TheSportsCampus

< Prev		Next >

It was the end of an era when Sir Bobby Robson, the man, the legend, whose contribution to English football is second to none, breathed his last today. Sir Bobby Robson finally succumbed to cancer after a prolonged fight at the age of 76 at his home in Durham County. He died a peaceful death with his family by his side. A man loved not only for his passion, and commitment to the game, but also honesty, outspokenness and wit. If one were to summarize the above mentioned attributes of Sir Bobby Robson, his reaction to Diego Maradona's hand of god says it all: "It wasn't the hand of God. It was the hand of a rascal. God had nothing to do with it..."

Though Bobby Robson is mainly remembered as a great manager, his playing days we re equally illustrious. Robson made his debut in 1950 for Fulham, recently promoted to the First Division, in a match against Sheffield Wednesday. Fulham were relegated from the top-flight in the 1951-52 season but he made his return to the First Division, four years later, when he signed for West Bromwich Albion in March 1956. The transfer fee of £25,000 was a club record for Albion at the time. He went on to play 257 games and score 61 goals for West Bromwich Albion and captained the team for the 1960-61 and 1961-62 seasons.

Robson got his first call up for the England squad in 1956. He went on to make 20 appearances(scoring 4 goals)for the England, making his debut in a November 1957 victory against France, Following the 1958 World Cup, Robson became an established member of the England squad, enjoying considerable success between 1960-61. He was selected for the 1962 World Cup finals in Chile but an injury to his ankle ruled him out of most of the tournament.

One of the few managers who enjoyed success with a number of teams, Bobby Robson managed Fulham, Ipswich Town, England, Sporting Lisbon, FC Porto, FC Barcelona, PSV Eindhoven and Newcastle United. He was one of the most successful and decorated personalities in English football, a worthy recipient of a CBE in 1990 at the end of his eight-year reign as England manager and was subsequently knighted in 2002. That same year he was awarded the freedom of Newcastle upon Tyne and the UEFA President's Award for 'services to football'. He was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2003. In 2005, Robson was made an Honorary Freeman of Newcastle, which, in his autobiography, he described as being "the proudest moment of my life". On 9 December 2007, Robson (74) was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year show in recognition of "his contribution as both player and manager in a career spanning more than half a century". In March 2009, UEFA awarded Robson the Emerald UEFA Order of Merit award. That award was presented to Sir Bobby in front of his loyal fans at his favourite stomping ground - St James' Park on 26 July 2009, just five days before his death.

Sir Bobby Robson's entire career has been as story of him against the rest of the world. In his tenure at Ipswich, Robson led them to FA Cup glory when they beat Arsenal 1-0 in the 1978 final. Under him, Ipswich secured a top 6 position in all but one season, won the Texaco Cup in 1972-73 and finally won the UEFA Cup beating AZ Alkmaar in 1981 after a thrilling 5-4 victory. All this with a club which hadn't seen the top half of the table in a decade.

Robson's achievements with Ipswich earned him the position of national coach on 7 July 1982; two days after England were knocked out of the 1982 World Cup. Robson went on to lead England to qualification for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. England were defeated in the last eight by Argentina, with goals from Diego Maradona; the infamous "Hand of God" being on one of them, and the "Goal of the century", the other. Robson's England dropped only one point in qualifying for Euro 1988 held in West Germany, which included an 8-0 defeat of Turkey. However, the tournament itself was a failure, where England was knocked out in the group stage itself. Robson led England, without conceding a goal through the 1990 World Cup qualifiers and England entered the final four and faced West Germany for a spot in the final. England lost the match in a penalty shootout, after the score had been tied at 1-1 following extra time. Robson has since said that "not a day goes by when he does not think about the semi-final and other choices he might have made".

After a successful tenure at both Sporting Lisbon and F.C Porto, Robson took over the reins at Barcelona in July 1996, where on his team was one Jose Mourinho, who had been with him as a translator in Sporting Lisbon and FC Porto. One of the key decisions Robson made during his brief tenure at Barcelona was the $19.5 million signing of Ronaldo (the Brazilian), who was influential in a season when Barcelona won the Spanish Cup, Spanish Super Cup and European Cup Winners Cup, Robson was voted European Manager of the Year for 1996-97.

Robson moved to St James' Park in September 1999, following the resignation of Ruud Gullit. In his first home match in charge, Newcastle ran riot with an 8-0 thrashing of Sheffield Wednesday. In his first season in charge, 1999-2000, Robson led the club to an 11th place finish; he guided Newcastle to a fourth-place finish in the 2001-02 season and third place in the 2002-03. He held the Newcastle post until 30 August 2004, when he was dismissed by Freddy Shepherd, after a poor start to the Premier League season. However, he was still held in the highest esteem by the fans and players alike.

Trophies, aside Sir Bobby Robson achieved what very few people in today's football are able to - he was a man loved by the masses, respected by his peers. The level of trust and respect that Robson established in his term at Ipswich could only be compared to Sir Matt Busby's legendary tenure at Manchester United nearly 40 years ago. A man so versatile that he was equally comfortable at a high profile board meeting at the Nou Camp as with shaking hands with a Tyne side, blue-collared working class "Joe".

Sir Bobby Robson's demise is in a way symbolic of what has become of 21st century football. With astronomical transfer fees, salaries, corporate takeovers not to mention the WAGs, bar brawls and DUI cases against players, Sir Bobby Robson represents a throwback to a golden age. A time in which hard work, ethics, loyalty, commitment and most importantly simplicity were the order of the day. In an age where players are lured to the game by the promise of money and a few minutes in the limelight, Sir Bobby Robson's presence will be sorely missed. A great player, a great manager, a mentor and a great human being. To quote his own words: "My condition is described...I am going to die sooner rather than later. But then everyone has to go sometime and I have enjoyed every minute."

File Photograph Copyright: Rockface