Revealed: What inspired 'spaghetti legs'

As Liverpool and AS Roma prepared for a penalty shoot-out to decide the destiny of the 1984 European Cup, one man remained calm amid a cauldron of noise.

Facing Italian legends Bruno Conti and Francesco Graziani, Liverpool's flamboyant stopper began his now legendary antics, swaying one way then another on the goal line.

The rest, as they say, is history, as Alan Kennedy's planted spot-kick sealed an incredible triumph in Roma's backyard and the celebrations kicked off.

Speaking exclusively to Liverpoolfc.com from his home in Canada, Grobbelaar recalled: "It's remarkable how quickly it has gone and how vivid the memories are still when I think about that day 30 years ago today.

"It came down to Joe Fagan. He put his arm around me before the penalties were actually taken and he said: 'Listen, we are not going to blame you for trying to stop the ball from going into the net. If they can't hit the target, it's their fault!' As I walked away, he said: 'But Bruce, try to put them off!'

"That is what stuck in my head and that is another great example of how Joe was a very good tactician. He knew how to press buttons with certain people and he did it with me.

"I looked at the players who were taking the AS Roma penalties and I did those silly things with my legs against two international players in Conti and Graziani. I wasn't doing that to any minnows, I wanted to put off the best, and unfortunately they came up short and they failed - which was great for us.

"I remember the second penalty against Conti. He was dancing as if he was on a disco and I thought: 'If you want to dance with me, then we are going to dance 1960s style!' So I put my hands on my knees and when he came up to kick it I crossed my legs.

"The law was you had to keep your feet on the ground before they kicked the ball. That's what I did. The spaghetti legs came about when I went to the back of the net and bit it! The net looked to me like spaghetti so I went and did the spaghetti legs. That's where it comes from."

The 'keeper continued: "That treble was so special. Joe was one of the unsung heroes as a manager. He deserves to be mentioned amongst one of the best managers ever.

"Unfortunately, he didn't stay around for much longer and then we had the Heysel disaster, which was a very sad ending for his tenure as manager. But what a tremendous manager, a tremendous person and a very good tactician."

During the 1983-84 campaign, Grobbelaar played the entirety of Liverpool's 66-game season and he admits that football is a very different world today to what it was back then.

"You wouldn't get any players playing 66 games in one season in this day and age but we loved it and Joe used to say to us that the finest thing as professionals we can do is just play," he commented.

"It was a real privilege and an honour to play for Liverpool and play for the supporters and win a lot of trophies.

"We were playing two games a week and we allowed our bodies to recuperate by just doing a light session the day after a game. Yes, it was a lot of games but we loved it.

"We didn't have an ice bath like they do now. They are supreme athletes now and sports science has come into its own today; but we didn't need that, we just played and won football matches.

"To win three trophies in one season with the amount of games we had to play was an unbelievable achievement. They are special memories that will never leave me."

Click here to read just why Graeme Souness was regarded as the best midfielder of his generation.