Michael Robinson: goodbye to a true great
MICHAEL ROBINSON: Who was Michael Robinson and why will Spain remember him forever?
A British man admired and recognized in Spain? It sounds difficult, but Michael Robinson did make it possible, with a charisma and a grace that captured the attention of all sports lovers and made us want to hear more of his leisurely arguments with a Spanishized British accent.
There are those who remember him most for his journalistic career, and others who remember the great goals he scored as a striker for Preston North End, Manchester City, Liverpool or for C.To Osasuna, and many more.
A regrettable knee injury was enough to force him to leave the field professionally, but not our lives. There he was in "The Day After", in "Robinson Report" and commenting for La Liga -among many other spaces- in his new role as sports commentator, presenter and interviewer, with a focus on Spain that for the rest of history will remain in the memory of an entire nation.
The talent and professionalism that characterized him from head to toe is undeniable, but also a kindness and innocence that is even touching, and even more if you find out that Michael, upon receiving the news that they wanted to sign him for the c.To Osasuna, he accepted without even knowing that Osasuna was literally not a place to arrive. This is how Robinson himself recounted it: “My wife and I looked for Osasuna on the map and it did not appear. I thought that Osasuna was a place. I believed it even when I was already training with them”. "What is Osasuna like?" Michael wondered then, but his wife Christine knew how to jokingly answer with the truth: "Osasuna doesn't exist, Michael; that's the team name. The place is called Pamplona”. (The Country, 2012)
Michael Robinson was born in Leicester on July 12, 1958, but his childhood lived in the coastal city of Blackpool. His sports career began in the lower categories of Coventry City. At the age of 21 he signed for Manchester City and soon after joined Liverpool… A dream come true for Robinson! But it was in 1987 that he transferred to Osasuna C.F. and arrives in Spain, a country with which he would fall in love completely.
“When I arrived in Spain I just said hello, goodbye, thank you, beer and counted to five,” Robinson confessed.
He later decided to retire in 1989 due to knee injuries, and soon after began his highly successful television career, joining the television program "El día Después” and coming to create his own program later in 2007, which he called “Robinson Report” and its radio counterpart “Acento Robinson”. With various awards and countless recognitions for his work in the sports world, Michael had to face, however, an unfortunate and harsh reality that led him to fight one of his most difficult battles...
WHAT OTHER PROJECTS DID ROBINSON PARTICIPATE IN?
Outside the world of journalism and sports, Robinson's highly recognized face has led him to collaborate on other projects. In 1990 he was the face of the PC football sports management video game. Did you know his character doubler facet? Sure not! The exfutbolista was the voice of Shrek 2 and Shrek the third playing the character of Doris.
On the other hand, he was named adoptive son of the city of Cádiz in 2018 due to his love for Cádiz CF. Among other of his sporting passions was rugby and he got Canal+ to broadcast the Five Nations Tournament when this sport was hardly known in Spain. In this way, he inaugurated the Super Ibérica de Rugby in 2008, a professional rugby league at 15 of which only one season could be held.
In December 2018, Michael Robinson announced during an interview on "La Ventana" (Cadena SER) that he had been diagnosed with Melanoma. “I thought it was a nightmare, that it wasn't real,” he told the audience very calmly. "I would have preferred not to have this battle, but given the circumstances, and it is what it is and I have it, I am really up for the work, I am really up for the fight, and I am learning from myself," continued Robinson, who managed to contain the disease by months, maintaining his presence as the presenter of his sports journalism space on Movistar+ until his last days.
Michael Robinson finally passed away from this disease at the age of 61 on April 28.
Robinson married Christine and they had two children Liam and Aimee. During his illness they were the greatest support for him. His children have studied in England and Scotland but his real home is in Spain. His son Liam inherited his love for rugby from his father and played this sport for a while in La Moraleja. Instead, he now works at his father's audiovisual production company: Robinson Productions. On the other hand, Aimee studied advertising and is dedicated to giving yoga classes.
His great work was awarded two Ondas Awards (1992 and 2009) and the Manuel Vázquez Montalbán International Journalism Award (2017), and he will be forever remembered internationally and as the voice of football in Spain.
CHRONOLOGY OF MICHAEL ROBINSON'S FOOTBALL CAREER
*Excluding friendly matches
Preston North End (1975-1979)
Games: 48
Total goals: 15
Manchester City (1979-1980)
Games: 30
Total goals: 8
Brighton & Hove Albion (1980-1983)
Caps: 113
Total Goals: 37
Liverpool F.C (1983-1985)
Games: 38
Total Goals: 8
Q.PR (1984-1987)
Games: 45
Total Goals: 6
C.To Osasuna 1987-1989
Matches: 59
Total Goals: 12
In addition, Robinson played internationally in Ireland, with 24 appearances and 4 goals signed as an Irishman by descent from his mother.
JOURNALISTIC CAREER OF MICHAEL ROBINSON
Spanish Television (1989)
Commentator for matches in the English First Division.
Team of narrators for the 1990 Soccer World Cup.
Screesport (Sky Television)
Director.
Canal+ España
La Liga commentator.
El Larguero (Cadena SER)
Collaborator.
The day after (Canal +)
Sports analyst, 1991-2005.
Maracaná 05
Sports analyst (He leaves the program for personal reasons and editorial discrepancies)
Robinson Report (Canal+) 2007
Presenter and sports reporter.
Robinson Accent (Chain SER)
Variant of ‘Robinson Report’ for radio.
Televisa Deportes
Analyst during the 2014 Soccer World Cup.
Robinson was for years the main commentator for Ser and Canal+
Michael Robinson gave his last appearance as a commentator in the Liverpool vs Atlético de Madrid match on March 11 at Anfield, in the Champions League round of 16 match.
