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Supported by the North Western Regional Development Agency |
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Sir Bobby Charlton
| Category: | Male Player |
| Year Inducted: | 2002 |
Profile by Robert Galvin, the author of Football's Greatest Heroes, the official book of the National Football Museum Hall of Fame:
Bobby Charlton was the inspiration at the heart of midfield for both England and Manchester United in two of the most memorable finals ever staged at Wembley.
In victory, Charlton shed tears at the end of both games. Firstly in joy, choked with patriotic pride in the immediate aftermath of the World Cup final in 1966.
Two years later, when Manchester United lifted the European Cup, he cried again, this time in remembrance of the eight team-mates who perished in the Munich disaster in 1958.
At Wembley, the crowd witnessed the extraordinary sight of several Benfica players congratulating Charlton after he scored one of his two goals against them.
Wearing the number nine shirt for both club and country, Charlton generated a mix of fear and awe in his opponents. ‘He is the central figure of every match he plays in,' Helmut Schoen, the West Germany manager in 1966, said. ‘A truly great player.'
Charlton holds a unique position in the history of English football. No other player has won the four major honours in the game: the World Cup, European Cup, League championship and FA Cup.
In 1966, he was voted Footballer of the Year, and the following season he added the European individual honour. Between 1958 and 1970 he amassed a then record 106 caps. ‘I keep them all in individual plastic bags so that they don't lose their colour,' he once said.
Charlton was admired throughout the world. Harold Shepherdson, the England trainer, said: ‘As soon as Bobby steps off a plane or off a bus, they just start clapping. He is the most respected footballer England has ever produced.'
A schoolboy international Charlton chose Manchester United over a dozen or more clubs desperate to sign him in the summer 1953. At the age of 15 his power and technique amazed as experienced a judge as Matt Busby.
‘Bobby had exceptional timing,' Busby recalled. ‘Even with the heavier ball we used those days he could hit a corner beyond the far post with either foot and with scarcely any backlift. A lot of senior players couldn't do that.'
In the early days of his career Charlton played at both inside-forward and winger, before Matt Busby switched his role in 1964, in order to make the most of his ability to get past his marker and exceptional shooting power. Charlton had always wanted to be involved more - and a central, deep-lying centre-forward role allowed him the freedom he craved in midfield.
Alf Ramsey made the same change soon after; finally, after so much frustration and with the 1966 World Cup looming, Charlton had found his niche.
‘I knew months, even years before the World Cup that Bobby Charlton would have a number nine on his back,' Ramsey said. The challenge now was to build an England team around him.
Asked several years later if he had looked for someone as cover for his role in case injury sidelined Charlton before the tournament, Ramsey said: ‘No, there wasn't one. Bobby was one of a kind.'
At club level, Charlton played a club record 759 games for Manchester United, scoring 249 goals. His story is woven into the club's history: from the Busby Babes to Sir Alex Ferguson.
In the wake of the Munich disaster, a crash he survived with barely a scratch, the youthful Charlton became a focus for public sentiment and ‘the foundation upon which we had to rebuild over the ruins of tragedy', Busby said. ‘As near perfection as a man and a player as it's possible to be.'