• Obituary: The genius with the rag tongue

Michael Robinson , one of the most popular faces of the last decades in Spanish football, has died this Tuesday at the age of 61 after a long battle with cancer. After a successful career at Liverpool and an early retirement in 1989 in Osasuna's shirt, due to a knee injury, Robinson made the leap to television, where he soon gained great fame for his carefree style.

The extreme seriousness of his illness, which he confirmed before the microphones in December 2018, did not stop Robinson's journalistic activity, who continued commenting on League and Champions games for Movistar Plus until the mandatory stop by Covid-19. From The Day After , the successful early 1990s show on Canal Plus, to the recent reports on the Robinson Report , Michael displayed a resounding talent as a communicator.

"I feel like a fraud, because I must be the only cancer patient who has put on weight," he commented with his usual sarcasm after starting treatment at a public hospital in Madrid. The distillation of this peculiar irony was his best way of approaching the viewer, either from the studio with Ignacio Lewin or from the stadium booth, next to Carlos Martínez .

Double 'red' in 1984

On the grass, Robinson was a center forward of those from before, a specialist in the aerial game and with little finesse in the movements. He gave his best years to Liverpool, the club of his heart, with whom in 1984 he won a historic double (European Cup and English league).

Two years later he signed for Osasuna, then chaired by the long-awaited Fermín Ezcurra, who that same season also incorporated Javier Aguirre . After an erratic start, Robinson began to stand out under Pedro Mari Zabalza and since January, only in the second round, he scored seven goals.

Serious knee injury

In the following season, helped by the landing of his compatriot Sammy Lee , the '9' became one of the idols for the El Sadar fans. However, a knee injury thwarted Robinson's plans, which led to his withdrawal in January 1989, at the same time that Lee suffered from another serious joint problem.

Robinson, born in the English city of Leicester, decided to play for the Irish national team thanks to the famous Granny Rule . In his 14 international matches between 1980 and 1986, under the orders of Eoin Hand and Jack Charlton , he scored four goals.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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