London, July 31 (DPA) Former England football manager Bobby Robson died Friday following a long battle with cancer.

He was 76, and had already beaten the disease four times. He died at his home at around 6.30 a.m.

A player for Ipswich Town, Fulham and West Bromwich Albion, he won 20 caps for England, but it was as a manager that he achieved his greatest success.

Taking over Ipswich in 1969, he led them to the FA Cup in 1978, and then to the UEFA Cup in 1981, an extraordinary achievement for a small-town club.

A statue of him stands outside Ipswich's Portman Road ground.

Always maintaining his belief in attacking football, Robson replaced Ron Greenwood as England manager in 1982.

It took Diego Maradona's Argentina in 1986 - the hand of God goal and then that brilliant jinking run - to eliminate England in the World Cup quarter-finals.

After three defeats out of three in the Euro 1988, Robson was savaged by the press, but retained his dignity and enthusiasm for the game throughout.

Despite the doubts, he then led England to the semi-final of the 1990 World Cup, where they lost on penalties to West Germany, still their best performance overseas.

He moved on to PSV Eindhoven, where he twice won the Dutch championship, and then went to Portugal with Sporting.