I looked at the photograph on Sunday of me standing behind Bobby when he lifted the European Cup at Wembley in 1968 and I still can’t believe that such a man was part of my life.
His passing brought back so many great memories and it is almost surreal to think I shared so many fantastic moments with a man who many were in awe of.
That night in 1968, as he lifted the European Cup, we all knew that he had achieved what he had always set out to do: make Manchester United champions of Europe for the friends he had lost so tragically at Munich 10 years previously.
We never spoke about Munich, it was an unwritten code, a ‘no-no’, but when the final whistle went we all knew what it meant. We all ran to Bobby, Sir Matt Busby and Bill Foulkes as the emotion poured out, saying ‘We’ve done, we’ve done it’.
It was a huge weight off Bobby’s shoulders and his tears showed what he had been carrying. We had great players like George Best and Denis Law but he had been the driving force.
Alex Stepney stood behind Sir Bobby Charlton when he lifted the European Cup in 1968
The former Manchester United goalkeeper has paid tribute to his former team-mate following his passing
He would always demand the ball, if we were drawing or behind, he would shout ‘come on, we can score four here!’ It was the ethos of the Busby Babes, attack, that he always maintained.
That night we did. It was 0-0 at half-time against Benfica and he scored two fantastic goals. His second was sublime. The timing, the power, no keeper would have stopped that. It was the strike of a great player at the peak of his powers, knowing what prize was at stake.
The families of the boys who were lost at Munich were in the stands at Wembley and we made sure we went towards them showing off the trophy: it was for them.
Bobby and I were due to join up with England ahead of the European Nations after the game but Sir Alf Ramsey gave us until the morning to travel, that was Alf — how good of him, allowing us to go to the after party at the Russell Hotel.
It didn’t matter though, Bobby was so exhausted by the emotion of what he had achieved, he went straight to bed.
As a player, he epitomised the ethos of the Busby Babes and he always maintained the drive to attack on the field
That trip though underlined to me the aura that surrounded Bobby.
We got through to the third-place play-off in Rome against Russia and I always remember those Russian players staring at Bobby. As if saying: ‘My God it’s Bobby Charlton, we’ve heard the legend now here’s the real thing’. He scored and we won 2-0.
But he never behaved like a superstar.
When we were on tour in Austria once, Bobby read in a newspaper that Lev Yashin, the great Russian keeper, was having a testimonial but he hadn’t been invited because they thought he was busy.
Bobby paid out of his own pocket to travel to Russia that day to play in the game yet when he came back he was so upset as he’d forgotten to take a present to Lev.
He was just so appreciative of others.
We beat Preston North End once and he disappeared after the game to bring Tom Finney into the dressing room. Bobby had replaced Finney in the England squad as a left winger but he introduced everyone of us to him saying ‘now this is a great player’.
United’s squad formed such a strong bond with what they achieved in 1968 and the players remained good friends
He was very self-effacing, humble but hugely competitive, even at cribbage! In training, he was just as determined to win. That’s when I would feel the full force of that famous shot.
With the balls in those days, I certainly learned how to move faster — out of the way! I wasn’t alone though; opponents didn’t know how to stop him.
The bond of what we achieved in 1968 and beyond always meant we remained good friends. I’d met him first when I arrived from Chelsea in 1966, what a year for him, but he never held any airs or graces.
For years after, we always met with a big hug. He was just Bob, and I’ll forever feel privileged to have known him.
