Sir Bobby Charlton, England and Manchester United's all-time record goalscorer, celebrates his 75th birthday today.
A member of United's famed Busby Babes, Charlton overcame the trauma of surviving the 1958 Munich air disaster when eight of his team-mates perished to win the European Cup with the club a decade later.
Two years before that, he scored three goals en route to England's 1966 World Cup triumph on home soil, playing in the same XI as big brother Jack.
In addition to those two triumphs, he won three league titles with United and an FA Cup in 1963. Charlton was also awarded the Golden Ball at the 1966 finals and became the second English winner of the Ballon d'Or in the same year, a decade after Sir Stanley Matthews won it.
When Liverpool and United met three weeks ago to pay tribute to the victims of the Hillsborough atrocity, Charlton's presence as United's on-pitch representative was as unsurprising as it was fitting. One Chelsea fan bemoaned that his club's representative at the 2008 Champions League final during the medals ceremony was the loathed Peter Kenyon, whereas United's was Charlton.
A tremendous ambassador for English football for decades, Sir Bobby's presence continues to transcend rivalries at home and abroad.
And he still had it aged 68...