Sir Bobby Robson 1933-2009
By Aged 76. Times obit here. While a fan of the sport since my (so-called) playing days, I didn’t really come into the English leagues / national team until after Robson left the England post. Indeed, he had just taken over what would be his last real job in football as manager of Newcastle United when I moved to Europe.
I’ve been well educated since. And what a career. That he managed not only in England (Ipswich and Newcastle), but also Holland (PSV twice), Portugal (Sporting Lisbon and Porto), and Spain (no less than Barcelona) is impressive on its face. (And who can forget that year with the Vancouver Royals of the NASL? Tears must be flowing up north . . . ) Winning at least one major trophy in every country he managed only adds to this. His managerial legacy includes Jose Mourinho and Sven Goran Eriksson. Finally, his eight year tenure in charge of England was rather successful by post 1966 standards.
This resume is all the more impressive today where not only do the English find themselves the opposite of in demand for coaching roles on the Continent (*) they have a hard time landing jobs managing in their own English Premier League (let alone their own national side).
(*) Save for the great Steve McClaren, who manages F.C. Twente in the Dutch league. This is only really notable as my office at Universiteit Twente, where I worked for three years, is right across the street from the stadium where F.C. Twente ply their trade.
