Michael Robinson's most memorable quotes
Micheal Robinson (1958-2020) made a name for himself as one of Spain's funniest, insightful and most respected footballing broadcasters. Here are some of his most memorable quotes.
“I have managed to speak neither of the two languages well”
Michael Robinson, speaking in Spanish with his thick English accent that he never lost, jokes about his level of Spanish and English.
"Cancer may kill me, but what it is not going to do is kill me every day."
His optimistic and courageous words following his advanced-stage melanoma diagnosis in 2018. Doctors had told him there was no cure.
"I am 60 years old and I have lived in Disneyland”
A grateful Robinson speaking of his life and career with Carles Francino on Spanish radio network Cadena Ser.
“When I came to Spain I could just say 'hello', 'goodbye', 'thanks', 'beer' and count to five.”´
The Leicester-born player arrived to Spain without a word of the language, but it was in Spanish that he went on to make a living for himself as one of the country’s most insightful, loved and funniest football pundits.
“My mother was the funniest woman I ever knew. After a year in Spain, I remember saying: ‘Hey, Mum, you had something going on with a Spaniard, right?'”
The Osasuna legend jokingly suggests that his passion for Spain may have been a result of his mother having a fling with a Spaniard.
“Drinking is very stigmatized. I had a drinking reputation when I was a player. But I never drank alcohol 54 hours before a game. Although it's true that I don't remember very well every Monday of my life.”
The Republic of Ireland international was a famed drinker at Osasuna, where he arrived in 1987.
“What caught my attention the most was that before we went out on the pitch, the team prayed. I knew we weren't very good but ...”
Robinson on his debut with Osasuna against Athletic Bilbao at San Memés.
"When they asked me to take a penalty in the final of the European Cup, I thought of my parents at home who would have been saying : ‘my son is going to mess it up.'" The ex-Liverpool player on the 1984 European Cup final in which the Reds beat Roma on penalties. Robinson, who came on in extra time, did not take a penalty in the end, perhaps much to the relief of his parents watching at home.
"Mourinho is like a sniper. I wouldn't want to call him a hitman, but one day he received a brown envelope with a lot of money and photos of those he had to take out”
Speaking of the former Real Madrid coach’s killer instincts.
"You leave the locker room, go down some stairs, go up another stairs and you're on the pitch. The last thing you see is ‘This is Anfield’. Everyone touched it, and then, the crowd sang ‘You'll never walk alone. I used to sing it to my heroes and now they were singing it to me. I get very excited every time I go.”
The life-long Liverpool fan on the incomparable feeling of stepping out at Anfield, where he played from 1983 to 1984 before signing for QPR.