'I wish Dad was alive to be there'
- Published
Eddie Howe needed no reminding.
"There are connections with Sir Bobby Robson that we fully embrace," the Newcastle United head coach said before Thursday's game against Barcelona. "That's what makes it such a special thing."
How fitting, then, that Sir Bobby's son, Mark, will be at St James' Park to see two of his father's former clubs meet in the Champions League.
"I wish Dad was alive to be there," he said. "He would love it."
These were the sorts of occasions Sir Bobby relished as a manager. Not only at Newcastle but Barcelona, too.
Sir Bobby walked into a divided city, following predecessor Johan Cruyff's departure, in 1996, but led Barcelona to the Cup Winners' Cup, Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup.
He later went on to manage Newcastle, his boyhood club, and took the black-and-whites from the relegation zone to Europe's top table.
"Dad had incredible toughness to fight cancer and take on jobs," Mark said. "I don't know how he did it."
His legacy lives on.
When Sir Bobby faced cancer for the fifth and final time, his oncologist, Professor Plummer, asked him if he knew anyone who could help raise £500,000 to equip a new cancer drug trials centre at the Northern Centre for Cancer Care in Newcastle.
Although Sir Bobby was gravely ill, he put himself forward to launch a charity in his name, referring to it as his last and greatest team.
The former England manager went on to officially open the Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre in 2009.
Plans have now been submitted for an even more ambitious project, the Sir Bobby Robson Institute, a proposed £30m research and treatment facility.
Funded by the foundation, it would pioneer more ground-breaking innovation in cancer treatment and significantly increase the number of clinical trials available for patients across the North East, North Cumbria and North Yorkshire.
Supporters have already raised £20m and the charity is seeking the remaining £10m needed.
"The two worlds of medicine and sport are coming together and hopefully creating something quite special." Mark added.