By Matt Hardy
Legend, icon and phenomenon are words that have been used to describe Sir Bobby Charlton in the 24 hours since the announcement of his death on Saturday afternoon, but there are two further narratives which encapsulate the feeling around the 1966 World Cup winner: the greatest to have ever played the game, and football’s gentleman.
Charlton, in his more than 750 appearances for Manchester United and 106 England caps, won the lot: domestic, European and international honours.
And he remains one of just a handful of Englishmen to have lifted the World Cup.
But he faced hardship, too, surviving the terrible events of the Munich air disaster in 1958 and living his final years with dementia.
Charlton the “greatest”
Sir Geoff Hurst, the one remaining living member of the 1966 World Cup team, led the tributes for his former teammate, hailing Charlton as “one of the true greats” of the beautiful game.
England manager Gareth Southgate said: “The privilege of meeting him on several occasions allowed me to understand his personal pride and emotion in having represented England and simply confirmed in my mind his standing as one of the gentlemen of the game.
“The world of football will unite in its sadness at losing an undisputed legend.”
Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, described the 1966 Ballon d’Or winner as a “football legend, whose impact on the game spanned generations”, while Gary Lineker named the former United player as England’s greatest ever footballer.
Icon
Much of the footage that’s become synonymous with Charlton is in black and white, but the colour and vibrancy of an individual who carried such an ominous goalscoring aura shines through.
He won three First Division titles with United, an FA Cup, a pair of Charity Shields and, of course, the European Cup where he scored a brace in a 4-1 extra-time victory over Benfica.
Two of his most iconic matches, then, happened at Wembley Stadium – the European Cup final and the World Cup final two years prior. But home was Old Trafford and Manchester United, a club for whom he made over 750 appearances for, a record broken only in 2008 by Ryan Giggs.
He remains the only Manchester United player to have had a stand at Old Trafford named after him, homage to his association with the club’s success domestically and on the continent, his membership of the so-called Busby Babes and his status as an icon.
So when you talk of legends, icons and phenomenons of football Charlton’s legacy was always going to earn him a spot in the conversation as the greatest Englishman to grace the beautiful game. But the humble nature of such a gentleman of football remains truly special.
“I used to find the game fairly easy,” he once said. “It was a natural thing. I couldn’t understand why others found it difficult really.” Quite simply the greatest.
