NEW BOOKS / Bobby Robson: The Ultimate Patriot
—- deCoubertin Books is publishing Bob Harris’s biography of legendary football manager Sir Bobby Robson.
Harris, one of Britain’s best known sportswriters, was for more than 30 years Robson’s friend, confidante and collaborator. He followed the manager’s career from Ipswich Town’s Portman Road to Barcelona’s Nou Camp, via successful spells with PSV, Porto, Sporting Lisbon, Newcastle and, of course, England – who Robson unforgettably took to within a penalty kick of the 1990 World Cup final.
As a player Robson had had a distinguished career with Fulham and West Bromwich Albion and was part of the England squads that competed at the World Cup in 1958 and 1962.
Harris travelled the world with Robson and was provided with an insider’s view to his incredible life and times. One of the best-known reporters of his generation, he accumulated hundreds of hours of recordings with Robson in the process of ghostwriting six books published under Robson’s name, as well as reporting on hundreds of games for club and country.
Now, a decade after Robson’s death, Harris has sat down to write about their friendship, utilising this incredible body of material and his own memories of the great man.
Part memoir, part biography, this is an extraordinary and fondly recalled portrait of one of footballs most loved and iconic individuals.
Bob Harris said: ‘Of all the books I have written with some of the world’s leading sportsmen, this was the easiest, the quickest and, I have to say, the most enjoyable.
‘It brought back so many memorable moments I was fortunate enough to share with this iconic figure; most of them good but also with incidents of great sadness.
‘Bobby Robson was a special person who touched so many people with his charm and personality and, as he matured, he became more loved and respected as he earned his place in the hearts of football followers around the globe. I miss his company enormously ten years on.’
Bobby Robson: The Ultimate Patriot by Bob Harris is published by deCoubertin Books, priced £20. The book also includes a foreword by Gary Lineker.
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—- Andrzej Gowarzewski’s remarkable statistical series has produced another three magnificent football books.
Puchar Polski relates the history of the Polish cup. The text is – of course – in Polish but the statistical foundation (finals, clubs, players, goals, records etc) is clear to follow.
Next comes Rocznik 2019 which is the football yearbook, a sort of ‘Polish Rothmans.’
Both of these are illustrated and the format will be familiar to Gowarzewski admirers.
However, a magnificent expanded volume is the tale of the history of the Polish game, a unique document.
More information from: wydawnictwo GIA, PO Box 2772, 40-357 Katowice 14.
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—- The Best of Manchester United, from G2Books (£9.99) is an updated revised version of a sharp collector’s volume first published in 2007. It’s an A-Z of Old Trafford heroes down the years from Aston to Whiteside and a handful of other issues included to take it all the way to the last letter in the alphabet. Includes a wide range of historical pictures rather than relying merely on ‘easy’ modern era sports photography.
