Robson fans and friends to commemorate his life

Fans will join the elite of European football today to commemmorate the life of Bobby Robson.

One thousand invited guests will rub shoulders with the likes of Alex Ferguson, England boss Fabio Capello and Pep Guardiola, manager of European champions Barcelona, at the service at Durham Cathedral.

Premier League managers, and others from lower down the ladder who have been helped by Robson’s advice, will attend the thanksgiving – alongside players past and present.

The event will be broadcast live on TV, and fans have been invited to watch on big screens at the grounds of Newcastle United and Ipswich Town – where he served as manager with great distinction.

Gary Lineker, who credited Robson with much of his success in becoming England’s second-highest goalscorer, will lead the personal tributes – talking fondly about his mentor’s time managing the national side.

Only the width of a post denied his England team a place in the 1990 World Cup final in a tournament which made Paul Gascoigne a star.

Lineker said: “I will be nervous because I won’t want to let him or his family down. I could probably do with one of his famous pep talks beforehand.”

Alex Ferguson will speak about his friend’s return to English football, managing Newcastle after spending much of the 1990s in successful exile with club sides in Holland, Portugal and finally at Barcelona – picking up trophies along the way.

Robson was loved by Newcastle fans and football supporters around the country as an elder statesman of the beautiful game, just as the excesses of the newly-wealthy Premier League were causing concern.

His best man and fellow ex-Fulham player Tom Wilson will speak about Robson’s time as a goal-scoring midfielder, good enough to play 20 times for England.

Finally, cancer specialist Dr Ruth Plummer will talk about his inspiring decision to set up the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation which has raised around £1.8m (€2m) for research into early detection of the disease.

Robson died at home in County Durham in England aged 76 in July, having fought cancer five times.

Such was the affection felt for a genuine football man that his target of raising £500,0000 (€550,000) was met in just eight weeks.

In February, he was proud to officially open a cancer trials centre at the Freeman Hospital, Newcastle, and he said then he wanted that to be his legacy.

Welsh soprano Katherine Jenkins will sing, and a special rendition of Nessun Dorma by Tenors Unlimited will provide a reminder of the 1990 World Cup in Italy.

Robson was survived by his wife Lady Elsie and three sons, Paul, Andrew and Mark, and the family held a private funeral service last month.