11th October 1937
Country: England
Major Clubs: Manchester United
"I wonder all over again how so much could come to one man simply because he was able to do something, which for him was so natural and easy, and which he knew from the start he loved to do more than anything else", said Bobby Charlton in his autobiography, My Manchester United Years. He was a player whose life was changed in the blink of an eye. One of the original Busby's Babes, Charlton was a Red Devil throughout the extent of his career. He played 759 games for Manchester United, and scored 249 goals in the duration of 17 years at the club.
One thing in Charlton's life that haunts him till date is the Munich air disaster. Seven of his teammates, including the great Duncan Edwards, died in the disaster, but Charlton somehow managed to pull himself out of the injuries he sustained. Later, he along with Matt Busby's assistant Jimmy Murphy, was responsible for the resurrection of the club. He possessed qualities of being a terrific goal-scorer, as well as being able to score splendid goals; something of a rarity in English football at the time.
In 1966, England hosted the FIFA World Cup. The team that year was completely in the hands of Alf Ramsey, who selected Charlton for the side playing the World Cup Finals. His contribution to England was commendable throughout the tournament, as he won himself the Golden Ball that year. However on 30th July 1966 when England played their World Cup Final at Wembley, Charlton was rather quiet. England, though, went on to win the cup.
Two years later, he captained United to remarkable run in the European Cup, leading a team that became the first English side to reach the cup final. The final, played at Wembley against Benfica, was a tight affair, until Charlton scored twice in extra time to hand United a 4-1 victory.
Much later, during his days at Old Trafford, he was a part of the Holy Trinity which included himself alongside Denis Law and George Best. George Best said for Charlton, "I've never seen anyone go past players as easily as he did.". On the individual front, the list of the honours he's won is too long to be written here. But some of the greatest honours such as the Ballon d'Or, FWA Footballer of the Year, among others still dress up his cabinet.
Bobby Charlton went on to manage Preston North End towards the end of his career, and also had a brief spell at Wigan as a caretaker manager. However, he didn't embark on a full fledged career in management. Charlton was conferred with the knighthood in 1994, and is currently on the Board of Directors at Manchester United.
His contribution to the club is and probably will be unmatchable by anyone so far, and even in the future. Despite the many blows he took at Manchester United, starting from the Munich disaster, to the 1958 FA Cup loss, and the 1969 European Cup defeat, Charlton believed in hanging in there, unlike many of the modern footballers who change colours for medals.
-PRANAV MUKUL
Written for India's premier football magazine: 90 minutes (October 2011)
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