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Bobby Robson: More Than a Manager (2018)
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BOBBY: How's my hair? Alright, Gerry? - GEBBY: Yep. Hope you get the flowers in the garden, get a bit of colour just to show them the paradise I'm living in. Get the trees in, the grass, the p/so/na, that's the swimming pool, the /ard/n is the garden, f/ores is the flowers... GEBBY: I'rn recording. - BOBBY: Come on, Gerry, let's go. BOBBY: From my ear/y days / always knew what/ wanted to do. /t was in my blood. And it ain't gonna come easy, is it? Ain't just gonna come out of the sky. You gotta make things happen. / never knew where it would lead me. It just says here, 'Wishing you the best of luck against Paraguay.' Burt Humphries, chimney sweep. He's from Birmingham. Where do / begin to tel/ the story of a greater /ove than this? AUDIENCE CHEERS / remember everything. How long have you got? / came home when / was work/ng in Porta/ga/. My wife said, '/'ve arranged for you to see the doctor about your sinuses. ' The surgeon said, '/'ve got some very grave news for you. You have a malignant melanoma in your nose inside your head. You need an operation yesterday. ' They out me from the corner of my eye around the contour of my nostri/ and through my /ip which they completely severed. Then they pinned the f/ap of my face almost to my ear took my teeth out and went through the roof of my mouth. HUW: Patients always want to know, 'How long have / got, Doc?' But you can 'Z' predict. For his diagnosis the vast majority of the patients do not survive. Two to three years would be good. BOBBY: What we suggest you do is you ret/re. People with this don't go back to work. Well, they didn't know Bob the way I knew him. REPOHTEHS SPEAK SPANISH Muy different! Muches! ELSIE: /t was his dream to go to manage Barcelona. We've come here to work hard, we've come here to produce a winning team to get results and to play effective football. HE SPEAKS SPANISH BOBBY: I/Ve//, / had been to Barcelona before because we had played against them. So / knew the magnificence of the c/ub, the expectations. JOSE: /t was spot on when they chose Mr Hobson to be the next one, spot on. Barcelona was a really difficult moment because it was the moment of the conflict between the club and Johan Cruyff. I follow a legend. A legend! Johan Cruyff was the most influential person in Barcelona in terms of the way we want to play, the way we want to be. PEP: /t was a tough, tough task. BOBBY: / went into a political storm. The city was sp/it, ha/f of them d/dh't want him because he had been there eight years and the /ast two years they'd won nothing and the other he/f absolutely adored him. How do you follow Johan Cruyff? JOAN: The president of the club was Josep L/we NU/792. He had been president for 18 years. JOAN: There were supposed to be elections in 1998. The board of directors sacked Cruyff and they needed to win titles. /z"s //ke any player of the world coming after Messi. I am not afraid to follow him. When the President of the United States leaves they have to get another President of the United States. H UW: He was just inc/'ed/b/e. He takes over the most d/fHcu/t job in the world, Barcelona. / was thrilled for him, ob vious/y, because he wanted to do it but we didn't know how long he was go/ng to survive. BOBBY: /t didn't worry me. / was/7't afraid of it. I've had a long /ife, and so / am experienced and / fe/t that / could handle it, you know? STATIC CRACKLES Eastern sport begins this week at the scene of today's big story at Portman Road the home of Ipswich Town Football Club. This is a club of which former manager Jackie Milburn said this weekend 'It's only got one way to go, and that's down.' This is the club that Bobby Robson today took over. Bobby, why? Well, of course you've given me a lovely controversial question to begin with. I've come here because I'rn sure that there's a great job to do here in football. Many people have given impressions about the state of the club here. I personally wouldn't say that they're true. This is a club which will allow me to manage and are prepared to give me a chance. Bobby Robson, we wish you good luck as you start. Thank you very much indeed. BOBBY: Good morning. It's Ipswich Football Club here. It's Mr Robson. BOBBY: /mean / didn't have any rea/ cred/b///ty as a manager. That's bloody stupid. No rea/ experience. / was a young greenhorn. They were tak/ng a chance on me. I'd like to bring the players for a light snack, you know before Norwich City today. Well, all we want really, it's very simple all we eat is tea and toast and jam. When you take over /t's because something has fa//ed to happen at the club. Now, they play off two strikers. That's their four, and that's their four, the crosses are their four. I'rn having a bad morning here. Alright then, with an alternate jump then. We're simply gonna go out and a rebound, and out and a rebound Let's do... let's do a dozen. Stretch it again. TERRY: When he first got the job a /ot of people were say/ng 'We//, who is this guy and /ook at his track record. ' Alright, fine, that'll do. But Bobby Robson was well ahead of his time in every football oapaoity every football area. He was miles ahead of his time. We'll do a scene set here. BOBBY: / ran the club. And al/ the concepts, al/ the departments l had a hand in and a say in at /paw/'ch Town Football Club. AUDIENCE CHEEFIS AND CLAPS: Ipswich! Ipswich! Ipswich! There was no money. What's the play? What's the play? Bloody hell. / knew that the policy and the strength of the club would be in the youth system, so we worked on that very hard. If there-'s half of the strikers on you, accept it as such and knock it in. Confidence and composure, just a touch of Jimmy Greaves. He was certainly a man of his time. L\/lost managers will develop the first team because it keeps them in a job and it must have given him an enormous satisfaction to see these young players develop into international players. Let's have no regrets, no regrets at the end of the match. Now's the time. Do it now. ALEX: /t was a fantastic piece of management. BOBBY: / had a very good team in '75 and then we got to the cup final in '78, COMMENTATOR: Here they come into the sunshine. /t's the moment this 700,000 crowd has waited for. BOBBY: Everybody in the who/e area was enraptured. /ps wich Town /'n the final of the FA Cup, they 're playing Arsenal. And nobody gave us a chance. COMMENTATOR: Now for Wark. Driven in there! Oh, he's gone past Nelson, across the face of the goal. That's got to be it and it is it. And /pswich have won for the first time in their history. And Bobby Robson, a sm//e /ight/ng up his face. Bob, how does it feel to have done it after waiting for a long time? Well, it's the best feeling I think in all the world. CAF! HORN HONKS BOBBY: Having won it, we took it around the county. /z' always had to have po//ce protection, of course. / took it to some garden fete and we didn't Hnish t/// ha/f past ten. And the two po//cemen came back with me and / slept with the FA Cup under my bed. MAN: Well done, Bobby! / can prom/se you that. Oh, no, no, no. / really did. B O B BY: Football is entertainment. What we hope to br/ng to Baroe/ona is good football. And to do that we do need players who can change the game. The Pres/dent said to me, 'We need bums on seats, Bobby. We need e top-c/ess striker, do you know where there is one?' / said yes. / know there 's a young kid in PSV that / //ke very much. / think he's terrific, but he's a risk. This was the real Ronaldo, 19 years old from Brazil. '// fenomeno. ' Ronaldo Nazario, the best Ronaldo ever. I never saw the same. I never saw the same. My manager calls me and tells me that Bobby Robson is crazy to have me in Barcelona. And I say, 'Oh, my God, this is a big challengef FRANK: Bobby said, 'Frank, /have to be sure he can de//ver. ' This is the most expensive player ever in a big club as Barcelona. I cannot go wrong here. BOBBY: We #na//y got him at 20 m////on. The chairman of Barcelona kept say/ng to me 'Boob y, you know your job depends on this transfer. ' JOAN: S/r Babb;/'s official start in Barcelona was the Super Cup against At/etico Madrid. /Z' was also Fiona/do 's first match. ANNOUNCER: Fiona/do! ANNOUNCER SPEAKS SPANISH RONALDO: There was a very big expectation. L\/Ir Bobby Robson, he make me feel so calm, so relaxed. He told me, 'Enjoy yourself, have fun and bring the cup!' He was fast, intelligent. He could do absolutely everything. JOAN: Barcelona won 5-2. /t was a br////ant start for Sir Bobby in Barcelona. Ronaldo is special. He has the physique of a middleweight boxer. You know, good shoulders, good biceps, good body, fantastic legs. And he is one of the quickest players I've ever seen with the ball. FRANK: / never forget the goa/ he scored against Compostela. It was unbelievable! RONALDO: The goa/ /tse/f was amazing. But everyone who watched that goal is surprised about Bobby Robson's reaction. 'Oh, my God. Unbelievable what he did.' You know, the hands on the head. 'This is unbelievable, this is not real.' PEP: He was running, running, / said, 'Pass the ba//. ' He don't pass the ball. 'Pass the ba//. ' He don't pass the ba//. And after score a goal, I said, 'Well done, don't pass the ball.' So that is perfect. RONALDO: That goal is one of the best memories / have. Bobby's reaction for sure is part of the goal. Bobby Robson, from the first day, we had a meeting in one hotel and he came with a very young person who was his assistant. Mr I\/Iourinho. We said, 'No, it's better that your assistant would be someone from Barcelona, no?' No, no, no, no, no. He insists, he insists, he insists. Please, please, 'If it's a question of money part of the money that you give to me you can give to hirn.' Well, this is Bobby Robson, eh? JOAN: When he comes to Barcelona, Mourinho was Hobson 's right hand. JOSE: it was a bit difficu/z' in the beginning. Mr Hobson cou/dn 't speak any Span/sh. The penalty... / had to obviously he/p. THEY SPEAK SPANISH We lost the concentration... BOBBY SPEAKS SPANISH Then he was improving step by step. BOBBY SPEAKS SPANISH Dribble, dribble, dribble, semi control, a/ber/on. Speaks for itself. JOSE: The team was really, really good. F/go, de /a P9/73, Sto/chko v... BOBBY: Laurent Blanc, Fernando Couto J OS E: G/ca Popescu. Luis Enrique was playing everywhere. JOAN: /n the midfield, e legend of Barcelona, Pep Guerdio/a. Top three of Barge history. BOBBY SPEAKS SPANISH I had already years of experience in football but never at that level of responsibility. JOSE: Without fee//ng his trust, / cou/dn 't have jumped so fast to be working with the best players in the world. HE SPEAKS SPANISH Our relationship was phenomena/. Service again! Concentrate on the service! Just wait, Mitch. Don't get in too early, Mitch. Don't get in too early! Now you can go. ALEX: What / always remember of Bobby was how he was giving of his time. I think he enjoyed helping young managers. / loved going in to see hirn. His approach to peep/e was different from managers of my time. That's the ball, Eric. Go on, punch it! Set it up for him, good! Set it up for him, that's good, again! / remember go/ng down to /pswich before we played them in the UEFA Cup game and he invited me to a training session and I am saying to myself, 'Wait a minute, what is he up to?' But that was Bobby Robson. He would have done it for any young manager. And I took a lot out of what he did that day. PHONE RINGS Ipswich Town Football Club. BOBBY: On Monday morning /t's my turn, if you //ke and / have to come in and / have to whistle. BOBBY WHISTLES You know, and have the best face in the club on a Monday morning because everyone is /ook/ng at me / think, you know? Who motivates the motivator? ELSIE: Those years were a great st/mu/ation for him to get the maximum out of each of his players. So there was a tenderness there, but there was also that drive. I\/lillsy! l\/Iillsy! - MAN: Millsy's boxing up again. Hey, tell Millsy and Warky, man! And that silly twat! Come on, let's play football! I want to voice my opinion on performances. Negative, bad play, that's a crap play! Is that what you get paid for? To wear a fuckin' shirt and tie out there? TERRY: He was tough. And I hated that play at the end, Butch, I'll say it again, hate it. He wanted you to be the best that you could be. /f that meant just dangling something there for you to work on z'hat's what he did. We've won a match and we were very lucky to win it. Scrapped. He just had this aura about him. The first ten minutes is very important. Go on bite, bite! That passion came across to us. Come on, tighter, McCall! Tighter! And we made it our pass/on as we//. The way that we played football, he was building a fantastic reputation. Not only in England, but in Europe as we//. Come on, you hold up play, and the same again. The UEFA Cup //7 '87 it was a step beyond English football. All season rests on this one, all season! /z' was a step into the unknown. He made you fee/ so good about yourself and so good about your job. You went out there and wanted to do it for him. BOBBY: We were voted the best team in Europe. Not the best team in England. The best team in Europe. INDISTINCT CHATTEH JOAN: /Z' was Barcelona 's best start in the league for 33 years. CHEMI: But the fans were not enjoying the football we played at that time. / remember we won one game 8-7 at home and the people, the fans whistled, the people were not happy. And he arrived in the locker room and said 'The people is not happy. What are they looking for?' THUNDER CLAPS BOBBY: The next day one paper said that Baroe/ona didn't ,o/a y any footba//. Can you imagine that? It's a wonderfully huge club, but it's... it's kind of bonkers. It's a roadhouse. The team is winning. If I change it and we lose, 'Why do you change the team?' THEY SPEAKS SPANISH JOAN: 'O/d-fashioned man. ' That is the idea many of them had of Sir Bobby. HE YELLS IN SPANISH They were used to Johan Cruyff who was sophisticated, a modern guy. If you write, 'No football, no football, no football.' 'No system, no system, no system! Then the public will believe you. In a giant club l\/lr Flobson was in the middle of politics and football together. JOSE: The people was not against Bobby Robson. People were against NL?/iez. PEP: it's not easy to handle Barcelona, especially especially in that period. / /earned when / saw him how /one/y the manager fee/s. And in the bad moments, how always with the typical smile. For example, in my case, in that situation it would have been impossible to react the way he react. THUNDER FUl\/IBLES JOHN: He was at his peak then at Barcelona. And we wanted Bobby for manager for Newcastle United. January, 7997. We f/ew out to Berce/one on different routes. We were doing an illegal approach. We had to sort of hide our intent. JOHN CHUCKLES A delegation came over and talked to Dad and said they wanted him. So, incredible situation of your hometown club. MARK: You 're managing Barcelona. What to do? JOHN: We met Bobby at the house. Beautiful garden, /ove/y sunny da y and E/sie came out with drinks. We exp/e/ned that Ne wcest/e needed him and everyone would welcome him back. He agreed to come. We were de//gh ted. And when I rang him that night and his voice was different. 'You are not corning?' I said. 'Erm...' I said, 'You're not coming.' 'No, I'm not. I've changed my mind.' BOBBY: /fl had been in any other s/tue tion but Barce/one that would have been for me but / 'm at Barce/Ona / have a two-year contract the president stood by me. There was no way that / could really leave the club. MARK: What Dad didn't know at that time was that in his contract he could be after the first year moved upstairs, as it were. JOSE: / signed my two- year contract //ke he did. I never thought that was the case. JOAN: Bobby thought he was go/ng to be coach for Baroe/ona for two years. He didn't know that Barcelona had planned to br/ng Louis van Gaa/ in 1997. He didn't know that at a//. Well if he knew it, he would have taken on the Newcastle job. I think he probably would, yes, yeah. Gracias. ELSIE: We grew up in a v///age called Langley Park northwest of the city of Durham. Very much in a mining community. ALAN: He was a typical boy from the northeast. As soon as he could walk, in this area, you just have to love football. You just don't have a choice. BOBBY: /Z' was a ritual for me when / was a young boy with my father. We never missed a Ne wcast/e Un/ted Hrst team game. And/ have to tel/ you this. We 'd be the first people at the gate at 12 o'c/ook almost three hours before the kick-off time. Thank you very much. Enjoy your day. A//y anvbit/'on was to ,Ola y for Newcastle United but the loce/ boy never seemed to get e chance. And / thought, 'Thaz"s not for me. ' / need to go to a club where /'m go/ng to be given en opportunity. When he got on the train at Durham to go to Fulham and he was looking out the window, you know, and he was waving well, I just broke down to think that... Was he going to make the grade? Was he going to be alright? MAN: C'mon, Bob! Your turn! Go, Bob, go, go! BOBBY: Good team player. Harder! Go on, Bobby! He//ab/e. / could ,Ola y a bit, yeah. / was at West Bromwich A/b/on at the time. Did you sign those lads? And / remember buy/'ng en evening paper to f/'nd out what the England squad would be. And there / was. /'m selected! /'// never forget it. COMMENTATOR: /n the ninth minute, Bobby Hobson scored. BOBBY: There was nothing in my //fe better than we/k/ng out at Wembley. What a source of pr/de that is, / tel/ you. COMMENTATOR: Douglas to Hobson. And z'hat's it. A four-n// victory for England. Just my cuppa, mate. BOBBY: I've had no greater feeling in football than that. INDISTINCT CHATTEH Yeah, sure. I like your tie, James... JAMES: Well, we try. Yeah, very nice. - Got to try and compete with you. Shirt's not too clever, but the tie's lovely. / think the England job on/y comes to you once in your //fet/me. /z' is the most prestigious job in my profess/on. / know the job has got some imposs/b///t/es. / am go/ng to tackle the few problems that it has. Where are you off to now? The Ideal Home Exhibition? No. - You're going home, are you? Marks and Sparks. You've just got to get it right. And if you get it right for the country, it must be utopia. CROWD CLAMOUHS COMMENTATOR: As the England team /eff the ground an angry crowd had gathered to vent their feelings face-to-face. GARY: We were on the br/nk of go/ng out. Bobby was on the br/'nk of losing his job. We want our money back! That was an absolute disgrace That was abysmal! Robson out! Robson out! But just when it seemed it was going to fall apart Bobby would find something. You are not out until you are out. Now, if I surrender and throw the white flag, everybody does and I am not going to do that. A change of system, a change of formula, a change of personnel. Whatever it may be, he'd find a way. Go, pass, pass, pass, pass! BOBBY: We have to win against Poland. We are still capable of doing that. All is not lost, that's all I'm saying. GARY: He turned it round. COMMENTATOR: L/neker! I was convinced I would be left out because I had not had a great start to the World Cup. M/ynarczyk has m/sjuc/geo' it and L/neker has a hat- trick! Bobby made my career what it was. For some reason he stuck with me and I will be eternally grateful to him for that because my life would have been nowhere near as good without that. And here is Lineker onside, three-ni/ Argent/na await now. HE SPEAKS SPANISH BOBBY: Argent/na with the great Maradona. /f he 'd played for us, we wou/d have won the World Cup. GARY: Quarter Hna/ of the World Cup. Two countries that were at war in the not-too-distant past. HE SPEAKS SPANISH How does this look? - I\/IAN: Alright. Bobby mentioned it. Even amongst ourselves you'd talk about it. BOBBY: if we get deflected or distracted from the situation we 're in the middle of nowhere. We 're go/ng to give it everything we've got. Feelings were heightened. It was noticeable, it was in the air. HE SIGHS I haven't seen the television. All I can go on is what I felt I saw. COMMENTATOR: Ma/'ac/one is there, rises above Sh//ton. But is that goal go/ng to be allowed? /Z' was a handball, no question about that. BOBBY: Ma/'ac/Ona handled the ball into the goal. D/dn 'T he ? Didn't he? We don't expect decisions like that at World Cup level. COMMENTATOR: Ma/'ac/Ona turns //ke a //tt/e ee/. He comes away from trouble. The //tt/e squat man, comes /hs/de Butcher, /eaves him for dead. Outside Fenwick, /eaves him for dead than puts the ba// away and that is why Maradona is the greatest p/a yer in the world. BOBBY: The first goa/ was always going to be crucial. The first goal was go/ng to win the match. MAN: V/ve Argem'/na! V/ve Argentina! He was raging after that garne, raging like I've never seen him before. If anybody is sorry at home and a bit disappointed come in the dressing room come on with me in the dressing room. GARY: To cheat so blatantly like that and than take the glory afterwards it went completely against what Bobby stood for. He was a gentleman. BOBBY: He was at that time the greatest p/a yer in the world. He did have the chance to be the best sportsmen in the world but he refused it. He said it was the hand of God. / said it was the hand of a rascal. And /'m right. Yesterday was the first time we didn't shoot because yesterday was the first time we had all 11 players. Before that we had five players. What attracted me to Bobby? The way he walked, I think. ELSIE: Footballers have a certain characteristic way of moving. ELSIE LAUGHS We just spotted each other, as peep/e do, as couples do. JOSE: He was always say/ng that his wife saved his //fe. HUVV: Before the season in Barcelona she badgered him and he was made to come for his appointment. A malignant melanoma is one of the worst diagnoses you can have in the heed and neck. When he first saw what had happened to him he burst into tears. HEART MONITOR BEEPS BOBBY: / had this obturator in my mouth. /t's //ke a pe/ate which keeps my face in position. HUW: Without that obturator his face would have effectively fallen in on the /eff hand side. /n amongst a// the problems at Barcelona, he wanted to see me. / scoped him and there was a slightly suspicious area within the original site. But I remember him saying, 'Whatever it is, you've got to sort it because there is no way I'rn giving up this season! BOBBY: For the worst coach in the world, /t's go/ng really fantastic. Because yesterday / read that/ was the worst coach in the world. I find that incredible. No respect and I find that a disgrace. That's the story. And I am angry with you. JOAN : He suffered. He had to fight a /ot in football and in //fe. /n that moment, / think the board of directors would have //ked Bobby to go. When you're driven like Bobby and you have a bad time it's not so much the number of times you get knocked down it's the number of times you get up. Do something about it. Your next morning is your more important morning. ALEX: Tomorrow is your da y. CHEMI: March 12th, 7997. Oh, my God. One of the best nights in our lives. A crazy, crazy night. BOBBY: /z' was two-two. In Spanish Cup football, the away goals count double. Very //tt/e in it. So we though z'. SPANISH COMMENTARY You are z'hree-n// down. Do something. Ano' / took off Laurent Blanc and G/ca Popescu my two most experienced players. There 's 700,000 people in that stadium and they are baying. MARK: /z' was one of my worst feelings I've had deep down. How is he feeling wa/k/ng up the tunnel? You know, that's my father. And if he loses that match, he-'s lost his job, he-'s sacked. JOAN: Louis van Gaa/ was in the crowd. And they had taken the decision to get rid of Sir Bobby. I think so. JOSE: Such a powerful club, /os/ng z'hree-n// at ha/f time. Would be hard to... to cope with it. We were absolutely devastated. PEP: Bobby said, 'We have to p/ay the second ha/f with our pr/de. We cannot give up until the end.' He was talking to everyone making us believe we could change that result. BOBBY: / didn't discuss the first ha/ii /t's gone. We 're al/ in this together. The difference is the wil/ and the want and the motivational force that you can stir in your players to go out and work to the bitter end. Ano' if you oou/d convey that to your players you 're on to a winner. Three-two and a big chance. And then the disaster of a goal. Another three gee/s to win. We were completely out of it. Unless the players are special. Are special. You ta/k with them every da y, you train with them every day you mot/vate them every da y for times //ke this when you are in trouble and they'// put something back for you. SPANISH COMMENTARY JOAN: The who/e Barge history was there in one moment. /t was a miracle. I still have at home a VHS cassette with this match. I still have it. My homage tonight is for the players. I've been in football 45 years and... I cannot remember 45 minutes like that. The way he was talking to us, you know, make us feel like we have to do it for him. RONALDO: He sa ved himself PEP: /know for him it was a tough, tough ,oer/od. I learnt a lot, because in that period I thought I want to become a manager. And how he handled that situation, it was incredible. I admire him a lot. /t doesn'z' matter what the media says when everybody push him. Always try to be ca/m. REPORTER: /z"s not the announcement itse/E but its timing which surprises. Mr Hobson 's two- year contract with PSV Eindhoven has been the subject of we//-informed speculation before. The FA co/Wrmed that the manager wil/ leave /mmediate/y after the World Cup ends in Ju/y. The FA have agreed to release Mr Robson from his contract as manager of the England team. GLEN: The truth Wes, Bobby had been to/d that his contract would not be renewed after the World Cup and he was /ook/ng after his future interests as you wou/d expect anybody to do. 'Bobby Robson: traitor! TERRY: That goes beyond football. That means that you've so/d your country out. And z'hat's something he would never, ever do. REPORTER: Some newspapers //nk news of Hobson 's resignation with allegations about his pr/vate //fe. There is absolutely no truth whatsoever in all the spec... Garbage! They were barbaric. ELSIE: They used to sit outside of the house just waiting for anything. As a woman and as a wife of Bob it was very, very hard. It was very hard. B O B BY: Journalism changed. / was in that circulation war between two tabloid papers who fought against each other. CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS I've got three sons who love football. You know, probably getting abused about the damn thing. How do you think they feel? MARK: We wou/d suffer in s//ence, really. /z' would hinder me go/ng to schoo/ or when / was at college. It just puts you into a shell that isn't you. And / remember seeing Dad with two armed guards. / didn't know what had happened / thought he 'd been attacked or there had been a fight. No, I haven't seen the papers, I don't intend to. POLICE OFFICER: Do you want to go into our office for a while? Yes, I think that might be a good idea. And basically nothing had happened. They had just drawn a game 1-1. BOBBY: Wa/k/ng awa y, easy to do that. Unless you've got that res///ence and that physical courage and mental stab/'//'ty it could crack you. I just see bastards, to be fair. 'Robson must go.' A load of bollocks. BOB BY: Pau/ Gascoigne. Some guy. Crazy as he//. / ca// him daft as a brush, and he was. Daft as a brush. Yeah, you can't beat that. So l had to wait until he was absolutely ready unti/ we fe/t we could really re/y on him. He says, 'You play well, I'm going to pick you for the World Cup.' COMMENTATOR: Gascoigne. Thank you very much. PAUL: / set up three and scored one. And I always remember him... 'That was fantastiof I'rn going to spend two hours with him tomorrow to try and restore a bit of confidence you know, he-'s lacking in confidence, isn't he, the boy. In the dressing room he went, 'So you guys! He says, 'We need two footballs. One for Gazza and one for the rest of you.' And that was it. I knew I was the dog's bollocks. INDISTINCT CHATTEH GARY: The re/at/onsh/Q0 between Bobby and Gazza was extraordinary. They had that kind of lovely relationship that was a lot of joy and a lot of love but also a lot of frustration and a lot of tellings-off. ONLOOKERS LAUGH AND CHEER I just love chocolate! /t was worth the risk because to go and do wel/ in a World Cup you need something a //tt/e bit different a //tt/e bit... something above the normal and Bobby knew that. BOBBY: You've gotta /o ve him and cherish him and you've got to treat him slightly different and not be too strong with him, because you wil/ /ose him. PAUL: You ta/k about a father figure the guy was phenomena/ for me. Under Sir Bobby I knew I was safe. I was safe. BOBBY: He just wanted the ba//. He wanted to make every pass in the book. COMMENTATOR: Gascoigne is behind it... A chip in there and P/att has scored! BOBBY: He loves the big stage, he's a big match player. JIM: We didn't think there would be anything more dramatic than the Be/g/um game but tonight really was extra special. COMMENTATOR: Gascoigne picking it up for England he's got L/neker forward! That 's another penalty! I hate flying, Jim, petrified of flying. I thought there is no way I'rn going yet. PAUL: / always remember, / ran over to Sir Bobby. 'Thanks for picking me. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to become one of the best players in the world.' Which I was. I wish I was home because they tell me everybody is dancing in the streets. And, you know, I'd like to be home to be dancing in the streets with a lot of our supporters tonight. LONG BEEF' GERMAN COMMENTARY MAN: Can you make sure somebody is recording? / need a shot on this /ine. They'/'e standing by. LOU D FOOTBALL OHAN Bobby, he said to us 'England World Cup winners in '66 are immortal, still irnrnortal.' TERRY: And he wanted us to be just //ke that. We wanted to follow in their footsteps. Just go out there and be immortal. PAUL: Remember who is watching you. England, the Queen, the fans and your family back at home. Phew. I went, 'Alright' BOBBY: This is the pinnacle, this is the climax this is what we've worked for. WHISTLE BLOWS l had a beautiful job, worked for beautiful people and / gave it al/ up to try to win the World Cup. You ca/7't do that unless you've got many qua//ties. COMMENTATOR: Pau/ Parker, the man who is go/ng to attack the ba// it comes off Parker and /t's a goal! BOBBY: Cop/ng with pressure. Not being afraid of pitching yourself in against the best players in the world. P/ay/'ng on white hot /7/Qghts. You need discipline. Good temperament. Courage. You've got to be//eve in yourse/ri COMMENTATOR: Here it comes to L/neker. Goa/! BOBBY: Be//eve in yourse/ri You train, you coach, you mot/vate, you ta/k tactics. Once that game starts / cannot he/p you. Thaz"s my fear. That it somehow goes wrong. COMMENTATOR: Here 's Gasco/gne... WHISTLE BLOWS BOBBY: My heart sank the moment the referee took out the yellow card. That kid won 'Z' ,Ola y in the final. Now listen, listen to nve. We know you can't p/ay in the f/na/. But what you can do, son, is make sure everybody e/se does. Get them into the f/na/. WHISTLE BLOWS We knew it might come to pene/ties. We practiced it. / was vary confidant about the players we had on the pitch. L/neker. .. CROWD ROARS Beards/e y... CROWD ROARS David P/att... Stuart Pearce... Good character, tough /ad... Didn 't think he cou/d miss. WHISTLE BLOWS COMMENTATOR: Sa ved! Oh, no./ The Germans with a chance to go 4-3 ahead. And they have! BOBBY: Chrissy Wada'/e... He could take penalties in tra/ning with his eyes closed. Things get to you, / guess. WHISTLE BLOWS COMMENTATOR: Oh, he's missed it! West Germany go into the f/na/! And England sad, sad, sad/y are out! BOBBY: There wasn 't any doubt in my mind that had we beaten West Germany on that particular day we wou/d have won the World Cup for the second time. ELSIE: Oh, so close, so close. But... There we are. PAUL: He just sa/o', 'Look, you've done yourself proud, your fam//y proud England proud and you've made me proud. And when you get back to home you've gotta remember that all you's are gonna be legends.' BOBBY: Where do you go after you've /eff the England job? / decided / 'd //ke to work abroad. FANFARE PLAYS ON TRUMPE MUSIC: Band plays "Ol, Ol, Ol" FRANK: Normally, the England coaches stayin England. They don't go out of their comfort zone, because of new languages, new mentality. Bobby was the opposite. WOMAN SPEAKS DUTCH PHRASE BOBBY BEPEATS DUTCH PHRASE BOBBY BEPEATS DUTCH PHBASES He was never afraid of e challenge. Two years he was in PSM two times champion. PLAYERS SING He was really enjoying work abroad. JOSE: Different places, different culture, different way of living. BOBBY: / went to Lisbon, it was a magnificent city. Another country, another philosophy, another form of footbe//. Rui, Hui, Rui, Hui, Rui! BOBBY YELLS IN POBTUGUESE / soon got a job up in Porto. Wonderful club, wonderful p/ace to /ive in. I won the Portuguese Cup and two championships and I loved every minute of it. He was a guy, Sir Bobby, he loves to eat and I remember the buffet in Catalonia, in Spain the food is different than here. And, wow, every time he says, 'Wow, this is so good, that is so good.' Like a little boy, you discover something new. JOSE: / was always fee//ng he had friends everywhere. /n Lisbon he was a Lisbon man. /n Porto he was a Porto man. In Barcelona he become a Catalan. MAN: Hey, Sir Bobby! CHURCH BELL CHll\/IES BOBBY: When you win here et the biggest club in the world and you are making 110,000 people who sit in the stadium very happy and the who/e of Catalonia, which is their country, very content it's a very rewarding feeling. Football here is the only sport. They don't really have golf or tennis or rugby or cricket or badminton or canoeing or rock climbing you know or trampolining. They don't have sports like that, they have football. Footba// to them is a way out. Ano' footballers here are heroes. Footballers and matadors. SPANISH COMMENTARY RONALDO: / was so young and Mr Bobby Robson, he was he/p/ng me a /ot with al/ the sk///s and movement. / was so happy to be there with him. BOBBY YELLS IN SPANISH I think it was the best year ever of Ronaldo. JOSE: He was //ke a dad to him understand/ng the Braz///an kid personality at the same time giving him the freedom to be Fiona/do on the pitch. RONALDO: / was playing my best with people who / love. He trusted me a /ot. That was everything / wanted. BOBBY: And you know something about Fiona/do? When we beat Paris Sa/nt-Germain that is the first pr/ze that he's won in football. JOAN: The best th/ng of the match was the atmosphere. Between the crowd, players and Bobby Robson. They were in /ove with him. JOAN: He knew he was doing we//. The team is W/nn/ng. / deserve to keep the job. JOSE: The rumours about Mr Hobson is go/ng to leave at the end of the season didn't affect him at a//. He was the idea/ person to keep doing his job and with my personality I never hide my feelings and I was very open. THEY SPEAK IN SPANISH JOAN: The boaro' of directors were telling Bobby that if he did a good job you are go/ng to be our coach for two years. They were not 100 per cent honest to Bobby. JOAN GASPART: / must tel/ you one thing. I never said a lie to Bobby. THEY SPEAK SPANISH CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICK Errn... BOBBY: /t was co/Wrmed to me that the /ong- term future of the club wil/ be in hands of Louis van Gaa/. The president decides to use me for nice things and bad things, no? When he decides to tell Bobby, 'Next year we will have another trainer,' he say, 'Joan, tell hirn.' JOAN GASPART: /z' was not a nice day for me. I worked in a situation in Barcelona which had no patience. No patience. You understand patience? Understand? Wait, espera, give us a chance! PEP: People forget how tough was everybody in this year and how he react. Even in that moment, he was focused. JOAN: Bobby knew that it was his final match as coach. He was desperate to win that match. PEP: We p/ay in Bernabu. And of course winning in Madrid, for a Barcelona team, is spec/a/. L/Wth him / understood how important are the relations the communication and the feedback with your players. That / /earned from Sir Bobby. WHISTLE BLOWS SPANISH COMMENTARY CROWD ROARS MUSIC: "El Cant del Barqa" JOAN: For the first time in the history of football the Barge anthem sounded at the highest volume in Bernebeu. Barcelona won titles in the last 20 years but before, not too much regularly. The season was amazing. BOBBY: No, it's probably the first time in history so I've made history. BOBBY: /f /ast August / said to the president 'Look/ wil/ give you this and/ wil/ give you this and/ wil/ give you th/s,' he wou/d have said, 'You W///?' We've had a fantastic season, a m//'ac/e of a season. Visca /a Barge! V/sca Catalunya! JOAN: E/ect/ons to presidency should be taken in 1998 but NU/792 brought them forward to 1997 because of the success that Hobson had brought the club. And NU/792 won those elections easily. CH EM I: Finally Bobby became an adviser and van Gaa/ became the first team coach. Bobby accepted that situation as ,oart of football which not always is fair. BOBBY: Barcelona wil/ always be in my heart. If you 're a fantastic painter, you 're never rich unti/ you 're dead and / think it happens with managers. You 're never appreciated unti/ you've gone. The season started and / wasn'z' in charge of a football club. / remember say/ng to my wife, '/ don't //ke this, E/sie. And /'m not go/ng to go to the supermarket on a Saturday afternoon ever again. ' REPORTER: You to/d me Barcelona is going to be... The /est job, is go/ng to be the end. BOBBY: But I've been saying that for 20 years so thaz"s not a change. / ca/7't give up the drug. HUW: He was addicted. Stress in itself hes been /inked to cancer but for him it was essential. He wou/dn 't function properly without his football drug. BOBBY: Do l need the hassle of what football does to you? Yeah, I need it, yeah, 'cause I love it. As long as / fee/ this way / want to keep working. / am immersed in football. /t's my god! ALEX: His father tak/ng him 25 mi/es to watch Ne wcast/e p/a y. The team he was brought up with his team that he /oved. Eventually getting back to his hometown that was his greatest moment I think. REPORTER; He's coming in. If you're listening, gallery, Flobson's coming into the press conference. It's like completing the circle. We just got back to our roots. INDISTINCT CHATTEH FREDDY: / am de//ghted to introduce the new manager of Newcastle Un/ted Bobby Robson. Bobby, welcome home to Newcastle. APPLAUSE REPORTER: How about the age factor, Bobby? A lot of people have been mentioning your 66 years of age? Yeah. You fancy a run of 100 metres? AUDIENCE LAUGHS You are either 66 years old or 66 years young, aren't you? You know, you have a choice. ALAN: Ne wcast/e were in turmoil. The dress/ng room was broke. And there is one guy that could come and save Newcastle United. BOBBY: My background, knowing what the Geordie pass/on is what football means to the Northeast / had a feeling for the club and a des/re for the club that no other manager had. So when / came here, / just knew / cou/dn 't fa//. JOHN LAUGHS Magnificent, wonderful, mind boggling. COMMENTATOR: Shearer! JOHN: /z' was everything that the fans could have wanted. COMMENTATOR: Shearer, a ha z'- trick! ALAN: /got #ve goals, we scored eight as a team. And that was it, we were back on the right track. And it was all thanks to Sir Bobby. BOBBY: /t's beyond my W//dest dreams and beyond expectations / wou/o' have thought. So... not a bad start. PEP: /'m go/ng to explain something secret. After the period in Barcelona, he went to Newcastle and I sent him a mail to offer me to go with him to play with Newcastle. And one of my dreams would have been to play in England. He answers me and say, 'It is not possible because I have a lot of qualities,' and I say, 'You are right' But even in the tough moments, he was always so kind. He writes e s/mp/e /etter that sometimes means more. It's beautiful... It's like he was... You know? Bobby is one of the nicest, nicest persons / ever met in my //fe. BOBBY: Left and right! Left and right! Pass, good pass, quality, good. When I see Bobby Robson I think about that word 'enthusiastic.' So, come on, Thom, play, play, play! Yeah! When I got to my mid-60s it's very difficult to keep your enthusiasm. Niki for Roy! Niki for Roy! SHOUTS AT PLAYERS People ta/k about what makes a great manager. Well, we-'ve got other things to do now. Other things to do now. You've got to forget about that. That's football. Someone who can create en energy source for as /eng as he's done /z"s something special. Talk, talk! Talk for it, go on, like I'm talking to you! It's like a bloody mouse sometimes! You can't go down the chem/st's and buy that. FRANK: At PSV where we were in our tra/ning ground it's surrounded by trees, it's a beautiful place. When we have two or three /eps, he stopped and said, 'Liste-n, guys, look around, take a look. Is it not beautiful? You could have been now, it's now 10 o'olock you could have been now in the factory from seven o'clock to five o'olock and you wouldn't you wouldn't experience this.' That was Bobby. That foundation he got through his parents mining district, working-class people those values never /eff him. JOHN: They are very much soc/a/ist values. When you /ive in a mining village, you /ive in a community. /z"s never about yourse/ri /t's always about other people. ALAN: /fit wash 't for him, then / would have /eft the football club. I wasn't getting on with the previous management. I didn't know where to go, I didn't know what to do what I was doing right, what I was doing wrong. He knew stra/ghta way what made me tick. He saved Newcastle and he also saved my career. COMMENTATOR: Shearer! He took e football o/ub from the bottom of the Premier League into Champions League football. COMMENTATOR: And a chance for Ameobi! What a story that is! JOHN: The times in Europe were so exciting. COMMENTATOR: /t's Kieron Dyer... Past van Wonderen... Be//anvyl /t's in! Has there ever been a more dramatic night in the Champions League? Looking at Newcastle I think they had something like 14 managers in my time at United. He was the one manager who brought stability. Want to win it, want to pass it, want to get it. Good luck, eh. Come on. Battle, eh, battle! ALEX: At that point it could have been a great club. ANNOUNCER: Bobby Hobson! CROWD ROARS BOBBY: /t's the fu/f/'/ment of my //fe to be manager of Newcastle United. / don't want to overstay my welcome here. You know, the moment the pub/io or the ,o/ayers or the board think, 'Bobby, you are getting a bit old, and it's about...' I'll know and I'll jack it in. CROWD CHANTS: Robson,Robson,Robson,Robson! ALAN: Bobby was a showman. REPORTER: Can you do something for level, Bobby? Yes. No breakfast, but lunch. That's nice. - Thank you. With peas? - No, beans. Very good. I used to think to myself, 'Is this guy all there?' Yeah, but if you ask me rude questions I'll kill you on screen, so come on, let's go! He was funny and he didn't mean to be funny. Sometimes he didn't know he was funny. Oh! But d'you know what, it was all part of him. Right, do you want me autograph? KIDS CHEEH Yes, he was likeable and all that, but boy he had an edge. REPORTER: Sir Bobby you took the job in 1983 as England manager. What were your feelings... - No, actually, '82 actually. '82. - Get it right. Start again, eh? '82. BOBBY: / tel/ you what. If you're not bright, if you don't know answers if you don't know football, they will bury you. And they haven't buried me. Not yet. Bye bye. REPORTER: Does your wife Elsie approve of your continual work/ng at this most demanding /eve/? BOBBY: Off the record, she thinks /'m bloody stupid. She thinks /'m crazy. ELSIE: He would always talk to anybody about football, always. Did you ever see Bobby Moore play? When he was in position, he always could plant it and he could always drop into the hole. Nothing was as urgent as just speaking to someone about the game. And he's a great penalty taker, you know? 'Cause he knows... He always makes up his mind what he's gonna do and never deviates from it. That was the urgency. If you hit that well, you'll be out in the next parish, yeah. BOBBY: My wife keeps say/ng to me, 'You must take time for you/'se/ii ' A/ex Ferguson said that to me. What, three is the right club? For me. 'Take time for you/'se/Ji Take time to smell the roses. ' I hope you got that. I hope you got that! By Christ! ELSIE: We had this kind of agreement that when he was at home, we didn't ta/k a /ot about football. He didn't talk to me intimately about those thoughts that were going round in his head. MARK: Dad was immersed in it. We don't see him much, if at a//. And we were al/ passionate about football but we never had the chance to ta/k. He didn't want to be separated, but he was. That was a shame because lots of people say to /779, you know 'What was it like talking to your dad about certain players or matche-s?' And I say, 'Well, I never did, literally never did.' BOBBY: Are there any times when / don't //'ke Bobby Robson? / spent maybe too much time at the club when / should have been home e bit earlier. / fee/ that / have been removed from my fam//y and / didn't give my family the time that most husbands do, / think. CROWD ROARS JOHN: /z' was the sem/-Hna/ of the UEFA Cup. We /ost and e depression came over the club. We al/ took it bad/y and the fans took it bad/y. There? Other side? OK. ALAN: /t was becoming a very d/fHcu/t per/od. There were young players who had issues. You won't get much out of me, it's a wasted question. REPORTER 1: Well, I just think we look silly if we don't ask it. You can, but it's a wasted question. - OK, fine. REPORTER 2: Can you clear up all the talk of a training ground bust-up? BOBBY: It's a storm in a teacup. No, I never say I'd settle for nil-nil. When did I say I'd settle for nil-nil? I'rn not prepared to comment about the incident. The incident is closed, it's been dealt with. We will speak to him today, obviously, firmly. And we don't have a single second of problems. ALAN: Players were on so much money and not showing him and the football club respect which he found very d/fHcu/t. FREDDY: Many times players were out of order with him. He said, 'No, we '// give them another chance. ' He cou/d never find the dark side of anybody. How's my hair, alright? Alright? Just come off the training ground. OK? First team players approached Freddy Shepherd and said, 'You're going to have to do something. There's problems in the dressing room, problems with the players.' But Bobby still felt he could do it. REPORTER: Good luck, Sir Bobby. Thank you. BOBBY: /'m Hghting attitudes. And if / ha Ve 2"O fight if, /'// f/Qght it. REPORTER 1: Newcastle Un/ted are tonight stepping up their Search for a new manager. REPORTER 2: Newcastle Un/ted manager, Sir Bobby Robson, is sacked. REPORTER 1: closing the book on one of football's greatest characters. What I've come out for is to show you a bit of courtesy. Because you could stay here for seven hours and I don't want you to do that. You've got a home and a family to go to I should think and I would suggest that you do that. FREDDY: /z' was //ke shooting Bambi. But as chairman of the club, / had to do it. I don't think there was a person in this world who could understand it. ALEX: / cou/drl'z' be//eve it. JOHN: / was bas/ca//y in favour. If you cannot pull your dressing room together then you've got a problem and management get paid for making these decisions. /t actually didn't start from us, it started with the players. They were cruel in many, many ways. They were responsible for getting Bobby the sack. ALEX: /t was a club of confusion. They should have been say/ng 'Bobby, I want you to bring the man who is gonna replace you to continue with someone who believes in what you've done here and make it an institution. JOHN: DeHnite/y, we wanted him to go upstairs and to be an ambassador for the club and to do what he's good at. That was the difference of opinion between Freddy and Bobby at the time. ALAN: When you /ook at Newcastle Un/ted now and over the years once he had left you certainly rea//se what an incredible job he had done. I think it was a hasty decision, yeah. I've had five fabulous years here with everybody. BOBBY: And / wil/ be their biggest fan after this. Not been easy for me today, but that's football and I have to get on with my life. He was very heartbroken when he was guillotined. He didn't recover from that very quickly, at all. REPORTER: Will you be going on to manage another olub in the future? Well, I have nothing to say about that. I'm just... Getting over the situation and I'll think about what I have to do for the rest of my life when it all settles down. Thank you very much. - REPORTER: Thanks very much. MARK: That was the Crue//est cut to him in his who/e career. His world fel/ apart. We can't be/ie ve it st///. Brute/. PAUL: He was obsessed with football. Totally obsessed with football. This is what I'd have been doing if it wasn't for Sir Bobby. Cheers, Sir Bobby. I'd have been like that, wheelin' a barrow. I guarantee if you named a player, any player in the world he would know what he had for breakfast, what number his house was what country he comes from, how old he is, the whole lot. He was obsessed. When he got sacked, he rang us up and he said, 'What you do/ng?' / said, 'Noth/ng, /'m sitting here bored. ' He went, '/'m coming to pick you up. ' I've had my troubles and my bad ways in me //fe but... Bobby Hobson was on the phone tw/ce a week: 'Are you OK? Do you want help? Where are you? Can I come and see you?' It got to the stage where strangers would come up to us when I was in Newcastle and I had to say, 'Has Sir Bobby sent you?' 'Yeah.' Tell him I'rn OK today. I don't know about tomorrow. The guy that could have done anything to spend most of his time worrying about me was so, so, so unbelievable. Sand, earth, Sir Bobby. ELSIE: He did what he wanted to do with his own /ife. No one e/se stopped him, nothing curtailed him not even /ack of hee/th. BOBBY: Out of the b/ue somebody is te///ng me I've got a ma//gnant tumour on the brain. 'Was it dange/'ous?' / said. They said yes. 'Was it //fe-th/'eaz'ening?' They said yes. HUW: The dec/s/on was taken to have brain surgery. More deposits appeared in his lung, which meant it was term/na/. HEART MONITOR BEEPS And once you've got /L/ng involvement the timescale shortens dramatically. But he never asked me that and / never to/d him. REPORTER: He has always been a fighter, as a manager and as a men who is battling cancer for the Hfth time in 75 years. That's why he /aunoheo' the Sir Bobby Hobson Foundation this morn/ng. Get the 20,000 in, won't you? Never mind my face, get the 20,000 in! ELSIE: /t was a great challenge for him and / think z'hat's what drove him so much in his //fe. The next challenge. He considered himself at the he/m of a team again. Yeah, beautiful day. BOBBY: We have fundraisers all over the country. It's a remarkable story. ELSIE: He didn't have a be//ef in God but he did have an inner strength. He found it very hard when his father died. He sew his father as being immortal. / think a /ot of men are //ke that. They don't accept that they can be ill. That was Bob 's way of dealing with things. Maybe that's a good, you know, armour. BOBBY: / love //fe and / want to //ve. / can't sw/ng the club anymore and / can't cross ba//s with my /eff foot but /'nv alive. REPORTER: How has it been for yourself this time around? Oh, a thrill a minute. I can't wait for the next one. Well, you have to fight. /f you give up, you are Hn/shed, you 're dead. This, ladies and gentleman, is Fabio's next team. I said I would do it for my first year, but it looks as though I'rn here to stay. I've got longer than a football league manager. LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE /t gives me great pleasure to ofHc/a//y declare the S/r Bobby Hobson Cancer Trials Research Centre wel/ and tru/y opened. APPLAUSE ALAN: He was always go/ng to do something specia/ and /ee ve something special behind. Follow the guys in the white coats! HUW: Healthcare, /z"s very expensive, you need money and he was the primary mover in raising that money for the Foundation. /z"s one of the foremost un/ts now in Europe. BOBBY: Cancer doesn't discriminate. No one is immune from it. Whilst I will be remembered because of my life through football the legacy that / would prefer to be remembered by is the fact that / ra/sed some money which in time and in turn wil/ save //ves. CROWD CHEERS PAUL: /t was a charity game and he was getting pushed along in the wheelchair. All I could hear him say was, 'Where's Gazza? Where's Gazza?' I went, 'lt's me, Sir Bobby, it's Gazza.' And he looked up... He just said... 'Play well.' That's all he said. He said, 'Play well, Gazza.' ELSIE: / know he didn't want to die. / know for a fact he did not want to die. Some people will accept death but he felt he was being robbed. BOBBY: Yeah, I can hear you, Ian, yes. JOSE: / miss him. But / remember him. I can hear him perfectly actually. - MAN: Can you? Perfectly. The most dramatic thing for me at the time was to lose a football matoh. This isn't live, is it? He was saying, 'Be happy, because around the corner the other guys were happy.' He was always trying to find a reason to be happy even in the difficult moments. Jimmy, after what I've handled over the last three days I can handle you. TERRY: He always used to say to me Butcher. .. Whenever / pick you, you never /et me down. ' And if someone says that to you, wow, it's just... You'd go through hell and high water for them. You can always have a few days in Majorca, Butch. I can always take you to the Costa del Sol. I would put him alongside Muhammad Ali in football words. He was more than a manager, more. More than anything. JOAN GASPART: Barcelona is more than a club. Bobby Robson was more than a coach. JOAN GASPART SPEAKS SPANISH RONALDO: We have so many people that has /earnt a /ot from him. His legacy is still alive and he gonna stay alive forever. BOBBY SPEAKS DUTCH - CHEEBS PEP: To win titles in Holland, in Porta/ga/, in Spain. To survive in different places and have success... That is why Bobby is spec/a/. GARY: /f you consider what he's done I would say the best English manager of all time. ALEX: / remember one day /'m sitting in my house and my phone goes. 'Alex, it's Bobby here-.' 'Hi Bobby,' I said, 'where are you?' He says, 'I'm outside your door.' So he comes outside my door and I says, 'Well, you better come in!' I didn't like you Saturday, but I like you tonight. He had that wonderfu/ nature about him. You always think, oh, he helped me when / was a young coach. I don't forget that. INDISTINCT CHATTEH Eric, your right foot's gone like your left! I remember him every day and I tell stories about him. JOSE: We laugh with the stories, we remember him in the right we y. A person only dies when the last person that loves him dies. BOBBY: / tel/ you. / tel/ you. /t was a //fe of pressure... A great deal of tension... A great dee/ of emotion... But there was a/so a great dee/ of excitement. You can't /ose that thrill 'cause let me ask you this... How many people get that chance? The guy in the street? Or the fe//a you are gonna sit next to on the train? Or the taxi dr/ver? Do they have that chance? You have that chance. CROWD ROARS You 're lucky. |
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