Nottingham Forest mourns the death of John Robertson, the winger who helped the club win two European Cups under Brian Clough.
FORMER Scotland winger and Nottingham Forest legend John Robertson has died at the age of 72.
The club announced the news on Thursday, describing him as a “true great” and a double European Cup winner.
Robertson joined Forest at 17 and initially struggled before manager Brian Clough moved him to the left wing.
Clough later wrote that his first impression was of “a scruffy, unfit, uninterested waste of time” but felt he was worth persevering with.
The winger became instrumental as Forest gained promotion, won the English league, and then secured two consecutive European Cups.
Clough famously called Robertson “the Picasso of our game” for his artistry with the ball.
Robertson provided the assist for Trevor Francis’s winning goal in the 1979 European Cup final against Malmo.
He then scored the only goal himself in the 1980 final against Hamburg, with Clough beforehand calling him “our fat little guy”.
He earned 28 caps for Scotland, playing in the 1978 and 1982 World Cups.
After leaving Forest for Derby County, he returned before ending his playing career in non-league football.
Robertson later worked as a coach under former teammate Martin O’Neill at several clubs including Celtic and Aston Villa.
