Bobby Robson managed Fulham, Ipswich Town, PSV Eindhoven, Sporting CP, Porto, Barcelona and Newcastle United.
Bobby Robson at Newcastle United
Sir Bobby Robson is one of the most beloved and popular figures in the history of the English game. He enjoyed relative success with the national team, becoming the first manager since Sir Alf Ramsey to take the team to the semi-finals of a World Cup, and the first (and only) manager to do so on foreign soil.
Denied by Maradona’s handball in 1986 and penalties to West Germany in 1990, as both opposition sides went on to win those respective tournaments, things could have been even better for Robson. An England international in his playing days, the titan of the game managed Fulham, Ipswich Town, PSV Eindhoven, Sporting CP, Porto, Barcelona and Newcastle United.
This XI is a celebration of the greatest players Robson ever managed at club level, so England greats such as Gazza and Lineker miss out. Having managed at the highest level in four different countries, Robson has managed some world class talent, and that is reflected in this XI, where so many tremendous players have missed out.
Jose Mourinho, Bobby Robson and Ronaldo
Hans van Breukelen
From Vitor Baia to Shay Given, Bobby Robson has often had a safe pair of hands to rely on between the sticks, but none finer than Hans van Breukelen. The Dutch goalkeeping supremo was 34 when Robson arrived at PSV, but he was still Holland’s number one and had another four years in him at the highest level. The four-time Dutch Goalkeeper of the Year, van Breukelen won the Euros and the European Cup in 1988.
Eric Gerets
The first defender in what is a back three we have gone with is another player Robson coached at PSV. Eric Gerets is among the game’s greatest ever right-backs and among Belgium’s greatest ever footballing exports. Renowned for his stamina and intelligence on the pitch, Gerets also won the European Cup with PSV in 1988.
Terry Butcher
Terry Butcher playing for England
Bobby Robson spent almost as long at Ipswich Town as he did with all six other clubs combined, and he had a magnificent time there, so their lack of representation here is a shame. One former Ipswich Town man who does make the XI is Terry Butcher. A stalwart of the Tractor Boys side for a decade, winning the UEFA Cup in 1981 before going on to play for Rangers and Sunderland.
Fernando Couto
The final man in a very solid back three is Fernando Couto. As alluded to earlier, it is a shame the likes of Mick Mills and Kevin Beattie miss out, but Fernando Couto was a class act. The Portuguese centre-back who won 110 caps for his country turned out for Porto, Barcelona and Lazio, among others, winning multiple honours. Robson managed Couto at Porto and brought him to Barcelona the summer he arrived at the Camp Nou.
Pep Guardiola
Player turned manager Pep Guardiola
Bobby Robson spent just a season with Catalan giants Barcelona, but he had some fine talents under his stewardship at the Camp Nou. Pep Guardiola was one of them. A very gifted deep-lying playmaker who Johan Cruyff named in his all-time XI, Guardiola spent over a decade with Barca, where he won six La Liga titles.
Hristo Stoichkov
On the left wing is another player Robson coached in Catalonia, Hristo Stoichkov. Bulgaria’s greatest ever footballing export, Stoichkov beat the likes of Roberto Baggio and Paolo Maldini to the 1994 Ballon d’Or, and was an integral part of Barcelona’s ‘Dream Team’ under Johan Cruyff. A supremely gifted player who could play wide left or through the middle, the prolific Bulgarian is out on the left in this XI to make way for the incredible strikers Robson worked with.
Luis Figo
World class midfielder and winger Luis Figo
From one Ballon d’Or winner to another, on the right wing it is Luis Figo. Comfortably among the best players in the world in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s when he controversially left Barcelona for Real Madrid, Figo played under Robson at both Sporting CP and Barcelona. A pacy winger with it all in his early years and a masterful playmaker in his later years once that speed had deserted him, Figo is second only to Lionel Messi in La Liga’s all-time assist charts.
Johnny Haynes
Through the middle of midfield is Fulham legend Johnny Haynes. It speaks volumes of how long Bobby Robson was in football management that he managed both Haynes, the first £100 a week footballer, and stars who earned more than £100,000 a week. Described by Pele as the greatest passer of the ball he’d ever seen, Haynes spent 18 years as a big fish in a relatively small pond at Fulham and won 56 caps for England. The Fulham job was Robson’s first in management.
Ronaldo
It is no exaggeration to say Bobby Robson has coached some of the greatest strikers the game has ever seen, typically very early in their careers, and maybe ought to be given more credit for that. The pick of a very, very fine bunch is Ronaldo, who Robson described as the greatest player he ever managed. Injuries deprived him as the chance to go down as the greatest of all-time, but in his prime, Ronaldo was the best player on the planet. Ronaldo spent his sole season at Barcelona under Robson, scoring 47 goals in 49 games and picking up a Ballon d’Or at the end of it.
Romario
Romario lifts 1994 World Cup
Two Brazilian legends and two of the game’s most prolific strikers are paired in this XI. Romario was a player of great intelligence, speed and technique. In front of goal, he was devastating, scoring an officially recognised 688 goals in 886 games at club level and 55 goals from 70 caps for Brazil. Romario spent two seasons playing under Robson at PSV, during which time he scored 39 goals in 46 games.
Alan Shearer
Once again, it is a shame there’s no place for the likes of Paul Mariner and Alan Brazil in this XI from Robson’s success with Ipswich, there is also the extremely notable omission of Ruud van Nistelrooy. In fact, so difficult was the decision between Shearer and van Nistelrooy that we put it down to a vote, with the Newcastle United legend edging it by 58% to 42%. Shearer spent five seasons under Robson at Newcastle, scoring 117 goals in 219 games.
Alan Shearer celebrating at Newcastle United
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