BOBBY ROBSON has won countless battles during a career which has earned him a permanent place in the nation’s hearts.
But his latest fight, sadly, will be his last.
English football’s favourite knight has admitted that a fifth bout of cancer affecting his lungs will be the one which sends him to his grave.
He knows his time is coming to an end in a matter of months.
Yet his legacy will never die. No one would ever let that happen.
Sir Bobby has taken on and outwitted many a top-notch coach and team in his glorious life.
From memorably leading Ipswich to domestic and European triumph to taking England unforgettably to the brink of World Cup glory, Robson knows what combat means.
Images of his jigs of touchline delight at Italia 90 will never fail to bring a smile to anyone’s face.
But taking on the illness that has hit him so cruelly once again is beyond him. Specialists have told the 75-year-old to prepare for the worst.Typically, he will fight until the bitter end.
Emotionally, he revealed to SunSport: “I have accepted what they have told me and I am determined to make the most of what time I have left. I have been fortunate to survive this long. It is thanks to my doctors and their dedication.
“My condition is described as static and has not altered since my last bout of chemotherapy.
“They have arrested the growth of the tumours on my lungs and I have my next scan shortly.
“I am going to die sooner rather than later. But then everyone has to go sometime and I have enjoyed every minute.
“I don’t even think about it and my biggest problem today was unrelated, just old-fashioned laryngitis.” Caring, charismatic and with time for anyone, Robson is loved by all.
He may have been struggling with cancer for 17 years but continues to spread his warmth over everyone.
Donating a £500,000 cheque on behalf of the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation for a new dedicated cancer research centre in his beloved Newcastle yesterday simply said everything about the man.
Troubled times? The worst. You will not find him, though, shutting himself away in despair.
He added: “I am not going to sit around at home thinking about what might or might not happen.
“I have always found it difficult to turn down good causes and invitations from people I know.
“My family and close friends have always said I should say ‘No’ more often and now is no different.
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“It has been a hectic summer. I have watched a couple of days of Wimbledon, several days of Test cricket and Durham county cricket.
"I had my own celebrity golf tournament in Portugal and managed to enjoy a few days holiday afterwards before returning to London, where I was honoured by the Football League Managers Association.
“They not only inducted me into their Hall of Fame with a host of celebrities but it was at a special dinner, the first of its kind.”
The word legend may be used too freely in the modern world of egotistical football stars. Yet it was made for blokes like Bobby Robson.
Will anyone ever repeat what he did with Ipswich, after a playing career which saw spells at Fulham, West Brom and Vancouver Royals plus caps earned for England?
A difficult start to managerial life with Fulham was put to bed when he strolled into Portman Road in 1969. At the end of a 13-year spell, the Tractor Boys had landed the UEFA Cup, the FA Cup and twice finished runners-up in the title race.
England came calling after a nightmare World Cup campaign in 1982.
It took Diego Maradona’s shameful Hand of God ‘goal’ to help send England home from the 1986 World Cup and, though failure followed in the 1988 European Championships, Italia 90 saw Robson at his best.
Carving a team built around the twinkling talent of Gazza, the finishing of Gary Lineker and the pride and power of Stuart Pearce, only a crushing penalty shootout defeat by West Germany stopped the Three Lions from reaching the final and exacting revenge on a sub-standard Argentina side.
He headed to PSV Eindhoven and discovered a striker called Ronaldo. Robson signed the Brazilian while bossing Barcelona, arriving in La Liga via Porto and Sporting Lisbon.
His spell at the Nou Camp saw the Spanish Cup, Spanish Super Cup and European Cup-Winners’ Cup all bagged in his first year.
The madmen at the Nou Camp promptly decided to push him ‘upstairs’ and after just a year he went back to PSV before, in 1999, returning ‘home’ to Newcastle.
He took the Toon on a rollercoaster of Champions League emotions before Freddy Shepherd shamefully dumped him in 2004.
A spell helping Steve Staunton with the Republic of Ireland followed but his ill-health continued.
An operation for a brain tumour in 2006 was negotiated. Then in May last year, cancer returned yet again — this time in his lungs.
Despite that, he is still bursting with an enthusiasm and love for football that should be studied by many of the money-grabbing mercenaries polluting the beautiful game today.
And the man is so special that Alex Ferguson even put to one side his bitter feud with the BBC last December to present him personally with a lifetime achievement award.
A great footballing man- it goes without saying that it will be a very sad day when he goes.
08/08/2008, 4:41 PM
Billy-Green
Tragic news, my thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.
08/08/2008, 4:59 PM
SalvadorSanchez
Very sad news, a gentleman and a football man through and through.
I'll say a prayer for Bob.
08/08/2008, 10:50 PM
stiofain
Very sad.
09/08/2008, 7:44 AM
OwlsFan
I think the name of the thread could be a bit more sensitive. In any event there is a thread already here:
