Back in May 2019, Diego Maradona was analysing a copy of FourFourTwo. The Argentine was managing in Sinaloa, Mexico, and as he flicked through the pages of our humble title, his eyes lit up at the thought of England – but not for the divinely metacarpal matters you’d expect.
“Bryan Robson, he was my favourite English player of that generation,” Maradona told us in a sweltering evening heat, reminiscing about days both glorious and not so.
“Robson and Graeme Souness were the best British midfielders. Great players.”
Diego talked about a Cup Winners’ Cup game he’d played for Barcelona at Old Trafford in 1984, when Manchester United came from 2-0 down in the first leg to win 3-0. “I should have won a penalty!” he protested. “It was a penalty…”
Today, Bryan Robson is hearing this story for the very first time. He’s talking to FFT in a hotel close to his home in Cheshire’s footballer belt, reflecting on an immense career in which he was easily United’s best player of the 1980s. He represented his country 90 times, 65 as captain.
“I LOVE MY LIFE AND MY AMBASSADOR ROLE. I GO TO EVERY GAME AND CAN VISIT THE TRAINING GROUND WHEN I WANT”
“I loved Diego but it wasn’t a penalty,” Robson rebuffs in his soft Durham brogue. “But he was the greatest I played against. He scored great goals, was quick, could go either side of you. Diego had everything.”
Robson is 65 now, and works as an ambassador for Manchester United. All the other former players who do work in similar roles, from Andy Cole to Patrice Evra, Denis Irwin to Dwight Yorke, look up to Captain Marvel. United fans still idolise him, and the argument over who was better – Robson or Roy Keane – is perennial. Both heroes were complete box-to-box central midfielders.
But first, it all began with Bovril…
“I GOT LEA THERED ON FOUR PINTS”
“Football is my life,” says Robson. “It started when my dad took me to be a footballer’.
