MUNICH AIR DISASTER CHANGED MY LIFE: BOBBY CHARLTON

London: England and Manchester United legend Bobby Charlton says the Munich air disaster that claimed the lives of so many of his young teammates in 1958 changed his life.

Charlton, a pivotal figure in England’s 1966 World Cup triumph, lost several close friends in the crash, which killed 23 of the 44 passengers and crew as United returned from a European Cup match in Belgrade.

Among those who died were seven of the precociously talented young United side nicknamed the “Busby Babes” after the manager Matt Busby, who suffered such grievous injuries he was given the last rites twice.

“Yup it changed my life,” a visibly emotional Charlton told the BBC in a documentary marking his upcoming 80th birthday.

Charlton, who had been a member of the side that had won the league title in the preceding season, said he had wondered why he had survived and close friends such as Duncan Edwards had not.

“You think to yourself ‘why should it be me?’” said Charlton, who turns 80 on October 11. “There again, I was lucky, I was just lucky I happened to sit in the right place.

“We never got off the floor. We ran into a house and ran into I think a few other obstacles (the plane was trying to take off for the third time in terrible weather conditions) and it was just a nightmare.”

Charlton, who scored twice in the 1968 European Cup triumph over Benfica — the first time an English club had lifted the trophy — said he had had to be sedated once he reached the hospital. “When we got to the hospital I started ranting and raving,” said Charlton.

“I just didn’t understand. The medical people came around and gave me an injection in the back of my neck and I just collapsed.”

— AFP