Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
GLOVE STORY
Grobbelaar hopes Kop keeper Alisson breaks Anfield records
BRUCE GROBBELAAR has backed Alisson to break all of Liverpool’s goalkeeping records.
And the former Anfield stopper – the Reds’ No.1 the last time they won the title 30 years ago – reckons he will be thrilled if the Brazilian climbs above him and Ray Clemence in the history books.
Grobbelaar kept 267 clean sheets in 628 appearances for Liverpool.
He won six titles as the club dominated English football in the 80s, as well as three FA Cups and a European Cup.
Clemence’s record stands at 323 clean sheets from 665 appearances, including a remarkable 28 in 42 matches during the 1978/79 season, a campaign in which he conceded just 16 goals.
By the time he left
Anfield in 1981,
Clemence had won five
Division One titles, an FA Cup, three European Cups, two UEFA Cups and the Super Cup.
And, while Alisson and his pals still have a long, long way to go to surpass, or even emulate, the success enjoyed by the teams Grobbelaar and Clemence played in, on an individual basis the 27-year-old has built himself a good platform with 40 clean sheets in 79 appearances.
Grobbelaar said: “If Alisson stays at Liverpool long enough, he could break all the records that myself and Ray
Clemence achieved. If he wants to stay at Anfield for a long time, he will break all the records, for sure, and I would love him to do that.
“Alisson is undoubtedly one of the best goalkeepers in the world and he deserves to be put on that pedestal. “Him and Manuel Neuer are probably the very best in the world at getting their angles right – they don’t have to dive because they aren’t out of position.
“They are in the right place at the right time and they move their feet very, very well.” Unsurprisingly, Grobbelaar loves what Virgil van Dijk brings to his old side as well. He added: “I played behind Phil Thompson and Alan Hansen – and they were both brilliant centre-halves.
“With Thommo, Jockey (Hansen) had to work a little bit harder because when Thommo made a mistake, he had to cover up quite a lot.
“When Thommo left, Jockey took his role and we had Mark Lawrenson, who had brilliant speed.
“Now with Van Dijk, you have a cool head like a Hansen, but he’s that quick like Lawrenson – he is both rolled into one.
“But what he does with his other centre-halves and other defenders is make them much better – that’s the quality of Virgil van Dijk.
“Whoever plays next to him is going to get better. Look at the two full-backs, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson. They’ve gone up in their abilities and their prices have sky-rocketed because he controls and makes them better. “As a goalkeeper, playing behind a player like that
is brilliant.”