FourFourTwo December 2021 75staggering, and Fernandez – a Doberman of
a boss – couldn’t believe the bottle. Guardiola
had to drag the Portuguese away.
A 2-0 loss in December’s Clasico followed,
before Barça squandered a two-goal lead at
home to relegation fodder Hercules, losing
3-2. By now they were playing catch-up in
the title race and jeers had replaced cheers
at the Camp Nou. Meanwhile, Ronaldo – now
the youngest ever recipient of the FIFA World
Player of the Year prize – was embroiled in
rows with club chiefs about when he could
depart for international duty.
“It was a paradise of great football and
great people,” says Hunter. “Yet for Bobby,
plenty of s**tty things were also going on.”CALL IT A COMEBACK
Carrer d’Elisabeth Eidenbenz is a narrow road
just behind the Camp Nou, with portly palm
trees and overgrown grass. There’s a car park
behind a mesh fence on one side, but it used
to be the site of a training pitch.
This fence was a window into the world of
Robson’s Barcelona, and the pavement used
to be where fans, journalists or smitten girls,
there to catch Ronaldo, would congregate.
“My only manager was Cruyff until Bobby
arrived,” right-back Albert Ferrer tells FFT,
“but Bobby didn’t want to be the protagonist- he just wanted to be the coach of a team
and create a good atmosphere.”
Robson and Mourinho’s dynamic was that
of a headmaster and teacher overseeing the
class. They worked perfectly together. Bobby’s
first instructions to Jose at Sporting were,
jokingly, that he was too handsome to stand
near him. Even five years later in Catalonia,
Robson maintained a professional distance
from his players, while Mourinho was more
matey with the group.
As a fellow native Portuguese speaker, Jose
proved an ally for Ronaldo, and would often
talk tactics and philosophies with Guardiola
and Enrique. The former became Mourinho’s
closest cohort; they hailed from markedly
different backgrounds, yet their footballing
philosophies were rooted in the practical
ideals of building play from a solid foundation
at the back.
“We saw and heard lots of things,” recalls
Hunter about those days on the pavement.
“Mourinho had come over from Portugal with
Bobby and learned from him; Guardiola had
a fantasy about what life at traditional old
English football games would be like. I can’t
tell you if they considered each other outright
friends, but they were two very bright minds
with a degree of international curiosity and
experience. There was a click.”
Anglophile Guardiola was a favourite pupil
of Robson’s, who appreciated his midfielder’s
courage in speaking up at half-time. Pep in
turn adored his manager, even writing to him
years later asking to join Newcastle.
“The squad had many strong personalities,”
continues Ferrer, now a LaLigaTV pundit. “Pep
Guardiola, Hristo Stoichkov, Luis Figo, Ronaldo,
Giovanni, Laurent Blanc, Luis Enrique, Juan
Pizzi... but players with this personality helped
us through any challenge.”
Robson’s biggest challenge at the Camp
Nou came in March 1997 against Atletico in
the Copa del Rey quarter-final second leg.
Disapproval boomed in the giant bowl after
a dreadful first half where Atleti had strolled
into a 3-0 lead; Barça fans waved their white
handkerchiefs en masse.
“I thought it was snowing in the stadium,”
remembered Robson of that night. Atletico
and Barcelona were frosty enemies as it was,
but unbeknownst to the manager, Blaugrana
directors had decided to sack him should the
scoreline remain. Those inside the dressing
room insist that Robson was unusually calm.
What happened next took the Camp Nou’s
collective breath away.
“Well, I guess Ronaldo happened,” laughs
Abelardo, who played that night. “He scored
twice and within little more than five minutes
we were back to 3-2. [Milinko] Pantic quickly
scored a fourth for Atletico, then Figo and
Ronaldo brought us back level before Pizzi’s
late winner. With players of that class you’re
never out of a game. Beating a team as good
as that Atletico 5-1 in just one half shows the
level we were at that season.”
Barça’s comeback was as exhilarating as
anything the venue had ever witnessed: pre,
during or post Cruyff. Still, though, the press
suggested that Robson’s players had staged
a half-time rebellion in the dressing room. It
took Guardiola, captain in the extraordinary
remontada, to rubbish that theory the next
day. “I thought, ‘I want to be a manager’
because of how he handled that situation,”
he glowed years later.
Atleti and Barcelona faced each other six
times that season, scoring 37 goals. On that
March night, there was plenty of football too.BACKSTABBED IN THE BOARDROOM
Spectacular or sober: those were the two
states of Robson’s Barcelona. In mid-April,“The headline the next day in Diario Sport
was ‘Muchos goles, pero muy poco futbol’,”
reveals Hunter. “‘Lots of goals, but very little
football’. There was a bit of snobbery from
some sections, although it wasn’t a rebellion
against him. There were plenty who adored
Sir Bobby because they thought he was un
caballero – a gentleman.”
Robson took the stick personally, however,
calling it “cracking comedy”. He saw the split
in the press as a reflection of a split fanbase,
many of whom still mourned Cruyff’s more
measured methods. Despite some factions
not warming to their new coach, the team
were still flying in La Liga by mid-November
and into the Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-finals
after despatching both Larnaca and Red Star
Belgrade. Increasingly leading video sessions
and compiling opposition scouting dossiers,
Mourinho had become a media master.
“He didn’t manipulate the journalists, but
he was very clever in making sure his profile
was high,” explains Hunter. “He served Bobby
well in that he had a knack of steering press
conferences into safer waters.”
Barcelona managed to stay unbeaten long
after Robson’s seaside excursions had turned
chillier, until they surrendered their run at
the hands of Athletic Bilbao in late November.
Mourinho wasn’t quite so diplomatic on that
occasion, contesting decisions and squaring
up to Athletic’s lollipop-wielding coach Luis
Fernandez. Mourinho’s swagger was simply
BOBBY’S
BARÇATop to bottom
Ronaldo sets off
before scoring
his wonder goal
at Compostela;
Robson’s team
went on to win
two cups, and
look happier...;
“It’s nice, but it’s
no Whitley Bay”