da cassino： The legendary midfielder overcame tragedy to become one of the best players of all time and the best ambassador United could have hoped for

da pinnacle： "Words will never be enough" is how Manchester United's social media team announced the death of Sir Bobby Charlton, aged 86. It was a fitting way to describe the life of the majestic midfielder, who had cheated death, experienced the most torturous pain imaginable and then come back to lead his club to European glory and inspire England to win the World Cup.

Charlton was born in 1937 in the mining community of Ashington, Northumberland and made his life in Manchester, rising to the very peak of world football, becoming the all-time top scorer for both club and country. He spent the latter part of his life basking in United's many successes, the best ambassador the club could have asked for.

But the telling of the story of his life must always begin with its most shocking and pivotal moment, on the icy runway at Munich-Riem Airport on February 6 1958.

Getty Images'Why should it be me?'

Aged 20 at the time, Charlton was one of the youngest members of the United team that were on their way back to Manchester from Belgrade after booking their place in the semi-finals of the European Cup. Their plane stopped in Munich to refuel, and after two aborted attempts to take off, it crashed into the runway, killing 23 people. Charlton was the last survivor to be found, still strapped into his seat when he was discovered 40 yards from the plane wreckage.

Charlton suffered a deep cut to his head and was rushed to hospital. When he woke the next day, the person in the bed next to him read a report of the crash and gave what Charlton later described as a "terrible roll call", reading out the name of each person who had died. Eight of them were Charlton's team-mates, and three of them his closest friends: Eddie Coleman, David Pegg and Tommy Taylor.

Charlton, unlike some of his surviving team-mates, suffered no broken bones, but the psychological scars remained for the rest of his life. Although he was able to play again a month after the crash, he had considered stepping away from the game completely.

“In so many ways I was part of the horror, but I was also, in the strangest way, detached,” Charlton wrote in his autobiography. “It was almost as if I was disembodied, a silent, traumatised participant in a terrible dream I could neither act in, nor escape from.

"I thought 'Why me?' Why am I here with nothing other than a little gash on the head and all these other friends had been killed? I felt it wasn't fair, why should it be me? It was such a momentous event, for so many young people to die just on the verge of the great success that was ahead of them, and I couldn't understand why. We walked away. A few days later you realised the enormity of what had happened, then you started thinking about how lucky you'd been. I was so lucky."

AdvertisementGettyMission accomplished 10 years on

Charlton's team-mates had perished while on a mission to win the European Cup. As one of the few survivors, along with his manager Matt Busby, he was intent on completing the mission and winning the competition.

Ten years after the disaster, as club captain, Charlton did just that, lifting the coveted trophy at Wembley after beating Benfica 4-1 in the 1968 final after extra-time. Fittingly, Charlton scored the first goal and the last. When he went to collect the trophy, though, there was little joy on his face and his first thought was to go and present it to Busby.

Charlton participated little in the festivities and sought solace in the changing room while his team-mates celebrated on the pitch. "I wasn't happy that night, I was just drained at the end of it," he recalled. "We'd spent so much time for this event to happen and we were desperate we weren't going to lose and we didn't lose. The first thing you thought about it when it was over was Matt Busby."

GettyFootball as escapism

Charlton may have grown up watching Newcastle and legendary Magpies striker Jackie Milburn, who was his second cousin, but he became besotted with Manchester United. He joined the club aged 14 and grew into a tough player by playing against adult factory workers. He was suffering from a sprained ankle when Busby asked him to make his debut against Charlton Athletic, but he played through the pain and scored twice.

He helped fire United to the league title in his first season and was a crucial part of the great 'Busby Babes' side that was overwhelmingly comprised of youth players raised in the club's academy. He saw his generation reflected in the next great United side under Sir Alex Ferguson.

"Young players is what Manchester United was all about," Charlton said. "In 1949, Matt Busby brought in young players, which was unheard of in the hotbed of football, no one could understand it. Young players always got their opportunity here, that was the case with Matt Busby and Alex Ferguson and it continues."

The son of a coalminer, Charlton was highly receptive to Busby's insistence that his team should offer a form of entertainment and escapism to the factory workers who paid their hard-earned money to see them play. "He said 'Don't be afraid go for it. If you're a man that works on a shop floor and the one highlight is to see the team play, you should be able to give people something they can't do themselves," Charlton remembered of his former manager.

Charlton, famed for his energy, grace, power and especially his thunderous shot, spent 17 years at United, playing 758 games and scoring 249 goals. As well as the European Cup, Charlton lifted three league titles and one FA Cup. He remained the club's longest-serving player for more than 30 years, until surpassed by Ryan Giggs in 2008, and their top scorer for more than 40 years until his tally was beaten by Wayne Rooney in 2017.

Getty ImagesA legend for England too

He was equally influential for England. He struck twice in the 1966 World Cup semi-final against Portugal to book their place in the final against West Germany, where he was tasked with keeping an eye on Franz Beckenbauer.

“England beat us because Bobby Charlton was just a little bit better than me,” was how Beckenbauer recalled the final, also declaring that Charlton had "the lungs of a horse".

The 1966 World Cup was extra special as Charlton won it along his brother, Jack. The pair did not enjoy the best relationship, however, as a result of Jack siding with their mother when she did not take a liking to Bobby's wife, Norma.

Charlton scored 49 goals for England and remained top scorer until Rooney took that accolade in 2017, before Harry Kane overtook them both five years later.