There are not so many cases in the history of modern football when a football player who achieved world fame would be able to fully realize himself in the coaching field. Often successful players turn out to be rather mediocre coaches. And great coaches over the years of their playing career do not grab stars from the sky. One of those who managed to refute this theory is the British legend - Sir Robert William “Bobby” Robson, an excellent footballer and an excellent coach. A man who has become a real icon of football for the demanding British fan.
Bobby Robson's childhood
The ordinary, average English family of Philip and Lillian Robson stood out except for the number of children. There were five of them in the family, and all were boys. The Robson family lived in the small town of Sacriston, County Daresh. It was there that on February 13, 1933, the fourth child in the family was born Robert William Robson - the future legend of not only English, but also world football.
It is simply impossible to imagine an English man who is not keen on football. So Bobby Robson's father, Philip, was an avid fan of Newcastle United. On weekends, he gathered his sons and took the bus to the Newcastle home stadium, in St. James's Park. While watching the game of his favorite team, little Bobby got his football idols. They became Jackie Milburn and Len Shackleton, who acted on the position of drawn forwards. Subsequently, this position on the football field will become native to Bobby Robson for many years of a football career.
Football career
After graduating from school, Bobby Robson was waiting for the usual work of an electrician. There was practically no time left for football. I had to train either in the evening or on weekends. But even with such a difficult schedule, Bobby Robson managed to get into the Fulham professional football club. He was 17 years old at that time.
Six full-fledged seasons spent Bobby in the position of a drawn forward for Fulham football club. During this time, he played 152 games, scoring 68 goals against opponents.
Record contract
It is not known how Robson’s career as a player would have developed in the future if FC Fulham hadn’t flown to the second division. Bobby at that time was 23, and he was not going to spend the best years of his career in the lower leagues. In addition, over the years of playing at Fulham, the football player has an excellent gaming reputation. There was no shortage of offers from other English clubs.
As a result, Bobby Robson opts for West Bromwich Albion Club (WBA). The cost of the transfer was 25,000 pounds, which at that time was the record amount paid by the WBA for the player.
Football player playing career
During the WBA, Robson played six seasons. These periods were the most successful in the football player’s playing career. The 1957-1958 season was particularly successful, in which Bobby Robson won the league top scorer, scoring 24 goals. In total, over the years of playing for the WBA, Robson spent 239 games, scoring 56 goals in them. At the same time, the player falls on the note of the coach of the national team of England. For his team, Robson spent 20 matches, scoring 24 goals in them. He participated in 2 World Championships, in 1958 and 1962. Not every player can boast of such achievements.
At the age of 29, the English football player Robson returns to his first professional club - Fulham. Returning his pupil to a London club was worth £ 20,000. By that time, Robson had finished his career as a player in the national team, focusing on playing for his home club. Five years spent at sunset career turned out to be less successful in the game plan.
Steadily falling into the main team, Robson could no longer show high performance. The age and consequences of the injuries began to affect. Having scored only 9 goals in the last five seasons, Robson decides to end the career of a professional football player. True, an enticing offer from the Canadian Vancouver Royals club immediately followed, but the level of North American football of that time could hardly be taken seriously. Having played over the ocean for just one season, Bobby Robson finally tied to football as an active player.
The first steps in the coaching field
Even when he was an active player, Bobby Robson completed coaching courses. By his own admission, after the end of his playing career, Robson's main desire was to stay in big football. And in January 1968, the disaster Fulham invites his former star to become a coach. Sir Bobby Robson accepts the club at a time when he is at the bottom of the standings. A miracle did not happen, and “Fulham” flies into the second division.
The club's management sets Robson the task of returning the team to the top division. However, by November 1968, the club was only in eighth place, with virtually no claim to promotion. Robson parted, and he learns about his resignation from the newspapers.
The first coaching success
Truly Robson's emergence as a trainer happened in Ispwich. In 1968, Bobby Robson led this club, which was difficult to rank among the leaders of English football. The first four seasons did not bring much fame to both Ispichu and Robson. And in 1972, the coach leads his club to 4th place in the Championship of England and victory in the prestigious Texas Cup. In the future, the results of Robson's work as a trainer began to appear. Over the past 9 seasons, Ispwich has twice finished second and thrice third in the Championship of England. Also in the asset of Robson as a coach, a victory in the FA Cup, where “Ispvich” turned out to be stronger than the London “Arsenal”. In the 1980-1981 season, the team took second place in the English League, simultaneously declaring itself loudly in Europe. The provincial English club becomes the owner of the UEFA Cup, defeating the Dutch “Alkmaar” in the final match.
What distinguished coach Robson from many of his coaching colleagues? Ispwich did not have a huge financial reserve, and the bet was made on its own pupils. During the time spent on the coaching bench “Ispich”, Robson raised 10 players for the national team of England. In August 1982, the club management took an unprecedented step, offering the coach a 10-year contract. But Bobby Robson refused such a seductive offer. In the future, he had the opportunity to lead the national team of England.
England coach
An unsuccessful performance at the 1982 World Cup by the English national team led to the resignation of team coach Ron Greenwood. The main candidate for the role of the next coach was Bobby Robson, showing consistently high results with “Ispich”. And again, the first pancake is lumpy. The qualifying tournament for the 1984 European Championship is a failure for the English team. But she is already conducting the next qualifying round perfectly. England team goes to the final of the 1986 world championship. In Mexico, the affairs of the wards of Bobby Robson went well. The team successfully passed the group stage, at the stage of 1/8 finals they defeated Paraguay. And then there was the famous match with the Argentines. The goal scored by Maradona sent the English home.
England team led by Robson performed at the 1968 European Championships and reached the semifinals at the 1990 World Cup. After this speech, Robson decided to return to club coaching.
And again the club
It was not difficult for a coach with such a reputation to find a new club. In 1990, Bobby Robson leads the Dutch “Eindhoven” and twice in two years leads him to the championship. This was followed by three seasons in Portugal - a year in “Sporting” and two in “Port”, and with this team two championships were again won.
Barcelona coach
The real peak of the coaching career for Bobby Robson was two seasons spent in Barcelona. He got at his disposal an excellent team with the strongest football player in the world - Ronaldo. Barcelona in the first season, under the leadership of Robson, wins the Spanish Cup and Super Cup, becomes the owner of the Cup Winners Cup, wins silver medals in the Spanish Championship. At the end of the season, Robson receives a prize as the best coach in Europe. The next season, he is already starting as CEO of Barcelona. But just one year is enough to understand that he is still ready to be an acting coach. Followed by a return to the “Eindhoven”, where the former coach of “Barcelona” helps the club win the Super Cup of the Netherlands. In 1999, the coach returned to England and led the Newcastle. It is this team that becomes the last in the coaching career of Bobby Robson.
That was such an English footballer and coach, who in 1990 received a knightly title for services to English football. In 2003, he was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame for outstanding coaching. July 31, 2009 Sir Bobby Robson died, he died of lung cancer at the age of 76. However, this great man left a deep mark in the history of football.
The only thing I wanted to say in the end: the young generation has someone to be proud of and with whom to take an example!