BBC Report
A true gentleman of sport has died of cancer.
He led my Tractorboys to win the FA cup.
He was one of Soccer's greats.

I hadn't seen Bobby Robson in quite a while when Eurosport broadcast the Sir Bobby Robson Trophy match on July 26th. I could barely recognise him, as the cancer and the operations clearly had taken its toll. No wonder then, that this charity match beteen the 1990 squads of England and Germany was for the benefit of the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation for cancer research.
What struck me most were two things: first, the immense response of the crowd, the applause was long, and it was genuine, even I was clapping in front of the TV.
Second, the immense fun that Sir Bobby was having being on the pitch, in a stadium, the center of attention. The years seemed to disappear. Even in a wheelchair, he seemed to suck the energy out of the grass.
As much as I am looking, I can't find another manager who seems to enjoy his job so much, who always put his love for the game first. He never retired, he couldn't retire, because football coach wasn't his profession, it was his life. The pitch wasn't his workplace, it was his home. Even 10 years ago I thought the only way this man will leave the field is horizontally. He died only five days after the charity match, so it seems I wasnt far off.
Maybe I don't know enough coaches, maybe I'm really naive about Sir Bobby, but I can't shake the feeling that with him the last of a certain kind of manager went, from an age before players had to be "professional" about their job, before media training became compulsory, before "be happy that you are paid for what you love to do" became a locker room joke.
I guess I must be getting old. I still had a drink in his memory, here's to you Bobby.