Liverpool hero Bruce Grobbelaar defended his actions during the 1984 European Cup penalty shootout, during which he performed his famous ‘spaghetti legs’.
In the 1984 final it was 1-1 after extra time between Liverpool AND RomaGrobbelaar knew he had to strengthen his team if he was to win the treble this season, having already won the league title and League Cup.
The Zimbabwe goalkeeper’s task became even more difficult when his teammate Steve Nicol was the first to go in the shootout but missed. With the Reds at a disadvantage, Grobbelaar recalls what manager Joe Fagan told him before the shootout began.
Liverpool were helped by Bruce Grobbelaar and his “spaghetti legs”
“[Assistant] Ronnie Moran told me: “Don’t change as a person, never imitate anyone else as a goalkeeper. Be yourself.” We really should have won the European Cup final in extra time, but we couldn’t risk it,” says Grobbelaar FourFourTwo.
“Just before the penalty was imposed [boss] Joe Fagan said: “Listen, we shouldn’t be in this position, no one will blame you.” As I was leaving, he told me to try putting them back. I chose two players – Italian stars Bruno Conti and Francesco Graziani.
“People said it was unsportsmanlike, but the logic was that if an international player can’t hit the target from 12 yards, it’s not my fault.”
Both Conti and Graziani missed in the shootout and Grobbelaar’s “spaghetti legs” discouraged the Italians. After Nicol missed first, the Reds now had the advantage and fifth scorer Alan Kennedy knew the goal would secure Liverpool a fourth European Cup.
The left-back correctly took the penalty, helping Liverpool beat Roma at home.
But while Grobbelar faced accusations of unsportsmanlike conduct following his antics in the shootout, FourFourTwo he believes he had every right to do what he did and discourage his opponents.
