He is undoubtedly the most successful and only English player to have won every major football award, including the FA Cup, Football League, European Champions Cup with Manchester United, and the World Cup with England, compiling a record number of international appearances and goals.
One of the finest football players England has ever produced was Sir Bobby Charlton, who passed away at the age of 86, according to the Guardian.
Bobby Charlton personified the best years of English football as United's captain in 1968, the year they became the first English team to win the European Cup, and as a major member of the team that won the World Cup in 1966. However, he was also a part of one of the game's saddest episodes, the 1958 Munich plane accident that claimed the lives of eight of his teammates, three members of the United staff, and 12 other passengers.
Charlton was gifted with speed, athleticism, and great balance. He was recognized for his explosive long-range shots and strong passing.
Some observers assert that he was a master of spectacular goals rather than a great goalscorer, however the numbers refute that assertion. He scored 49 goals in 106 appearances for England, and up until Wayne Rooney outscored him in 2017, he was United's all-time leading scorer with 249 goals in 758 games.
However, he gained popularity well beyond Manchester and England because to his modest and gentlemanly nature as well as his exceptional talent. One of the most well-known Englishmen in the world was a sports hero at the height of his reputation in the mid- to late 1960s, when London and the counterculture were in full swing. "Bobby" and "Charlton" are sometimes the first or only English terms that people can speak around the globe.
He was born in the mining community of Ashington, Northumberland, as the second of four sons of miner Robert Charlton and his wife Elizabeth, also known as Sissy, who was descended from the illustrious Milburn football family. Her cousin Jackie Milburn, a forward for Newcastle United and England, is one of her cousin's four professional footballing brothers. Although not as talented as his younger brother, Bobby's older brother Jack also pursued a career in football. He had a remarkable career as a center midfielder for Leeds United before becoming a successful manager. Bobby and Jack were teammates on the 1966 England team.
The majority of Ashington boys went into mining following graduation (as Jack briefly did before joining Leeds), but Bobby's future as a footballer was clear from an early age. He had no intention of attending the high school in the neighborhood because rugby was played there. He was such a genius, though, that his headmaster, encouraged by Sissy, arranged for him to attend Bedlington High, a nearby school that had a football team.
Football scouts from all over Britain began knocking on the family's door after he played four times for the English schoolboys during his last year of school and scored five goals. Despite receiving offers from a whopping 18 clubs, he chose to sign with Manchester United in 1953 after being enamored with its head scout, Joe Armstrong.
This has been his only club and source of inspiration, with the exception of his brief stays at Preston North End and later Waterford, Ireland. In addition to United being a club on the rise, their inspirational manager Matt Busby is prepared to give way to youth, putting together a precocious young team that plays with elegance and flare, grabbing the nation's imagination and earning the moniker "Busby's Babies." They defeated everyone to win the First Division (today's Premier League) in 1955–56, and the following year they successfully defended their title. On their debut against Charlton Athletic on October 6, 1956, Charlton scored twice.
The first English team to compete in the European Champions Cup tournament as champions, United advanced to the semifinals in 1957. A year later, Charlton, who were already crowned champions, scored three goals in both games as they defeated Red Star in the quarterfinals. The team jet stopped in Munich for fuel on its route out of Belgrade the following day. The jet attempts to take off from the snowy runway but crashes and catches fire due to the icy circumstances.
Even though he was still restrained in his seat, Charlton was propelled over 40 meters from the aircraft and managed to escape the blazing wreckage. A few minutes later, he awakens with only minor scratches and shock. He later referred to his recovery as a miracle, but it would haunt him for the rest of his days. The pain of seeing his companions die has an effect on the young man, making him even more reclusive. Many of his kin, such as Busby and Jack's brother, claim that Bobby underwent a permanent shift after Munich. Busby claims that "He never recovered from Munich."
He felt accountable. That day, his children perished.
The fact that Jack is more extreme is one of his traits. He stated: "From that day on, I saw a great change in our child" in his autobiography published in 1996. He stopped grinning, which he still does now. The book sheds light on the brothers' tense relationship. For many years, they hardly spoke to one another, in part because Bobby's extended family, particularly Sissy, whom he neglected to visit during her final four years of life, and Norma (née Ball), his wife whom he married in 1961, had cooled relations. Thankfully, Bobby and Jack make up before Jack's passing in 2020.
Charlton always possessed a tinge of sorrow despite all the achievements and honors that would come his way. He doesn't just display the freedom, passion, and commanding presence of great players on the football field, though.
Charlton returned to United's lineup just 23 days after the Munich incident, and throughout the remainder of that horrific season as well as the following ten years, he served as the foundation upon which Manchester United was rebuilt. With a refurbished group of young players, new additions, and four players who survived the crash, United demonstrated incredible spirit by reaching the FA Cup final three months after the crash. Despite the support of the general people, they were defeated by Bolton Wanderers in the final by a score of 2-0.
In a 4-0 victory over Scotland on April 19 at Hampden Park, Charlton earned his England debut just before the Cup Final. In his second game against Portugal at Wembley, he scored twice more, and that performance won him a spot in the team for the World Cup in Sweden this summer. Although he sat on the bench throughout Sweden, it was the first of four World Cup squads in which he played (another record for an Englishman). Charlton was the starter for England at the 1962 World Cup in Chile, when they defeated Argentina and advanced to the quarterfinals before falling to eventual champions Brazil.
With a scoreless draw against Uruguay, England's 1966 World Cup hosting efforts got off to a lackluster start. Charlton gave England hope in the second game against Mexico with a beautiful goal. He advanced with the ball from his own half before launching a powerful shot. He played the greatest international game of his life against Portugal in the semifinal, scoring both goals in a 2-1 win that advanced England to the final.
Alf Ramsey, the manager of England, was tasked with marking the talented teenager Franz Beckenbauer, who had been instructed to mark Charlton, therefore the two largely neutralized one another. He had a relatively quiet game in the 4-2 final victory against West Germany. However, the competition between the two finest players on the field proved to be the deciding factor, as Beckenbauer later acknowledged: "England beat us in 1966 because Bobby Charlton was just a little bit better than me." Charlton was chosen as the tournament's player of the year, according to Ramsey, and was "pretty much the mainstay of the 1966 team." In addition to being the season's overall Footballer of the Year and European Footballer of the Year winner, Charlton also wins the global championship.
He still had the 1970 World Cup in Mexico to look forward to. Ramsey controversially substitutes Charlton in the quarterfinals against West Germany with a score of 2:1 in favor of England to preserve his strength for the likely semifinal. At the time, he was 32 years old and arguably still England's best player. England is eliminated after Germany returns to the game and wins 3:2. It was Charlton's record-breaking 106th game as captain, moving him above Billy Wright. Wayne Rooney was the only person to beat the mark in 2015. Bobby Charlton played his final game against West Germany, bringing to a dismal close his illustrious international career.
His prime in England was at the same time as Manchester United's comeback following the Munich tragedy. Busby was assembling his second elite squad in the middle of the 1960s, and Charlton was an integral part of it as an offensive midfielder. In the lineup, Northern Irishman George Best and Scotsman Dennis Lowe formed a brilliant attacking line with Charlton that brought back the "Buzby Babies" lore. Together, they helped United win the FA Cup in 1963 and the league championships in 1964–65 and 1966–67. They were all outstanding individuals (within five years, all three were nominated European Player of the Year).
He still had the 1970 World Cup in Mexico to look forward to. Ramsey controversially substitutes Charlton in the quarterfinals against West Germany with a score of 2:1 in favor of England to preserve his strength for the likely semifinal. At the time, he was 32 years old and arguably still England's best player. England is eliminated after Germany returns to the game and wins 3:2. It was Charlton's record-breaking 106th game as captain, moving him above Billy Wright. Wayne Rooney was the only person to beat the mark in 2015. Bobby Charlton played his final game against West Germany, bringing to a dismal close his illustrious international career.
His prime in England was at the same time as Manchester United's comeback following the Munich tragedy. Busby was assembling his second elite squad in the middle of the 1960s, and Charlton was an integral part of it as an offensive midfielder. In the lineup, Northern Irishman George Best and Scotsman Dennis Lowe formed a brilliant attacking line with Charlton that brought back the "Buzby Babies" lore. Together, they helped United win the FA Cup in 1963 and the league championships in 1964–65 and 1966–67. They were all outstanding individuals (within five years, all three were nominated European Player of the Year).
United ultimately realized Busby's aim of competing in a European Cup final against Portuguese club Benfica ten years after the Munich tragedy. Charlton scored twice to clinch the title as captain as United defeated Wembley 4-1. It's an amazing night for both him and Bill Foulkes, the only two accident survivors in the current roster, as well as for Busby. Charlton is too worn out to get out of his hotel bed to go downstairs and join the party after the game, while the rest of the team is enjoying themselves. Although Charlton played until 1973, Busby left his position as manager a year later, and United started to slowly deteriorate.
He's not sure what to do now that his career is ended and is just waiting for his phone to ring. After three weeks, Charlton decides to take the first job offer he is given as manager of Second Division Preston North End. The club was demoted after his first season, and he resigned the following year. It is a really difficult test for Bobby Charlton after so many years of playing in a position of prominence.
He found greater success in the media, where he worked as a football analyst for the BBC. In 1978, he also founded the ground-breaking Bobby Charlton Football Schools, which provide young athletes with the best possible training. He rejoined Manchester United as a director in 1984. He had a strong bond with United manager Alex Ferguson, and with to his diplomatic skills and distinctive sporting authority, he served as the club's perfect representative when it rose to prominence in the 1990s as a major sports brand. Charlton, who was knighted in 1994, was an obvious choice for the teams that went on to win the 1996 and 2000 Olympics, the 2002 Commonwealth Games, the 2006 and 2018 World Cups for England, and London's successful run for the 2012 Olympics. Other sporting organizations were aware of his abilities.
Robert Charlton, a legend of Manchester United, was born on October 11, 1937, and passed away on October 21, 2023.
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The Guardian's Gavin McOwan
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