The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 40 "Captain Miracle"

"In the eyes of many Red Devils fans and former teammates, Bryan Robson is the best captain, a truly great leader, a captain who can work miracles."

--Inscription

Bryan Robson has a high reputation in English football. He has always been called "Captain Marvel" by English fans and Red Devils fans. This nickname is not just a simple name, but contains a lot of meanings. "Captain Marvel" not only emphasizes Robson's strong ability to create myths, but also reflects the fans' immense love.

Why is Robson called "Captain Miracle"? The nickname was first given to him by the Red Devils fans. The main reason is that Robson impressed them greatly, and he was able to accomplish impossible tasks and create extraordinary achievements. The Red Devils fans have always felt that Robson is strong, has a unique noble temperament, and has unparalleled leadership ability; they praise Robson for his strong will, tough style, and extraordinary personal charm, and he is a commander who can lead a team by himself. They praise Robson for not fearing injuries, being brave and strong, and being the team's strongest midfielder...

In a word, in the eyes of the Red Devils fans, Robson is a superhero.

Bryan Robson was born on January 1957, 1 in Witton Gilbert, County Durham, England, and was born in the West Bromwich Albion training camp. Robson was already famous in England at a young age. He was considered a talented player on the field and had an excellent overall view. Robson performed very well in all levels of West Bromwich Albion's training camps and got a chance to play in the first team at the age of 11. He made his first official appearance when West Bromwich Albion played against York City, and he had a wonderful performance at a young age. After that, Robson continued to get opportunities and scored two goals in three appearances. His strong offensive ability was remarkable. Robson made rapid progress and soon became an excellent midfield core, helping the team to be promoted to the First Division on his own.

A new star emerged, Robson quickly attracted attention from all sides and was successfully selected for the England team.

The Red Devils made a decisive move in the summer of 1981, signing him for £150 million, which set a record for the highest transfer fee in English Football League One that year. This record was not easy to break in the following six seasons.

It was Atkinson who brought Robson to Manchester United. Atkinson was the coach of West Bromwich Albion and was Robson's mentor. At that time, Liverpool was also competing with the Manchester United, but Robson rejected this temptation. He had been a fan of Manchester United since he was a child, and his final choice was self-evident.

This was in 1982, when Robson began his career as a Red Devils player.

After joining the Red Devils, Robson quickly became a main player for the Red Devils. He wore the famous No. 7 jersey, the number of the team legend, George Best, in his first appearance. Robson continued his own characteristics in the Red Devils' games, doing his best in every game and going all out in every opportunity, truly covering the entire midfield by himself. Whether attacking or defending, Robson showed great strength and became the commander of the Red Devils' midfield.

Robson was soon appointed as the team captain and became the coach's most trusted henchman. Robson quickly established his position. He relied on his strong strength, upright spirit, and wonderful performance to win the respect of his teammates. He effectively commanded his teammates, and was always very appropriate in both offense and defense. He always led by example, charged forward, ran selflessly to fill in positions, and inspired his teammates to fight for the final victory. Robson was fair and simple-minded. He cared about his teammates and everyone, and was supported by his teammates. He became the real boss in the locker room.

Robson brought a new atmosphere to the Red Devils' midfield. In the 1982-1983 season, Robson led the team to play in a completely different style in the league, and the team also turned to active offense. Although Robson led the team to fail to hit the championship this season, the performance in the league was still very eye-catching. In the cup competition, Robson led his teammates all the way forward, and eliminated Southampton, Nottingham Forest and other teams in the League Cup, and faced Arsenal in the semi-finals. Robson led his teammates in two rounds of fierce battles, 4-2, 2-1 double-killing opponents, and made it to the final against Liverpool. In this championship battle, Robson was unable to play due to a serious injury, and the Red Devils eventually lost the game and missed the championship.

Robson burst into tears after the game: "I am ashamed of the fans' love and support. I should have played and played to the end. Even if I was broken into pieces and shed my last drop of blood, I would still fight for the team."

"I'm sorry everyone!"

This situation touched countless Red Devils fans.

Robson persevered and continued to lead the Red Devils to the FA Cup. Under his inspiration, the team once again mustered up the courage to overcome all obstacles and reached the final. In the final, Robson started with an injury and controlled the midfield in an orderly manner. He was a well-deserved commander. He was extremely threatening whether he was dribbling or passing. Even more amazing was his performance in the midfield and backcourt, whether it was sweeping and covering, fighting with opponents, fighting and colliding, and even falling to the ground to make tackles, he was very good.

Robson played well, but the opponent's whole team also performed well. The Red Devils finally drew with their opponents and the two sides will rematch at another day.

Robson continued to start in the rematch, and this time the Red Devils launched a fierce attack right from the start, completely disrupting the opponent's deployment. Robson performed better than in the previous game, becoming a key offensive organization hub and also becoming the goal scorer.

In the end, Robson led his teammates to beat Brighton 4-0 and won the FA Cup!

Robson was unable to play in the two finals as his injury had not yet healed, but he used his strong will to overcome the test of pain and became the Red Devils' most outstanding leader on the field.

"Robusson scored 4 goals in two games. He not only won the game, but also won the game against injuries!"

"Robusson is a miracle to be so brave despite the injury!"

"Robusson's courage is admirable, his performance is impeccable, the injury not only did not become a burden to him, but instead put a crown of thorns on his head!"

It was this game that made the name "Captain Miracle" famous.

The Red Devils played in the European Cup Winners' Cup in the 1983-1984 season and met Barcelona in the quarterfinals. In this game, Robson contributed the most classic performance of the traditional English midfielder. He played well, not only clamping the opponent's offense in the midfield, but also being very tough in confrontation and interception, and the passing and organization in the midfield were also orderly. Not only that, Robson also showed great power on the offensive end. He frequently pressed into the opponent's hinterland, actively engaged in the attack, and seized the precious opportunity to score two goals in a row, leading the team to defeat the opponent and enter the semi-finals.

At that time, Barcelona had Maradona's team, but they were defeated by Robson.

The Red Devils defeated their arch-rivals Liverpool in the 1984-1985 season and advanced to the FA Cup final again, competing with Everton, which was known as the "best team in the world" that season. That year, Everton won the league championship with 90 points and 28 league wins, and its strength was really arrogant. The Red Devils had a defender sent off shortly after the start of the game, and fell into a passive situation of 10 against 11. Robson was not afraid of danger, and encouraged his teammates to fight for the red card brother, and increased the running coverage, which was equivalent to one person playing two positions, taking on the dual tasks of midfield, defense and offense.

The Red Devils tied with their opponents in the 90th minute and the game went into extra time. Robson played well in extra time. His running and command made the team completely get rid of the impact of one less player. In the end, the Red Devils striker Whiteside scored a key goal to help the team win in the end.

The Red Devils won the FA Cup twice in three years, and everyone knew that it was all due to Robson's single-handed efforts.

The Red Devils fans loved this guy, they thought Robson was the best midfielder in England, a well-deserved leader, the backbone of the team. He was a miracle maker and the best embodiment of the Red Devils spirit.

Robson has grown into the core of the England national team with his outstanding performance. In the national team, Robson is well-known and respected by all players.

Whether in the England team or the Red Devils, Robson impressed the fans the most with his "workaholic" spirit. He was never afraid of injuries and was a real tough guy. Almost every muscle in his body had been injured and countless bones had been broken, which was a terrifying record that had never been seen in English football. Robson had suffered three serious fractures when he played for West Bromwich Albion, but it did not affect Robson's strength. After joining the Red Devils, Robson was constantly injured, but his performance was even better. Robson was the most injured in the Red Devils team. He had experienced fractures, dislocations, ligament tears, muscle strains, etc. It was common for him to be knocked unconscious and almost have a concussion. It was also common for his scalp to be broken and a piece of flesh to be scraped off by the opponent's spikes.

Robson always recovered miraculously from injuries and returned to his peak form. In the 1985-1986 season, Robson led the Red Devils to a 10-game winning streak in the league, and the points once ranked first, which once gave the Red Devils fans hope of winning the championship. But at this time he suffered a serious injury, and the Red Devils immediately fell into a slump, and were quickly overtaken by their opponents, and finally ranked only 4th. In the summer of 1986, at the Mexico World Cup, Robson was injured again in the World Cup group stage, and England was defeated by Argentina.

Without Robson, the Red Devils have no hope of winning the championship; without Robson, the England team is nothing.

At the start of the 1986-87 season, Robson was unable to play due to injury. Without Robson, the Red Devils were a completely different team. By November 1986, they had lost consecutive games and were trapped in the relegation quagmire. Atkinson was also ruthlessly fired.

At this time, Robson had played for the Red Devils for more than 5 seasons. Injuries finally became his toughest opponent, and he had no idea about the team's defeat.

Robson's recovery from injuries was unusually slow. At 29 years old, with a host of old injuries, it was difficult to recover with the physical training and medical conditions of the time, let alone reach the peak of his career. Not only that, but alcohol also continued to harm him. Robson usually liked to drink a lot, and after a serious injury, he relied more on drinking to relieve the pain, but alcohol slowly and resolutely destroyed his body functions.

Even though Robson tried very hard, age was a hindrance. Alcohol was also fatal, and Robson's miraculous recovery ability could not save him.

Atkinson lamented, "Maybe the only thing between me and Ferguson is Robson. We once won 10 games in a row, creating the best start in a decade, and ranked first with a 10-point lead over our opponents, but after Robson was seriously injured, we became a different team and the championship was no longer possible. In the 1986-1987 season, Robson was unable to play and the team collapsed directly."

"After I was sacked, Ferguson's Red Devils were also weak without Robson and were bullied by everyone. But the difference with me was that Ferguson could wait until Robson recovered from his injury, but I didn't have that opportunity."

Could Ferguson wait for Robson to recover? Was Atkinson just because of Robson's injury? Robson had suffered many serious injuries and was getting old. Even if he was still tenacious, he was not a god after all.

The difference between Atkinson and Ferguson is not just Robson. For Robson, his best luck was not Atkinson's trust and reliance on him, but that he met Ferguson after recovering from injury at the end of 1986.