Alan Shearer pays tribute to ‘genius’ Sir Bobby Robson on 10th anniversary of legendary boss’ death
ALAN SHEARER has paid tribute to the legacy left by Sir Bobby Robson on the ten-year anniversary of his former manager’s death.
The ex-England and Newcastle boss died on July 31, 2009, aged 76.
Sixteen months earlier, he launched the — and set an initial fundraising target of £500,000.
But Robson’s charity has now raised more than £13.5MILLION to help detect and treat cancer.
And Shearer, who is a patron of the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, told SunSport: “He has left an unbelievable legacy.
“It is incredible the amount of money his foundation has raised and how many lives have been saved because of it.
“It tells you everything about what Sir Bobby was like as a man and how respected he was, inside and outside of football.
“I meet people all the time who are raising money for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and they tell me what an inspiration Sir Bobby is to them.”
He took us from near the bottom of the Premier League to the Champions League.
Alan Shearer
Shearer first worked with Robson when he replaced Ruud Gullit as Newcastle manager in 1999.
The legendary striker had fallen out with Gullit but scored five goals in Robson’s first match — an 8-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday.
And SunSport columnist Shearer said: “He was a genius man-manager. That was his biggest asset.
“Whether you were 17 or 35, or anything in between, he got the best out of you. He knew how to make a football player feel special.
“Without him coming in, I’d probably have left Newcastle.
“There were so many senior players on the way out before he arrived.
“And he came in and saved me, saved them and also saved the football club. He took us from near the bottom of the Premier League to the Champions League. He did an incredible job.”
Bob would be absolutely amazed at everything we’ve done. And he’d want us to keep at it.
Alan Shearer
Robson first made his name as a manager at Ipswich, where he won the Uefa Cup in 1981.
He then took England to the World Cup semi-final at Italia 90.
Robson went on to boss European giants PSV Eindhoven, Sporting Lisbon, Porto and Barcelona before he took the reins at his boyhood club Newcastle for five years.
He died of lung cancer in 2009, leaving behind his widow, Lady Elsie, and their three sons, Andrew, Paul and Mark.
Lady Elsie said: “We’ve all missed him a great deal and still do.
“We were married for 54 years. It was sometimes challenging, and we moved house 27 times as football took him around Europe but it was always interesting.
“What stands out most after ten years is the love and respect people have for Bob doesn’t seem to have diminished at all.
“The Foundation was something Bob was very passionate about and it’s given us all a focus. Many people are in a similar position to me because of cancer and it’s good to feel part of something so special.
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“I know Bob felt that, too. After he launched the charity, he truly felt like he was a manager again and that he had a job to do.
“Even though he was ill, he was determined to set up this charity and he was extremely proud of it.
“Bob would be absolutely amazed at everything we’ve done. And he’d want us to keep at it.”
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