11/21/24
July 31, 2009
RIP, Sir Bobby: As a longtime supporter of West Germany/Germany, I developed a strong respect for Sir Bobby Robson. Reading more about his background only increases it.
Respect is the word, and it often came long after the fact.
His time as England manager now gets viewed without the tabloid sniping that always accompanies the job; his achievements at Ipswich are perhaps second only to Clough in terms of taking a small provincial club to the top ranks; his ability to deliver on the continent often gets forgotten, because it came just before the Champions League and Sky made European club competition ubiquitous. Jose Mourinho was his translator at Sporting, and became his assistant there and at Barca. He brought the best out of Ronaldo.
I was listening to commentary on the England-Germany charity match organised for his foundation last Sunday, there was mention that he might be too sick to attend, as if the commentors knew how sick he was, but he made it to St James', and I doubt there was a dry eye in the place.
They lowered the flags to half-mast in Sunderland. That says it all.
posted by etagloh at 10:18 PM on July 31, 2009
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Played the game like it is supposed to be played. Managed teams the same way. RIP.
posted by owlhouse at 12:50 AM on August 01, 2009
This piece from the Telegraph gives a good sense of the reaction among fans. A legend of the North, indeed: and perhaps the last of that particular generation.
posted by etagloh at 01:03 AM on August 01, 2009
A sad day. Sir Bobby was always a fixture for me because he was already at Ipswich when I was born and the first two games I attended were the 1978 FA Cup Semi final against West Brom and the final against Arsenal.
The semi was one of those seminal kid moments - I'd never been among so many people and then I remember Brian Talbot got a bad cut scoring our first goal and then West Brom Captain John Wyle cut his head open and played the rest of the game with blood pouring down his face.
The final was even more people and I remember being sure that Liam Brady was going to kill us. I'd seen Brady do this to Spurs on TV and was sure we were fated to lose.
When we hit the post three times without scoring I was even more certain, so when we scored, I almost passed out. Meaning I was slightly better than scorer Roger Osbourne who did and had to be substituted immediately.
Bobby's teams gave me a lot of joy throughout the years - from the FA Cup and UEFA Cup wins, to beating Manchester United 6-0 (despite missing three penalties), to England's last gasp 3-0 win over Poland, to Platt's last gasp goal against Belgium and a world Cup semi-final.
He survived several bouts of cancer before this year, starting the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation as a response.
RIP Sir Bobby and thank you.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 12:22 PM on August 01, 2009
There are any number of things you could say that testify to the greatness of Sir Bobby Robson, but the thing that makes it clear is what everyone else in football (and elsewhere) had to say about him yesterday. There's a summary on the BBC here. His achievements were many and varied, but they didn't stop when he died. If you can, watch the Alex Ferguson video. Anyone whose death can lead Beetroot to something verging on eloquence was truly a great man.
My favourite was what Mourinho had to say: "Bobby Robson is one of those people who never die, not so much for what he did in his career, for one victory more or less, but for what he knew to give to those who had, like me, the good fortune to know him and walk by his side."
I was at Edgbaston for the second day of the third Ashes test yesterday and they mentioned Sir Bobby's death on TMS. The entire ground - including the Aussies - rose to a chant of "There's only one Bobby Robson" and stood applauding for at least a minute.
posted by JJ at 02:49 PM on August 01, 2009
He got England the closest we'll probably get to a World Cup in my lifetime.
Have such fond memories of Italia 90.
Thank you, Sir Bobby!
posted by Drood at 11:02 PM on August 01, 2009
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