“Words will never be enough.” With this message yesterday, Manchester United announced the death of the greatest legend in its history. Sir Bobby Charlton, legendary English footballer, died at the age of 86 from natural causes and mourned all British homes. With him leaves a piece of the country’s football history, since in addition to his football talent and his enormous charisma, he became immortal because he was the protagonist in the achievement of England’s only World Cup, conquering the 1966, the year in which he was also recognized with the Ballon d’Or.
Born in Ashington, Northumberland, in 1938, he started playing football at school, encouraged by his mother, who came from a family of famous footballers. Although his personal and footballing life was soon dramatically marked by an air tragedy, the one lived in M ??unique in 1958. The plane that carried Manchester United members of the Busby Babes (as the generation that led Matt Busby) to England crashed shortly after take-off and 23 people, including footballers, coaching staff, journalists, crew and fans, died. Also Duncan Edwards, 21 years old and the most important English talent of the time. Charlton and 20 others, including Matt Busby, were saved (Charlton was the only survivor left alive).
This drama marked the entire country and of course the career of Charlton, who was then 21 years old. From that moment on, he had to shoulder the historic weight of returning football glory to the club and the country. They were difficult years in which Manchester was rebuilt around his figure.
But before succeeding with United he would do so with his national team. With Bobby Moore, Gordon Banks or Geoff Hurst he led England to victory in his own World Cup, held in 1966, in which they defeated Federal Germany in the grand final 4-2. This summer he was awarded the biggest award a footballer can get when he won the Ballon d’Or.
Two seasons later and just as it was a decade since the Munich tragedy, in 1968, Bobby Charlton managed to lift the first European Cup in Manchester United’s history. The few survivors left in the team, such as Foulkes or Busby himself, were joined by young talents such as Denis Law or George Best. Together they managed to offer an unbeatable tribute to their fallen comrades, who they always represented with pride.
Since then, the figure of Bobby Charlton rose above that of any other English footballer, as FIFA also considered it so. In total, he spent 17 seasons at Manchester United and won three league titles (1956-57, 1964-65 and 1966-67), the 1962-63 FA Cup, four Charity Shields (1956, 1957, 1965 and 1967) and the 1968 European Cup, in the final of which he beat Benfica (4-1) in London. “Sir Bobby was a hero to millions, not just in Manchester or the UK, but anywhere football is played in the world,” the English club said. A gentleman on and off the field, Charlton was admired as much for his sportsmanship and integrity as for his extraordinary abilities: “Sir Bobby will always be remembered as a giant of the game,” he added.
On the day of his retirement as a footballer, in 1975, he gave an emotional speech in which he said that “every boy in Manchester dreams of succeeding in this theatre”. Thus, with these words he closed one of the club’s most glorious stages and in passing forever baptized Old Trafford, which has since been known as the theater of dreams. Where Bobby Charlton made more than anyone else dream.
