Robson...A player without championships and a coach chased by success

CAIRO – 30 September 2017- Sir Bob Bobby Robson is one of the most famous football legends of English football. He hadn’t won trophies as a player and he never played for a top level team within Britain’s borders. However, the greatest European clubs sought to have him join them because of his philosophy and strong personality.

He gave birth to one of the best coaches of the current generation, Jose Mourinho, who worked as Robson’s assistant in his early training.

Robson (February 18, 1933 - July 31, 2009) was born in Sacriston, England. He was often taken by his father to watch Newcastle United play at St. James' Park on Saturday afternoons, requiring a three to four-mile trip. He was more interested in Fulham than he was in Newcastle, so he moved to London and started playing as a striker and a winger on the team.

Robson began to participate with Fulham and work as an electrician, in accordance with his father's instructions, but he quickly turned to football.

He played for Fulham against Sheffield Wednesday in 1950. Robson participated in six seasons, including four in the second division, before moving to West Bromwich Albion in 1956 for £28,000 (then $78,400).

In the 1957-58 season, Robson became the team's top scorer, with 24 goals, and he was made captain of the team from 1960 to 1962. After the management refused to increase his salary, Robson returned to Fulham again for £20,000 in 1962. Robson did not win titles throughout his career as a player.

One of the popular things he said was “throughout my life, I am a player who has not won anything.”
Despite Arsenal's interest in having him join, he moved to Vancouver in 1967-1968 as a player and coach before the Hungarian coach Puskas took charge of the team, causing him discomfort before leaving to start a training session with Fulham.

With the English national team, Robson played as a player in his first international match against France, which ended in a 3-0 victory against the Lions. He scored two goals, but unfortunately did not participate in the 1958 and 1962 World Cups because of an injury. Commenting on the injury, Robson said, "I never played for England again…my international career was unfulfilled."

The player started his career as a coach with Fulham but was not a successful one, because the team fell to the second division. After eight rounds, Robson knew from the papers that he had been fired.

Ipswich Town was the start of Robson's successful coaching career. Four years later, the team won fourth place in the league and won the Texaco Cup in 1973. In the following nine seasons, he had them finish above sixth place, except in the 1978-79 season. However, that particular season was a success after Ipswich beat Arsenal 1–0 in the FA Cup final. Robson continued coaching Ipswich Town for 13 years, bringing in only 14 players because of his dependence on the team’s academy. During that time, the club managed to win second place in the league twice and participated in the European Championships, winning the UEFA Cup in 1981 with a 5–4 aggregate victory in the finals over AZ Alkmaar.

To exploit his success with Ipswich and England's exit from the World Cup in 1982, Robson was appointed as England manager, but he failed to qualify for Euro 1984 and asked to leave, but the FA chairman refused.

England managed to qualify for the 1986 World Cup, where they won two out of three matches in the first round to face Argentina, led by Maradona, who scored the most famous goal in the history of the World Cup, called the “hand of God” and “the goal of the century”. Robson commented on Maradona's second goal, saying, “It wasn't the hand of God. It was the hand of a rascal. God had nothing to do with it. That day, Maradona was diminished in my eyes forever.”

In Euro 1988, the team were out when the first round was over, and Robson asked to submit his resignation again, but was rejected after a draw with Saudi Arabia. Newspapers consequently said, "In the name of God, go!"

He led England to the 1990 World Cup and had good results. In the semi-finals, England lost West Germany on a penalty shoot-out.

Robson agreed not to renew his contract with the three lions after the World Cup. He moved to the Netherlands to coach PSV Eindhoven. His biggest challenge was Romario because of his uncontrolled behavior. He won the Dutch League titles in the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons — only to be sacked for poor European results.

Robson took charge of Sporting Lisbon, where he met Mourinho in 1992 and finished third in the Portuguese League while admitting the club was in "a terrible state”. He described the club's president as a "loose cannon" who frequently signed players without Robson's consent. He was sacked for the European Championship in 1994, with the club sitting at the top of the league table.

Robson signed with Porto, with Mourinho as his assistant, and he managed to win the Portuguese Cup. He won the 1994-95 and 1995-96 titles and was named “Robson 5-0” for repeating the result.

Robson moved to Barcelona, with Mourinho as a main condition, in the summer of 1996. Ronaldo was signed for $20 million. He won the Copa Del Rey, Supercopa de España and UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. He was voted “European Manager of the Year” for 1996–97 and returned to the Netherlands, leading PSV Eindhoven to the 1987–88 European Cup victory and four consecutive Eredivisie titles.

He returned to England through Newcastle, led them to the Champions League season 2001-02 and 2002-03 after finishing fourth and third, respectively, and was sacked in August 2004 for poor results.

In 2002, Ipswich Town erected a statue of Robson near the team's stadium in recognition of his achievements, and he became the honorary president of the club in 2006.

Robson died at the age of 75 on July 31, 2009, after fighting lung cancer, leaving a charitable foundation to collect funds for cancer patients to ease their pain. “He will be remembered not only for his playing career and his outstanding managerial career at both club and international level, but also because he was a truly warm and passionate human being,” UEFA president Michel Platini said.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson called him “a great friend, a wonderful individual and a tremendous football man.”

Bobby Robson was awarded many honors and medals, awarded the rank of British Empire, and in 2002 he was knighted a Sir.