side Glasshoughton Welfare in 2007 but will dust off his boots for the Gloucestershire FA County Cup match on 5 December, just three days before he is due to move to Canada.

606: DEBATE

Grobbelaar signed for Liverpool in 1980 and spent 14 years on Merseyside, winning six League titles and three FA Cup winner's medals.

But he is probably best known for his wobbly-leg antics in the penalty shoot-out as Liverpool beat Roma in the European Cup final in 1984.

He also played for Crewe, Southampton and Plymouth, and had spells at a handful of other English clubs as his career wound down.

Grobbelaar has also coached and managed teams in South Africa and his native Zimbabwe.

However, his later career was tarnished by a long-running legal battle after he and others were accused of match-fixing by the Sun newspaper.

Although they were cleared of criminal charges in 1997 after two trials, Grobbelaar's libel action against the Sun eventually went to the House of Lords - where his libel damages were reduced to £1 and he was ordered to pay the Sun's legal costs.



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see also
Grobbelaar resigns
11 Mar 05 |  African
Grobbelaar gets new job
11 Nov 04 |  African
Return of the Clown Prince
29 Jul 04 |  African
Grobbelaar faces �1m legal costs
26 Nov 02 |  England


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