mufcinfo.com
tribute to sir
bobby robson
one of football's good guys
 Article by Mark Graham,
Editor, Record Keeper & Official Reporter @ MUFCINFO.COM.
 The
31st of July 2009 saw football become a loser in every
aspect when the news was announced that world had lost
Sir Robert William Robson after a long battle with
cancer age 76.
In
no way linked to Manchester United through his playing
or managerial career, Sir Bobby Robson more than in the
50's played for Fulham, West Bromwich Albion and later
briefly with Vancouver Royals scoring well over 120
goals in the process. As a forward he also played
for England on numerous occasions gaining 20 caps and
scoring 4 times.
 At
club level, his first managed Fulham before a 13 year
stint with Ipswich Town, who your Editor still has fond
memories of the talents of
Muhren, Thijssen,
Wark, Gates, Mills, Butcher, Mariner & co.
After winning the FA Cup and
Uefa Cup with the Portman Road club, he then moved to
manage England where he guided the National team to
the World Cup semi-final
where England lost out to the famous Diego Maradona hand
of God goal.
Some of Robson's Ipswich team
even made it to Hollywood in the 1981 movie Escape to
Victory, where Wark, Osman & co starred alongside
Silvestre Stallone.
After his England period, he
switched his attention to club football with PSV
Eindhoven where he won a League Championship with the
Dutch club, he then moved to a rather turbulent
relationship with the Sporting Lisbon President and a
link up with a young raw Jose Mourinho, all before
Robson was sacked despite being top of the league.
Staying in Portugal, Sir Bob
was then hired by Sporting Lisbon's rivals FC Porto with
Jose Mourinho following & installed as his assistant
manager, a Cup Final later (defeating former club
Lisbon) Robson then won consecutive league titles in
1995 & 1996.
 Like
a bad penny, Robson upon moving to FC Barcelona was
again followed (as a condition of employment) by Jose
where the pair tasted success in the form of three cups.
Another highlight of Robson's career would be the
signing Brazilian striker Ronaldo in his prime whilst at
the Nou Camp & also steering Portuguese Legend Louis
Figo toward Legendry status.
 As
his managerial career was drawing to a close, a short
stint back at PSV saw Bobby guide his Dutch club into
the Champions League, before managing Newcastle United
into European Football & top ten Premier League status
on a number of occasions.
Manchester United Manager
SAF a friend of Bobby said........
SAF said "Bobby’s passing
is a very sad loss to the game. He was a dear friend of
mine and a friend to many people in football. We owe him
a great sense of gratitude for the life he’s spent in
the game - no-one in my time has shown such passion and
love for football than Bobby did. He used to phone me
before every big game to wish me all the best, I
remember him calling on the afternoon of the Champions
League final in ’99 to say good luck. No matter how busy
he was, he always took the time to think of others which
was fantastic. That was a very special part of Bobby.
"My first contact with him came in 1981 when Aberdeen
played Ipswich in the UEFA Cup. He’d won it [with
Ipswich] the previous season and had a great team at the
time. We managed to beat them at Pittodrie and I’ll
always remember him coming into our dressing room after
the game, standing in the middle and saying to all the
players, ‘You’ll win this cup – anyone that beats
Ipswich Town will win it!’ It was a fantastic moment.
"I always followed his career as a manager and looked
out for the results of the teams he was managing at the
time, from Sporting Lisbon to Barcelona to PSV. He was
simply a true legend across the world. After he finished
his spell as England manager he didn’t wait to see the
daisies come up, he went out into Europe because he knew
he had a life to live and a big contribution to make.
You need something special in you to be able to say to
yourself, 'I'm going to up roots and start anew in
another country', but he had that. There are very, very
few English managers who have ever done that and that’s
what sets him apart.
"We’ve been away for two weeks on tour, but I was due to
go and see him on Monday with Sir Bobby Charlton. The
two of us attended his charity dinner last October and
he was so courageous in the way he fought his illness.
Everyone at Manchester United, the players, the staff
and the fans, appreciate people who devote themselves to
football and who are passionate about the game in the
right way, and for that reason Bobby’s death is a very
sad loss to everyone."
R.I.P.
SIR BOBBY
ROBSON
18th Feb
1933-31st July 2009
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