After the Munich air disaster of 1958, Bobby Charlton clearly felt a sense of responsibility towards the England team, which he joined soon after, just as he did to Manchester United. Both were being rebuilt around Bobby as their best player.
At a book awards event in London decades later I thanked him for everything he had done for both sides, with his wonderful thunderbolt goals and his spectacular 60-yard cross field passes – my all-time favourite footballer, not just for his skill but for the sporting way he played the game and conducted himself.
Finally I thanked him for keeping alive the memory of his eight team-mates who had died at Munich. As we spoke I became very aware of the tears welling up on Sir Bobby’s face, showing how the raw emotion of Munich was still very close to the surface.
