Sir Bobby’s life to hit the big screen
A film documenting Sir Bobby Robson’s career and life is set to be released on June 1 – Andrew Musgrove has has a sneak peak
AS the lights came up, tears were being dabbed away. In 90 minutes, the audience had gone through every emotion possible as the story of Sir Bobby Robson’s life was played out. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house, either side of laughter and pride that the North East was the home of such a gentleman. To tell the story of Sir Bobby’s life is no easy feat, but the makers of Bobby Robson: More Than A Manager took on the challenge, and surpassed expectations. From his largely forgotten but successful playing days, his winning time at Ipswich Town, heartbreak in Mexico and Italy, to conquering Europe and his return to Tyneside – there’s so much to tell. That’s before you get started on the biggest battle of his life – cancer. Five times Sir Bobby took on the disease, but always with a smile. From the moment the movie starts with an aerial shot of the turbines glistening in the winter sunshine high above County Durham, accompanied by the words of Robson himself, you’re gripped. The makers of the film spent months trawling through interviews and footage, some never heard or seen before, and decided that the story of Sir Bobby’s life would be best told in his own words. To simply hear his voice sends you on an emotional roller coaster – his pride in his region and his club, the breaking of his voice as he talks about his England days and the passion with which he speaks when he recalls taking on cancer, takes you on quite a journey. But the line-up of famous names who rushed to share their own experiences of Sir Bobby shows just how far his influence stretched.
From Pep Guardiola to Jose Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Bobby left a positive impact on some of the game’s greatest managers, while input from his wife Lady Elsie simply takes it to another level.
She has rarely done media before, but she is arguably the star of the star alongside Sir Bobby himself.
His passion for the game, despite his treatment while England manager and then at Barcelona, never waned and is majestically re-emphasised in the film.
It’s easy to forget how badly he was treated while in charge of national team or how he walked into a political storm at the Nou Camp, won the treble and was then sacked. In fact, for some, it still sparks anger and disbelief.
To see the word ‘traitor’ plastered on front pages in 1990, it’s hard to believe the treatment of a man who simply loved his sport and did his best for his country.
But Sir Bobby never let his bad experiences of the game affect his love for the football, the sport he fell in love with while growing up as a boy in Langley Park. His smile was always there, just as it was as he took on his health battles.
Whether it was riding a bike through a Barcelona park and waving for the cameras, or laughing off-screen as he waited to go live on air for a TV interview, there was always a smile.
He was indeed more than a manager, that’s something that those who followed him from the terraces already knew, but what this film does is piece it all together to show how Sir Bobby became the man we all remember.
There’s a moment in the movie where Paul Gascoigne struggles not to break into tears as he explains how Sir Bobby, even nearing the end of his life, would call him to check he was OK.
Gazza just about holds it together, but not many people watching the clip will. There’s plenty of football to go over and the footage of Turin, the moment Chris Waddle sends the ball into orbit, and Sir Bobby’s reaction sends you back to that summer night in 1990. That’s just one moment. There’s plenty more. From a Newcastle perspective, there’s frustration at how Sir Bobby nearly signed in 1997, only to have a last-minute change of heart; he was a man of principle and wouldn’t leave his contract at Barcelona. There’s more disbelief at how his time at the club ended, with the late Freddy Shepherd describing having to sack Sir Bobby like ‘shooting Bambi.’ An off-the-cuff interview outside of Sir Bobby’s house just hours after his sacking, with emotion etched on his face, showed a broken man. With Champions League adventures and title challenges before – it’s easy to forget how it ended. But his biggest story was yet to come with his last fight: cancer. It may have beaten him but it gave the people of the North East a charity – the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation – which is still saving lives today. So far, more than £12million has been raised over 10 years by what Sir Bobby’s ‘last great team.’ With the names who feature in this film, you could make quite the five-aside team. For that reason, it would be easy for one of them to hog the limelight but, such was and is the standing of Sir Bobby, it is all about him. From the way he politely declined Guardiola’s request to join Newcastle, to making Mourinho laugh or turning up at Sir Alex’s door without invite, there are stories from legends of the game about a manager who was the ultimate gentleman. You will laugh, cry and feel a sense of pride for a man who loved football, his region and life. Sir Bobby really was more than a manager.