Capitán, leader, legend, and now coach. He signed for the Albion ten years ago, and few players in the club’s history can claim to have had as much of an influence as Bruno.
El Capitán has been the subject of not one, but two prominent murals in the city, which surely proves the point. And there is probably no greater compliment to the man with the finest beard in football than the fact that he replaced another of Albion’s most popular players, Iñigo Calderón, at right back and yet nobody could object.
Born in El Masnou in the province of Barcelona, Bruno Saltor Grau came through the academy at Espanyol, so blue and white stripes were in his system from the start. He arrived at the Amex – clean shaven in those days – on a free transfer from Valencia, signing a two-year contract with a club embarking on its second season in the Championship.
His Champions League pedigree soon shone through. Fans who sit near the Amex dugout may well remember manager Gus Poyet turning around to them in disbelief at one particular piece of early Iberian skill as Bruno tricked his way past a couple of defenders on a trademark run down the wing.
Along with Calderón and former Valencia teammate Vicente, he was part of an influential group of Spanish-born players including new arrivals Andrea Orlandi and David López. But Bruno, keen to make the most of his “adventure” in a new country, was just as much at home with the local boys as he honed his language skills.
“I was trying to study and spend time with the English players and not always the Spanish players,” he recalled for the book Brighton Up. “Since the first day, for me and my family, we knew we were in England and you cannot expect everyone to adapt to you. Otherwise you can’t properly live the experience.”
Settling in Hove with his wife Raquel, son Pol and daughter Adriana, he threw himself into the Brighton experience on and off the field as the team reached the play-off semi-finals in 2013 and again in 2014, this time under fellow Catalan Óscar García. After the hiatus of Sami Hyypia’s brief spell in charge, the team returned to the play-offs in 2016 under Chris Hughton, but Bruno ended up in tears on the Amex turf after the semi-final defeat by Sheffield Wednesday.
However, he was a popular choice to replace Gordon Greer as captain for the new season, which ended in triumph as he led the club into the Premier League in 2017. As well as captaining by example on the field, he played a key role during a late-season break for the players in his old manor of Valencia, relaxing his men ahead of the run of five April victories that guaranteed promotion.
31 when he arrived at the Amex, he was 36 when he strode out at the head of the team against Manchester City for the club’s first Premier League fixture, but seemed to be as fit as ever. Striker Glenn Murray was just one who held the skipper up as an example of how to look after yourself as a player and an inspiration in his longevity.
But even legends have to hear the final whistle in the end, and after 235 appearances and six goals for the Albion, Bruno hung up his boots. He bade an emotional farewell to the Amex, at home to City again, in the last game of the 2018-19 season, passing the armband on to Lewis Dunk and consoling the fans by telling them: “Once a Seagull, always a Seagull.”
And he proved his point before long, joining the staff of new head coach Graham Potter as senior player development coach. He is still a patron of Albion in the Community and a member of Common Goal, the charity founded by his former Valencia teammate Juan Mata, giving one percent of his salary to the underprivileged across the globe.
But if Bruno can no longer be seen in the stripes in person, motorists heading into the city from the north can still catch a glimpse of him as a work of street art. Much larger than life, he applauds the fans from the side wall of the former Northern Tavern on the corner of Ditchling Road and Kingsbury Street after an earlier mural in Church Street, once vandalised by Palace fans, was scandalously painted over.
Of course the newer version shows him wearing the armband and bears an inscription of the saying that he coined: “Once a Seagull, always a Seagull.” Capitán, we salute you.