Sir Bobby Robson

Lore & Background

Robson's professional playing career as an inside forward spanned nearly 20 years, during which he played for three clubs: Fulham, West Bromwich Albion, and, briefly, Vancouver Royals. He also made 20 appearances for England, scoring four goals. After his playing career, he found success as both a club and international manager, winning league championships in both the Netherlands and Portugal, earning trophies in England and Spain, and taking England to the semi-finals of the 1990 FIFA World Cup. His last management role was as a mentor to the manager of the Republic of Ireland national team, while his final official club job was at boyhood club Newcastle United, which he left in 2004. He held several managerial positions outside of England, most notably one year at Barcelona in 1996–97, as well as stints at PSV, Sporting CP and Porto. He was the last English manager to win a European competition in 1997.

In Their Own Story

The floodlights at Portman Road hummed to life on a damp April evening in 1981. Robson stood at the edge of the technical area, hands clasped behind his back, watching his full-backs overlap for the third time in as many minutes. There was no shouting, no frantic waving. Just a nod. A slight tilt of the head. The kind of signal that said, 'Yes, that's the game, keep doing that.'

Somewhere in the crowd, a group of schoolboys in borrowed scarves were screaming themselves hoarse. They would grow up, some of them, to manage in the very Premier League that would one day carry the name of the sport's commercial zenith. But in that moment, in that ground, the game belonged to eleven men who believed, because the man on the touchline believed first.

Robson never raised his voice. He never needed to. The army already knew the formation.

Reader's Guide

Robson was created a Knight Bachelor in 2002, was inducted as a member of the English Football Hall of Fame in 2003, and was the honorary president of Ipswich Town. From 1991 onwards, he had recurrent medical problems with cancer, and in March 2008, put his name and efforts into the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, a cancer research charity which had raised over £12 million as of March 2018. In August 2008, his lung cancer was confirmed to be terminal; he died in July 2009.

Did You Know?

• Robson was born in Sacriston, County Durham, and his childhood heroes were Jackie Milburn and Len Shackleton.
• He left school at 15 to work as an electrician's apprentice for the National Coal Board.
• Robson made his England debut in November 1957, scoring twice in a 4–0 victory against France.
• He was the last English manager to win a European competition, in 1997.