In an exclusive chat to the Bay of Plenty Times at his Tauranga home, Turner opened up about the highs and lows of a rollicking career that included one of the most famous goals scored by an All White but also serious self doubt that he was not good enough.
The goal came against Australia at the famous Sydney Cricket Ground in 1981 in a defining moment in the long, arduous road to Spain. The All Whites knocked the highly fancied Aussies out of contention with a 2-0 win, thanks to a typical Steve Wooddin strike and a powerful long-range header from Turner.
The All Whites had 10 games to play before they made it to Spain but that unstoppable header from Turner was the moment all of New Zealand got behind the campaign.
"That goal would stand out from a team perspective as the best and for the moment in the game that would change what would happen in the future," Turner said.
"It was really important we beat Australia to get that momentum.
"But I scored a better one probably a couple of weeks earlier against Taiwan."
Turner got a phone call in the dressing room after the Australian game from someone in England but says with a laugh he didn't take much notice.
Had he done so his life may have changed forever.
"[Kevin] Fallon said to me 'hey Grant, there's a guy on the phone for you.' We were all having a couple of beers thinking about the moment and having a great time, and this guy starts talking to me about if I am happy where I was playing and he wanted to get me from my club to come over.
"I said to him I was a bit busy and could he call me back. He hung up on me. His name was Tommy Docherty [Preston North End and former Manchester United manager] and I didn't know who he was. He wanted to buy me and Fallon had done the deal.
"Fallon and I laugh about it now and think where I could have been."
Without doubt the low point of Turner's career came when he injured an ankle training on arrival in Spain and had to come home. He had scouts from England and Europe interested in him.
It was the ultimate stage to launch his career that was cruelly taken from him.
He admits he never fully got over the missed opportunity and even 31 years later it clearly upsets him.
"It was devastating and I don't think there are words that can explain it," he said.
"For a number of years afterwards I dwelled on it and it really ate away at me. It was a moment that happened and really changed my whole career. I was at the top of my game and then my career was cut in half, really.
"It still haunts me. You always have things you could have done better and how I reacted afterwards is something I would have done differently."
Turner was proud to be named in the 10 best All Whites between 1982 and 2000 but says it came as a surprise.
"I have never been a person who thought I would be in the team. I was a player who was always on the edge of my seat waiting for my name to be called out because I never believed in my own ability and my own skills.
"That was something that I really lacked all the way through my career. I had to really train hard. I was not a gifted footballer and it took me a long time to get the best out of my ability. It was not natural to start with."
Turner says a reunion with the boys from the 1982 campaign in Wellington at the All Whites games with Mexico was the final decider in his decision to stop coaching.
"It was done very well and it was something I hadn't been able to do because I had always been tied to commitments to football somewhere along the line. I had a club last year and was reluctant to go away anywhere because I was committed to coaching.
"I don't have the passion and enjoyment to be able to get out and do it again. No real reason but I have to focus on work. I haven't worked since March and that's tough."
Turner hopes he has taught some players something over the years.
"I had some really good teachers in my time like John Adshead and Kevin Fallon, Alan Jones, Barry Truman and Eddie Edge, who passed on lots of things to me.
"What I have tried to do is pass on to the younger players of today what my experiences have been in the game. I can walk away and say I hope I have done that. I hope there is one player out there who has taken in something.
"No one can say to me that I haven't put something back to the game."
Adshead and Fallon guided the All Whites to the World Cup in 1982 and remain this country's foremost coaches.
Turner believes the combination was just right and he would like to see two coaches in charge of the All Whites again.
"Undoubtedly they were the best coaches I played under."
Sadly in some ways, the only evidence in his house of the 71 internationals Turner played is a special cap given to the NZ players. No shirts, no shorts or boots, or pretty banners.
It's all gone. He gave everything away to schools and charity.
But Turner is not bothered.
"It is all stored in the mind. I will never forget those key moments and those great memories."
