Manchester United and England legend Sir Bobby Charlton sadly passed away at the weekend with the well-loved national treasure crossing the paths of many football greats in his long career, including our own Ally McCoist.
The Gers great isn’t quite as well known as the World Cup winner, however, his connections in the game have seen him blessed with some wonderful opportunities.
Never short of a story, speaking on Talksport this morning about the sad passing of Sir Bobby Charlton, Ally McCoist recalled the time that one of England’s best ever was far from impressed with his goalscoring exploits.
Sir Bobby Charlton puts it on a plate for Ally McCoist
Rangers record goalscorer has never been shy about missing chances but one in particular has always stood out for him.
Playing in a charity football game in Portugal, off an invite from Luis Figo no less, the prolific Sir Bobby Charlton turned provider for Ally McCoist only for the former Rangers boss to fluff his lines:
“He came on the pitch with about 20-25 minutes to go and the entire crowd just cheered every touch of the ball he had.
“He goes down the left-hand side, he beats two players and chips it across.
“It goes above none other than Michael Schumacher’s head’ who’s playing centre forward at the time, it’s bizarre.
“I’m playing number 10 with Michael Schumacher.
“It comes over Schumacher’s head and….I’ve got no idea how I’ve missed it.
“I’ve just got to stick my head on it at the back post and, I’ve missed it.
“He gave me the look he probably gave Geoff Hurst a couple of times!”
The common theme from everyone who knew Sir Bobby Charlton, is that he was a gentleman first and foremost and an outstanding footballer second, a sentiment shared by Ally McCoist.
It would be easy as a World Cup and European Cup winner to be arrogant, as his club and country’s top goalscorer when he retired too – a statistic made all the more incredible when you consider he was a midfielder.
But, he was humble and generous, a giant of the game who will be sadly missed by all.
