A tribute to Manchester United’s legend
Good, Better, Best …..your grammar teacher would go when explaining comparatives and superlatives.
Years later, when the bug of football bites you, the true meaning dawns on you. From the early ’60s to the early ’70s, like always, there were many good footballers and then there was Best ……George Best.
Grammar, for once, is clear, crystal clear.
Born in Belfast in 1946, the gifted Irish boy played rugby and football at school. His local club Glentoran tested him and found him “too small and light.”
How George Best was scouted for Manchester United
In 1961, a Manchester United scout, scouring around, spotted Best. Bob Bishop, a United scout covering Northern Ireland, was an affable guy with an uncanny eye for talent. He would visit Belfast every week and get some youngsters together to watch them play. Bishop, as he was known, would, in his gentle ways, guide the boys while he kept an eye on them.
On one of his visits, he spotted Best, the raw talent, and his telegram back to the manager, Matt Busby, was to become a part of the folklore at Manchester United. “I have found you a genius,” wrote Bishop, and how true that turned out to be!
Recruited by Busby and allowed to train with the team, Best found his calling. In September 1963, he made his debut in the First Division at the age of 17 against West Brom. United won 1-0. He then went to spend some time on the bench, playing on and off. At the end of the season, he had played around 20 matches, and United finished second behind Liverpool.
Best announced himself to the world at the European Cup in 1966.
Benfica learn “How good was George Best”
The first leg of the European Cup quarter-final was hosted by Benfica at the iconic Estádio da Luz. United were facing one of the great European sides, with the likes of Eusébio in the team.
The Red Devils had an equally impressive line-up with Denis Law and Bobby Charlton in their ranks.
Matt Busby, the manager, was very clear with his orders. Stay cautious, hang on in the hope of wearing the opponent down and maybe grab a goal or a draw.
When someone is destined to be a great, things happen. The 19-year-old George Best seemed to have heard nothing of the game plan. He put in one of his finest performances in the noisy Stadium of Light to give the Manchester United fans and historians a night to remember.
In the fifth minute, he soared into the air and nodded home past a diving Benfica goalkeeper Costa Pereira to give United an early lead. The Portuguese were stunned and silence descended on the stadium. Little did they know that Best was not yet done.
A few minutes later, he collected a flick just inside the Benfica half. In a flash, he was running at the Benfica defence, and as the line watched in awe, he cut through them and pounded the ball into the net. He had sliced through one of the finest defensive lines of the time with ridiculous ease.
United never stepped back after that and by the end of it all, they had thrashed a stunned Benfica team by five goals to one (with Benfica’s only goal coming from an own goal). Best was in his element throughout the match as the Portuguese struggled to handle him and his bag of tricks. Dinks, dribbles, lay-offs and stunning twists and turns were all unleashed as the world watched a prodigy arriving in style.
George Best, the genius, had announced himself on the world stage. Matt Busby, who had advised caution, could not have believed what he was seeing. In a post-match comment, he said:
“Our plan was to be cautious, but thankfully somebody must have stuffed cotton wool in George’s ears.”
George Best went on to gift the football world, and the United faithful, many more memorable moments. The whirlwind in Lisbon and six goals on his own in an 8-2 annihilation of Nottingham Forest are all gilt-edged gifts to the history of the glorious game of football.
In his ten-odd years at United, he won two First Division titles and a European Cup. He won the Ballon d’Or in 1968. But more than all that, it was the aura that Best carried that made him a legend and found him a place in the Holy Trinity, whose statues welcome the Red Devils’ fans at their home fortress.
The fall from grace of George Best
In a twist of fate, despite his talent and tricks, there was a villain lurking in the background. It was his addiction to alcohol that brought him down; he could not fight the urge, and it took him down a destructive spiral. He faded away and got into the news for all the wrong reasons. He left Manchester United and played for a number of clubs before finally retiring in 1983.
One of Manchester United’s Holy Trinity passes away…
In 2005, after a long battle with alcohol-related ailments, Best passed away, not before gifting the footballing world a sparkling bag of memories.
Belfast’s favourite son was no more, but his legacy lives on forever. A statue in Windsor Park, a mural in his neighbourhood—Best lives on in Irish lore. Belfast’s airport bears his name: George Best Belfast City Airport.
Manchester United and the footballing world acknowledge his greatness.
Pelé called him the greatest footballer; Beckenbauer agreed, and all those who follow, write, and speak football will continue to debate his place among the game’s greats.
Pelé, Maradona, Johan Cruyff and George Best ….magicians all
A side story I read somewhere……
During the height of his battles with alcohol, Best, it was said, would stand up in one of those bars and wager a bet. He would bend his right foot back from the knee, keep a coin on the back of his foot, and, half drunk, flip it mesmerizingly over his shoulder and into his right pocket……it was always showtime with George.
