Introduction
Sir Bobby Charlton - arguably the greatest English footballer of all time. He played football until he was 39 years old, he survived the Munich Air Disaster at the age of 20 and he has scored more goals for Manchester United and the England national team than any other player in history. There can't be any better than Sir Bobby Charlton, can there?
Bobby Charlton - The Youth Days
Bobby Charlton came from a family where there were many footballers, his uncle played for Newcastle United and his elder brother played for Leeds United. While he was going to grammar school, a Manchester United scout found him and brought him to the Red Devils' Youth Squad at the age of 15. Even though his mother didn't agree that he would be allowed to become a professional footballer, in 1954 Bobby Charlton went on to become one and played for the Manchester United senior team. He played as a striker and a midfielder and was known for scoring plenty. He became quite a good professional footballer in the end.
Sir Bobby Charlton - Manchester United
As soon as he went professional, he made a great impact and began making regular first-team appearences even though he was only 18 years old. He helped the team win the League championship but was denied the chance to win the League-cup double after losing the FA Cup final to Aston Villa. Next season, Bobby Charlton established himself as a regular first-team player and as Manchester United reached the semi-finals of the European Cup, the competition began appealing for English clubs. The season afterwards, United started a new campaign in the European Cup and they reached the quarter-finals, where they would face Red Star Belgrade.
Sir Bobby Charlton - The Munich Air Disaster
Manchester United's team were in a great mood after defeating Red Star. They were forced to land their plane in Munich to refuel and the weather was getting worse. The players started getting worried and their joyous mood slowly went away. Bobby Charlton and teammate Dennis Viollet were sitting in the back of the plane prior to taking off. But teammates Tommy Taylor and David Pegg asked them if they could swap seats because they felt safer sitting at the back of the plane.
Disaster struck as soon as the plane took off, the pilot was blinded by the icy strips and low-visibility of the terrible weather. As the left the runway the plane clipped a fence, just as they were gaining speed. This tore one of the wings apart causing it to spin before the plane sliced in half. United's Harry Gregg, who was miraculously left without any harm done to him, went on a one-man rescue mission and dragged out Bobby Charlton's seriously injured body out of the wreckage.
Bobby Charlton was in great shock after the accident and needed several weeks to recover from the accident. The Munich Air Disaster claimed the lives of 23 passengers, including 8 Manchester United players, 2 of which were Davig Pegg and Tommy Taylor, the teammates that Charlton and Viollet had swapped places with.
Sir Bobby Charlton - Back to Manchester
Yes, he needed nearly a year to come back to the pitch with full effect but Charlton managed to put the disaster behind him and rebuild his career. He spent the next 16 seasons at United, becoming a legend helping the club to success. He also helped the England National Team to success through the 1966 World Cup. At this time he became knighted. The last two seasons before retirement, Bobby Charlton went on to play at Waterford United and Preston North End. His heart and soul remained at Manchester.
Conclusion
Currently Sir Bobby Charlton has scored the most goals in the history of Manchester United with 249 goals and 758 appearences. He has recently been overtaken in apperences by Ryan Giggs but still holds the most appearences in the league with 606. despite mainly playing as a midfielder, he still had a great eye for goal. Wayne Rooney is currently the only person standing between him and a new record.