Former Nottingham Forest And Scotland striker John Robertson died aged 72 on Christmas Day after a long illness.
Robertson, who began and ended his career at the City Ground either side of local rivals Derby, was instrumental in Forest's European Cup victories in 1979 and 1980.
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Robertson crossed for Trevor Francis to head home the only goal against Swedish side Malmo in Munich. Brian CloughThe Russian team won the European Cup for the first time.
And 12 months later Robertson scored another 1-0 win as Forest successfully defended their European crown against Hamburg in Madrid.
A statement from Robertson's family, sent through Nottingham Forest, said: “It is with great pain and sadness that we announce the passing of our wonderful husband, father and grandfather.
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John Robertson was a two-time European Cup winner with Nottingham Forest (Getty Images)
“John passed away peacefully on Christmas morning with his wife and family by his side after a long illness.
“Our only consolation in our grief is that his struggle is over and he is reunited with his daughter Jessica.
“Many people valued Robbo as a football hero, but to us he was just John and Dad, a family man… kind, loving, witty, funny and loyal.
“Although our hearts are broken, we will always be grateful for the years we were privileged to share with him and the amazing memories we made. We will miss him every day and love him always.”
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Robertson's Forest teammate Peter Shilton wrote on X: “Absolutely shocked by the news of our NFFC wonder man Robbo, reunion will never be the same, condolences to the family. I have so many wonderful memories with this great man on and off the field.”
During his five-year international career, Robertson made 28 appearances for Scotland, including selection for the 1978 and 1982 World Cups.
Following his playing career, he worked under former Forest teammate Martin O'Neill at Wycombe, Norwich, Leicester, Celtic and Aston Villa.
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Stan Collymore, who played for Forest and worked under Robertson at Leicester, paid tribute in a lengthy post on X.
He wrote: “My heart is incredibly heavy to hear of the passing of John Robertson, Forest's greatest ever player, my coach at Leicester and one of the finest and kindest people I have ever met.
“At Leicester with Martin O'Neill, he knew about my problems and problems and instead, like many who mocked them, he literally hugged me, said words of sympathy and kindness and genuinely supported me.”
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Former Celtic midfielder Alan Thompson wrote on X: “Just heard the devastating news delivered by my former Celtic assistant manager John Robertson today. Thoughts are with his beautiful family and thoughts and prayers are with them all.”
His former Celtic team-mate Chris Sutton wrote on social media: “John was an incredible player, a genius, a legend, a witty, funny man, a great friend and mentor to me and will be greatly missed by us all.”
Forest paid tribute to “a true great member of our club” who will “never be forgotten” before signing off his statement with the words: “RIP Robbo… Our greatest.”
Scotland, Derby, Celtic, Aston Villa and Wycombe also posted tributes on social media.
