How the game's greats paid tribute to Sir Bobby Robson

It’s 28 years since he led his country to the semi-finals of the World Cup. The closest to replicating 1966 and winning the damn thing.

His legacy lives on today with the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, a cancer research facility into the illness which killed him in 2009.

Everyone who came across Sir Bobby has their own memories, their own warm stories to recall.

But how do you go about telling his life story so respectfully on film? Producers Gabriel Clarke and Torquil Jones set about the task. In 90 illuminating and emotional minutes, they are able to encapsulate Sir Bobby in many different ways. You will smile, laugh, cry.

There’s tribute interviews from some of the game’s greats, footage from his career from as a young hopeful at Fulham to leaving Newcastle United, two World Cups with England, club management with Ipswich and his forays abroad following his England exploits. The season he had at Barcelona presents a fascinating insight to the chaos at the Nou Camp which surrounded him.

He won three trophies with Barca. If you thought he was treated badly when he was dumped by Newcastle, it’s nothing compared to his Spanish season.

He could have cut it short, Sir John Hall flew to Spain to offer him the job at St James’ Park. He all but agreed only to stick with Barca, showing them the loyalty they never afforded him in return.

“It was important to cover the Barcelona story in the manner we did,’’ reflected Clarke. “1990 is relatively well-known and one of the aspects of Bobby’s story which fascinated me was his time at Barcelona.

“He was an English manager abroad which is very rare, he was the man who followed Johan Cryuff – as is said in the film imagine being the player who follows Lionel Messi there? And he did it months after a serious bout of cancer, against a political background which even by Barcelona’s standards was frantic.

“And against the backdrop of it all he went and won the treble that season. He also, remember, signed a young Ronaldo from PSV. He persuaded the club to sign him and he had Jose (Mourinho) alongside him as an unknown, Pep (Guardiola) was in his team, as was Figo, Enrique – greats of the game who he seriously influenced.’’

Clarke added: “Punctuating the season was the offer from Newcastle to go and manage the club. He is offered the job, turns it down because he wants to stay loyal to Barcelona, little knowing that they weren’t going to stay loyal to him.

“Jose is working with Bobby constantly, he was his right-hand man, smiling, fresh and young. It’s wonderful to see some of that archive.’’

The footage is fascinating to see Mourinho alongside Sir Bobby like a puppy sticks to his master.

There’s no scowl, no arrogance which accompanies him these days. Instead Mourinho is smiling, a fresh-faced interpreter and loyal assistant.

“When we interviewed Jose he was nice, and sharp, the eyes lit up when we did it and I think it comes across well.

“But like Pep, like Gazza, they come alive in a way when they talk about Bobby, a subject close to them and it was a great experience to talk to these guys,’’ added Clarke.

“It was almost like for 20 minutes or so they can relax, talk about a subject which inspired them. They played under Robson, and it’s a connection to their love of the game. Forget all the other stuff which goes on around them, it grounds you talking about Bobby.

“I hope people will take that from the film – the idea why we all love football, why we all love the game.

“It takes the game to basic level, the passion for the game. It’s clear to see.’’

There’s no media managers or PR people around the game’s greats when they talk on film. It’s them, their memories and a camera. Nothing else.

They come to life talking about Sir Bobby and the influence he had on them, not only as a manager, but as a human being.

“It shows with Pep when he talks, he comes to life,’’ enthused Clarke.

“It surprised me to be honest. I knew Jose spoke warmly about Bobby and their past, Gazza, Butcher and Lineker the same.

“But with Pep we weren’t quite sure what the connection was that we had been told by various sources.

“From a playing point of view, Pep was more of a disciple of Cruyff because he came through La Masia, their academy.

“But Bobby’s influence was more on a human level. When he saw Bobby going through the torment of the political subterfuge which was going on in that one season and how he dealt with it – Pep says in the film that’s when he knew he wanted to be a manager because if you can deal with that then the rest is easy.

“I think also the way Bobby was on a human level, Sir Alex certainly and Pep definitely both, took something from seeing Bobby at work and that was a real bonus for us for them to say that.

“Pep was the last one we did, only in February, but it was fantastic to get his time and more importantly to get such an insight.’’

The interviews are illuminating from all. There’s enough footage left on the cutting room floor to bring out a film in it’s own.

And overseeing it all is Robson himself. His County Durham drawl is used to narrate parts of the film, extracts from interviews and his audio book.

It adds to the poignancy of it all.

Clarke, a well-respected football broadcaster himself, added: “We were very keen that Bobby would narrate the film as much as possible.

“He did a lot of interviews, he liked an interview and it was a skill he had. Very charismatic and a love of the game make him a very powerful narrator – and he was very funny at times too, even with his cancer at the end.

“We knew we had a very good foundation of interviews, from Desert Island Discs to those he did in the 80s, dressing room material at Ipswich, those at Barcelona, and then the interviews at the end when he was suffering from cancer – they were all very strong.

“We knew we had to get it right and structure if correctly. But we had so much, that we couldn’t go too long and we had to keep it attractive for everyone. So much ended up on the cutting room floor, we wanted big moments to be in there.

“And Bobby, as a narrator, is as good a voice as I’ve come across in the football documentaries I’ve done.

“He could communicate so well, it was a character he had.

“And he could cut people down too – I interviewed him a few times and it happened. He wouldn’t suffer fools at all. Sir Alex was the same too, very rarely not give you their time but you had to ensure you were on your game. Bobby maybe not as savage as Alex could be, but you had to be professional, that’s what he would have expected and if you weren’t then he would certainly let you know about it.’’

At the end of it all there’s moving footage of Sir Bobby at his Foundation. The legacy lives on thanks to its work and ambassadors such as Steve Harper, Alan Shearer and Steve Gibson among others.

Sir Bobby quips that the team he put together at his Foundation was his best. Smiling and entertaining to the end.

“The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation is his legacy,’’ said Clarke. “Alan Shearer says in the film that Bobby was going to leave something behind and this is it.

“In football terms it’s incredible – look at the cast list – but this adds something else. And his Foundation isn’t just a North-East success, it’s an international success now because of the fund raising.

“And why is the fund-raising happening? Because it’s Sir Bobby Robson and what he represented. Lady Elsie says he would not believe what the Foundation has become and the way in which it is now a pioneering medical centre.

“We wanted that to be part of it, not some sort of addition to the end – this is totally part of the story and it’s key to the backing of Lady Elsie and the family backing.’’

He added: “We interviewed Lady Elsie at the family home in the North-East and she really looked after us that day. It wasn’t the easiest thing to do and she doesn’t naturally want to sit in front of a camera and talk, but her contribution to the film is equally emotional at times because she cuts to the quick, she’s not a woman of many words.

“The foundation has given her a purpose and she is a genuine star in her own right.’’

Sir Bobby Robson: More Than A Manager is on general release in selected cinemas and available on Blu-Ray and DVD from Monday.

Visit bobbyrobsonfilm.com