Read Sir Alex's tribute to Sir Bobby in full

I was there as a Scotland fan, stood on the terraces by the corner flag, and I remember Tom Finney playing as an outside-left against Alex Parker, who was a very good full-back.

On one occasion, Finney got the better of Parker, took the ball to the byline and cut it back across the box for Bobby, who hammered it into the roof of the net from 16 yards out. In those days you didn’t have players jumping on top of each other when they scored, and Bobby just jogged back to the halfway line with a couple of slaps on the back from his team-mates.

But the Scottish keeper sprinted out of his goal 40 yards to congratulate him, not just because it was a great goal, but also because of what Bobby had been through.

Everyone in the stadium that day could see there was a bit of magic about him, but also some steel.

The personal connection between us began almost three decades later, when I was manager of Aberdeen, and Bobby was a director of Manchester United when they were looking for a new manager.

The directors came to meet me in Glasgow and asked what my vision was for the job. I said I would take the same approach I had at Aberdeen, by looking to build up the whole club, not just the team, and that I would do that by developing young players.

As I was explaining this, I saw Bobby nudge one of the other directors and he said, “that’s what we want”. He’d made his mind up. From that moment on he was a tower of strength for me.

There was a terrible period in 1989 when we were really struggling, and there were all sorts of rumours about my future; but Bobby would not let the club even think about sacking me because he could see the work going on to lay the foundations for success.

He would come with me to youth-team games and even trials. On one occasion I told him he had to come and see a boy called Ryan Wilson, before he changed his name to Giggs.

We were 50 yards away from the pitch where these triallists were playing and, straight away, Bobby said, “I see him!” He took so much pleasure seeing a new generation of young players come through like he had, and his presence around the club was an inspiration.

A lot of people thought of Bobby as being a very serious figure but when you got to know him, he was very warm and kind. He and I would often travel to games together and spend whole journeys talking about football.

I used to argue that the best Scottish team of all time would beat the best English one, and he would laugh his head off and tell me I was mad. I’d tease him about the time he missed a penalty for England against Scotland in 1960, but he had a good record against Scotland, so he always had something to throw back at me.

It was a real friendship that I came to cherish.

One of my favourite memories is a charity match organised by Luis Figo in Portugal, when I was invited to manage Figo’s team, and I took Bobby as a player at the age of 67.

The racing driver Michael Schumacher was playing and there was an agreement that he had to stay on for the whole 90 minutes. I made seven changes at half-time and then another early in the second half, leaving Bobby as the only unused sub.

He was in my ear telling me to put him on but the only player other than Schumacher who I could take off was Figo, in his own match! Eventually I gave in, and the board went up showing Figo’s number.

There was a gasp from the crowd and Figo came off and gave me a look. But then Bobby goes on and plays absolutely fantastically. Figo turns around to me on the bench and says, “there’s no way he’s 67, he plays like he’s 27”.

All the way home to Manchester, Bobby was complaining to me about not getting enough time on the pitch! That just sums up the enthusiasm he had for football.

It’s no surprise to me that we’ve seen tributes to Sir Bobby from everywhere in the world, on every TV channel and in every newspaper, because he was without question the greatest English player of all time.

People loved him because of all those thunderbolt goals but it was more than that. My dad used to say that humility in success is a sign of greatness, and that was Bobby.

He never used to boast about his own achievements; it was always about the team and the club.

I am so sorry for Lady Norma, who was always by Bobby’s side, especially as his health declined, and my thoughts have been with the whole family these past few days.

Unfortunately, I have also suffered the painful loss of my beloved wife, Cathy, this month, and I want to thank the club, the fans, and everyone who has sent me their condolences.

The black armbands worn by the team against Brentford, and the flags at half-mast around Old Trafford were a wonderful tribute. Cathy supported me every step of the way through my career, and she was the backbone of our family.

At such a sad time, there is tremendous comfort to be found in being part of the Manchester United community and we’ve all felt that spirit this week.

We’re continuing to mourn for Bobby’s loss, but as we look forward to the derby this afternoon, let’s also celebrate the many wonderful memories he has blessed us with and be inspired by the example he set.

This tribute was first published in Sunday's Manchester derby edition of United Review, our official matchday programme.