One of England's finest

Regarded as one of the greatest players to ever come out of England, Bobby Charlton emerged from a humble background as a miner's son to build an illustrious career both with his one and only club Manchester United as well as on the international stage.

Yet how different the story could have been had it not been for a piece of astonishing good fortune on a bitterly cold night in Munich in 1958.

The plane Charlton and his United teammates were returning home on after a match in Yugoslavia against Red Star Belgrade had made a stopover in the southern German city.

A rescue worker stands next to the debris of the plane that crashed after taking off from Munich airport 07 February 1958 during a snowstorm. On board were journalists, staff members and players from the football club of Manchester United returning home following their UEFA second leg match against Red Star from Belgrade. 21 people died in the tragedy, including eight players from the team.

But the runway was covered in snow and as the aircraft attempted to take off again it crashed and burst into flames, claiming the lives of eight of the legendary "Busby Babes".

Manchester United's forward Bobby Charlton rests in a hospital bed 08 February 1958 in Munich after being injured in a plane crash following takeoff from Munich airport, the night before during a snowstorm. On board were journalists, staff members and players from the football club of Manchester United returning home following their UEFA second leg match against Red Star from Belgrade. 21 people died in the tragedy, including eight players from the team. AFP PHOTO/INTERCONTINENTALE

Charlton, however, was able to scramble from the wreckage and later went on to become a lynchpin of the rebuilt United side, managed by another of the survivors, Matt Busby.

He made his international debut against Scotland in 1957, marking the occasion with a goal as England drubbed their rivals 4-0 in Glasgow.

Wembley success

After his first domestic success in 1957 when United won the League title, Charton had to wait until 1963 before touching more silverware, this time the FA Cup.

The 1966 World Cup in England was the perfect stage for Charlton to display his talent and he didn't disappoint, scoring key goals in England's successful drive to their first and only world title.

His renowned brother Jack was also in the same side playing in defence and the pair became national heroes as England defeated Franz Beckenbauer and West Germany 4-2 in the final.

To cap a wonderful year in 1966, Charlton also won the Ballon d'Or, to become European Footballer of the Year.

English soccer champion Bobby Charlton controls the ball, 05 December 1969 during a match in London. During his career Bobby Charlton won the World Cup and was European Gold Ball in 1966, three times England champion and European Champion Cup winner in 1968 with Manchester United.

At the heart of a Manchester United side that featured the Scottish genius Dennis Law as well as the fabulous Irishman George Best, Charlton was again instrumental in the club's historic success in the European Cup competition in 1968.

Impressive numbers

By the time he finally retired from the game in 1973 Charlton had played 752 matches for United, scoring 247 goals, and his 49 international strikes for England are a national record.

His career as a manager was modest with brief spells at the helm of Preston and Wigan, and Charlton returned to Manchester as a director in 1984.

Among his most emotional moments came in 1999 when he was in the stands to watch his beloved Manchester United complete a unique treble by defeating Bayern Munich 2-1 to win the European Cup, over 30 years after he had captained the winning side in the same tournament in 1968.

It was just reward for his contribution to the game that he received a knighthood in 1994 - making him Sir Robert.

English veteran soccer star Bobby Charlton poses with a jersey of the English team 22 March 1999 in front of a poster advertising England's candidacy for the 2006 soccer World Cup during a two-day visit to Tunis to defend his country's candidacy.

Charlton also played a key role in England's unsuccessful bid to host the 2006 World Cup.

German football star Franz Beckenbauer (L) shakes hands with English star Bobby Charlton during the preliminary drawing of the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan at the Tokyo International Forum hall 07 December 1999 as Germany will face against England at the preliminary round. (ELECTRONIC IMAGE) AFP PHOTO/Kzuhiro NOGI

Ironically, he lost that battle to his old adversary Franz Beckenbauer who was at the heart of Germany's successful campaign.