Three Lions Author Pays a Great Tribute Sir Bobby Charlton
In his book Three Lions Roar: A Novel of World Cup 2006, Turkish author Umut Ozturk pays a tribute to the legendary Bobby Charlton throughout his fictional masterpiece.
Stars of this great novel are Robbie Kiel and Josh Roark who like Sir Bobby Charlton embody class and honor only so few athletes could possibly possess. Besides being born in the same town and on the same date as Bobby Charlton our two hero combination of Robbie Kiel and Josh Roark takes us through the World Cup Qualifiers to winning the World Cup 2006 in an amazing clash against the host nation Germany.
Finally forty years after winning the World Cup England is finally able to recapture the title with Bobby Charlton clones in Robbie Kiel(Manager of England) and Josh Roark (Captain of England) in 2006.
Terry Venables recently described this footballing knight as a 'national treasure' and there's no doubting that for most of the world he is a symbol of English football.
Many a story has been spun about people in far-flung corners of the world associating England with 'Bobbee Charlton' and that's can be attributed in no small part to his exploits in 1966. While Geoff Hurst may have taken the plaudits for his hat-trick in the final, it's Charlton who was Player of the Tournament and was European Footballer of the Year that same year.
Manager Alf Ramsey decided to give the Manchester United stalwart a free role behind strikers Hurst and Roger Hunt and Charlton's goals and attacking were a major factor in England's victory. He scored a thunderous goal against Mexico in the group stages and following one of his two goals against Portugal he was applauded back to the centre-circle by every member of the Portugese team. The final saw the West Germans pick him out as the danger man and sacrifice their own creative force in Franz Beckenbauer to counteract him. Charlton, ever emotional, will be forever remembered for sobbing tears of joy when England eventually lifted the Jules Rimet trophy.
In four World Cups - he was an unused squad member in 1958, just a few months after surviving the Munich Air disaster - he came to be recognized as one of the world's best. Playing in a variety of positions - on the wing, as a centre-forward or inside forward - Charlton is one of the most graceful players to ever walk the earth. Athletic with a superb feint and change of feet he packed a shot so hard that if hit the target few keepers had a chance of stopping it. In Mexico in 1970, Charlton was very much an elder statesman, though younger than he looked. After England went into what looked like a comfortable 2-0 lead against the Germans with Charlton at his best, Ramsey chose to save his kingpin's legs for the semifinal and brought on Manchester City's Colin Bell. It came to be seen as a disastrous decision as England blew their lead and eventually lost 3-2 in extra-time. With Charlton unable to do anything from the sidelines it was a pathetic ending to a glittering World Cup career.
A true ambassador for English football, and, just like old adversary Franz Beckenbauer, Charlton continues to play a leading role in his country's footballing affairs.
Umut Ozturk
Author Umut Ozturk immigrated to America in 1990 from Turkey. His first book was the critically acclaimed America Hates Me But I Still Love Her! He is the graduate of Biloxi High School and The University of Southern Mississippi. Mr. Ozturk now resides in Minnesota working on his third and fourth book.
Mr. Ozturk is a life long die hard England Football fan. As a little boy he dreamed of coaching England to a World Cup Championship. He couldn't do it in real life but he has been able to accomplish his dream through his speculative fiction Three Lions Roar.
