BOBBY ROBSON 1933-2009: His career

1933: Born February 18th, in Langley Park, County Durham, England.

1933: Born February 18th, in Langley Park, County Durham, England.

1950: Joins Fulham. Makes 152 appearances, scoring 68 goals. Moves to West Brom, scoring 56 goals in 239 games.

1958: Plays for England in World Cup in Sweden. Wins 20 caps for his country and one under-23 cap.

1962: Rejoins Fulham, making 193 appearances and scoring nine goals.

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1967: Leaves Fulham in May to join Vancouver Royals as manager.

1968: Takes over as Fulham manager in January. Sacked in November.

1969: Appointed manager of Ipswich.

1978: Ipswich win FA Cup with 1-0 victory over Arsenal.

1981: Ipswich win Uefa Cup with a 5-4 aggregate victory over AZ Alkmaar.

1982: Appointed England manager.

1986: England reach World Cup quarter-finals, losing to Argentina 2-1, thanks to Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” opening goal.

1990: English FA reveal Robson’s contract as England manager is unlikely to be renewed even if he wins World Cup. Robson announces he will be taking over at PSV Eindhoven after tournament. England beaten on penalties in World Cup semi-final by West Germany.

1991: Wins Dutch league with PSV.

1992: Wins Dutch league before taking over as manager of Sporting Lisbon.

1993: Controversially sacked in December after a Uefa Cup defeat.

1994: Appointed manager of FC Porto, with whom he wins Portuguese Cup.

1995: Guides Porto to Portuguese league title.

1996: Steers Porto to second successive league title before resigning to take over at Barcelona.

1997: Presides over Barcelona’s Cup Winners’ Cup-winning campaign but eventually surrenders coaching reins to Louis van Gaal and moves upstairs as Barcelona’s general manager in charge of scouring Europe for talent.

1998: Rejoins PSV as coach over the summer.

1999: February – Offers to take over as England boss on a temporary basis after the sacking of Glenn Hoddle. September – Appointed manager of Newcastle.

2000: February – agrees a new 12-month rolling contract with Newcastle on his 67th birthday. October – Rules himself out of the running to take on the England job for a second time.

2002: Leads Newcastle United to fourth place in the Premiership to put them into the qualifying stages of the Champions League. June – Knighted.

2003: May – Newcastle finish the season in third place and qualify for the Champions League qualifying rounds, where they are beaten by Partizan Belgrade.

2004: August 1st: Chairman Freddy Shepherd confirms he will not extend Robson’s contract when it expires at the end of the 2004-’05 season. Robson admits Shepherd’s comments had been a surprise. August 14th: Leaves Kieron Dyer on the bench after the England man refuses to play on the right wing against Middlesbrough. August 28th: Robson chooses to start captain Alan Shearer on the bench as Newcastle lose 4-2 at Aston Villa. August 30th: Newcastle reveal Robson has been “relieved of his duties” as manager.

2005: October – Admits his interest in taking over as Hearts manager to replace Ipswich protege George Burley. November: Hearts appoint former Chelsea coach Graham Rix as head coach.

2006: January – Named as international football consultant to new Republic of Ireland manager Steve Staunton. August 5th – Treated in hospital after being taken ill during the first half of Ipswich’s clash with Crystal Palace, at which he had been named honorary club president. August 20th – Announces he needs operation to remove a small brain tumour.

2007: May – Vows to “battle as I’ve always done” following the start of chemotherapy treatment after being diagnosed with cancer for the fifth time. November – Indicates his health may mean he has to retire.

2008: February – campaign to raise £1 million (€1.7m) to fund a cancer trial research centre at Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital. August – Admits he will lose his battle against cancer “sooner rather than later”. October – Joined by Alex Ferguson at a gala event to raise money for the Bobby Robson Foundation. December – Granted freedom of the city of Durham.

2009: February – Accepts a cheque for £75,000 (€87,000) from England boss Fabio Capello on behalf of the FA, their contribution to his charity fund. April – Announces the Bobby Robson Trophy clash between England and Germany on July 26th. July 26th – Attends St James’ Park for England v Germany clash in a wheelchair and is given a guard of honour. Also presented with the Emerald Uefa Order of Merit award. July 31st – Robson dies at home at the age of 76.