Bobby Robson

Lore & Background

Robson's professional playing career as an inside forward spanned nearly 20 years, during which he played for Fulham, West Bromwich Albion, and Vancouver Royals. He made 20 appearances for England, scoring four goals. After playing, he managed clubs including Ipswich Town, PSV, Sporting CP, Porto, Barcelona, and Newcastle United, and managed England to the 1990 World Cup semi-finals. His final official club job was at Newcastle United, which he left in 2004. He was knighted in 2002 and inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2003.

In Their Own Story

The rain over Copenhagen was thin and cold, the kind that soaks through a jacket and settles into the bones. Robson stood at the edge of the technical area, his long face turned toward the pitch, his hands clasped behind his back. The crowd noise was a low, constant hum — two thousand or so Geordies packed into a corner of the Parken, their black-and-white scarves a small defiant flag in the grey. Parma had the ball. They had had it for most of the second half. Robson did not fidget. He did not shout. He simply watched, his eyes tracking the shape of his team, the angles, the gaps. And when the ball finally broke loose, when the press triggered and the ball was won back in the middle third, his shoulders dropped a fraction. He knew what was coming. Not the goal — not yet — but the pressure, the suffocation, the slow strangulation of Parma's rhythm. He had built this side to do exactly that: to make the opponent pay for every possession, every minute, every breath. And when the final whistle blew, when the 1–0 line on the scoreboard held, he did not run. He did not leap. He simply turned to the touchline, to the bench, to the faces of the men who had done the work, and nodded. Once. That was enough. That was Robson.

Reader's Guide

Robson was born in Sacriston, County Durham, and grew up in Langley Park. He signed for Fulham in 1950, later played for West Bromwich Albion, returned to Fulham, and ended his playing career with Vancouver Royals. He managed Fulham, Ipswich Town (winning the UEFA Cup), PSV, Sporting CP, Porto, Barcelona, and Newcastle United. He managed England from 1982 to after the 1990 World Cup. His last management role was as a mentor to the manager of the Republic of Ireland.

Did You Know?

• Robson won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup with Barcelona in 1997, but he was not the last English manager to win a European competition; Sir Alex Ferguson won the UEFA Champions League in 1999 and 2008.
• He was created a Knight Bachelor in 2002.
• He established the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation in March 2008, a cancer research charity.
• Robson's childhood heroes were Jackie Milburn, a centre-forward, and Len Shackleton, an inside-forward, both of Newcastle United.