George Best - Manchester United Legend

George Best Stats
Full Name	George Best
Birthplace	Belfast, Northern Ireland
Height	170cm (5ft 7ins)
Date of Birth	22/05/1946
Date of Death	25/11/2005
Position	Winger
Leaugue Club Football
Club		Apps	Goals
Manchester United (1963-1974)		470	179
Dunstable Town (1974-75 Loan)	5	0
Stockport County(1975-76)	3	2
Cork City (1975-76)		3	0
L.A. Aztecs (1977-78)	32	12
Fort Lauredale Strikers (1978-79)	28	6
Hibs (1979-81)		17	3
San Jose Earthquakes (1980-82)	56	21
Bournmouth (1982-83)	5	0
Brisbane Lions (1983)	4	0
Total		633	236
International Football
Northern Ireland (1964-77)		37	9

Introduction
George Best is one of the most colourful characters to have played the beautiful game, and was once described by footballing legend Pele as the greatest footballer the world had ever seen.

Best made 470 competitive appearances for Manchester United and scored a breathtaking 179 goals, which was remarkable feat for a non-striker. In addition to his goalscoring exploits, Best won two League Championships winners medals and the European Cup in 1968, as well as being voted European Footballer of the year in the same season.

On 7 February 1970 George Best broke the Manchester United goals scored in a single game record, which still stands today, when he netted an incredible six times in The Reds 8-2 F.A. Cup 5th round victory over Northampton Town.

George Best was capped 37 times by Northern Ireland and is probably the greatest player never had to have played at a major international tournament.

When he left Manchester United in 1974 aged just 27, he turned into a somewhat nomadic figure as he went on to play for an incredible 10 different teams in 9 years as he took his footballing talents to Scotland, Ireland, U.S.A. and even Australia.

In later years Best turned more and more to alcohol and in 2005 this affliction got the better of him as he died on 25 November of a kidney infection, which was put down to a complication due to the anti-rejection medication he was taking after a life-saving liver transplant.

George Best - Manchester United Career
In 1961 aged just 15 George Best was discovered in his hometown of Belfast by United scout Bob Bishop, who described the young winger as a genius in a telegram to managerMatt Busby. Best was quickly given a trial and immediately signed for the club.

After two years in the youth team, this burgeoning talent could no longer be held back, and on 14 September 1963 in a 1-0 First Division victory over West Bromwich Albion he was given his debut. Although the young Irishman was now chomping at the bit his second game for the club didn't come until 28 December 1963, when he scored his first goal for the club in a 5-1 League victory over Burnley, quite bizzarely United were hammered 6-1 by the same rvials two days earlier at Turf Moor.

That season also saw Best make his European Cup debut, doing so on 26 February 1964 in a 4-1 drubbing of Sporting Lisbon in the 3rd round, 1st leg - although Manchester United won the first leg emphatically, they were astonishingly knocked out, after losing the second 5-0. In his fledgling season George Best made 26 League and cup appearances, scoring six goals.

The following season (1964-65)George Best established himself in the Manchester United team, as he began to give opposing defenders the most torrid of times, with his magestic body swerves and jinking runs into the box. The player appeared in 41 of United's 42 League games as his ten goals helped the club win the League title.

It is probably fair to say that the 1965-66 campaign was where George Best's status went through the roof. The League triumph in the previous season meant that Best would get to play on the stage that everyone at the club knew he was destined for, the European Cup.

In the second round of the 1965-66 European Cup Manchester United were given the un-enviable task of overcoming Portuguese giants Benfica, who had reached the final in four of the previous 5 seasons, winning it twice. In an exciting first leg encounter at Old Trafford, The Reds ran out 3-2 winners. Five weeks later on 9 March 1966 United were prepared for the second leg, to be played at the fortress known as Lisbon's Stadium of Light. Although George Best and his teammates had won the first leg, they were given little hope of reaching the semi-finals, such was Benfica's domination on home soil. Before the match their European Cup home record read played 19, won 18, drawn 1, lost 0, for 78, against 11.

George Best Tribute

In an amazing match, Manchester United and in particular Geroge Best attacked the 'invincibles' of Benfica right from the start, with The Reds sweeping into a 2-0 lead with two goals by Best, one with his head - after he beat the Benfica goalkeeper to the ball - and another with a beautifual solo effort. Against all perceived odds United lead 3-1 at half time, after John Connelly had netted the third.

In the second half United didn't let up and added two more goals through Paddy Crerand and Bobby Charlton. The game finished 5-1 to Manchester United, with George Best becaming the most sought after player in Europe and such was his performance he was dubbed 'El Beatle' by the Portuguese press.

In the next round Manchester United were awarded with a tricky tie against Yugoslavian champions Partizan, but after The Reds' talisman, George Best had been injured, they were knocked out 2-1 on aggregate after losing the first leg 2-0 in Belgrade.

The following season Besty played in every single of Manchester United's League matches as they lifted the title for the second time in three years. This latest triumph meant the club would get a tilt at the European Cup once more.

If the 1965-66 catapulted George Best into the highest echelons of European football it was the 1967-68 season, which meant he would stay their for all eternity. In an outstanding League campaign in which Manchester United finished runners-up to neighbours City, Best scored a magnifcent 28 goals in 41 appearances. Despite the pain of losing the championship to their fierce rivals, The Reds knew they had bigger fish to fry, in the European Cup.

Just four days after losing out in the League, Manchester United took on the legends of Real Madrid in the semi-final, second leg of the European Cup at the Santiago Burnabeu. United went into the game with a slim 1-0 lead courtesy of George Best. However after The Reds trailed 3-1 at half-time, the writing looked to be won the wall, but after a rousing teamtalk by Matt Busby at the change around United came out for the second half in buoyant mood and after an own goal, and a priceless Bill Foulkes effort, Manchester United managed to scrape a 3-3 draw, which put them through to the European Cup final for the first time with a 4-3 aggregate victory over their Spanish rivals.

Two weeks later on warm spring night George Best and his Manchester United team mates took on the might of Eusebio and Benfica in the Wembley final. After Bobby Charlton's rare headed goal had been cancelled out by midfielder Jaime Graca, the match went into extra-time. Just three minutes after the restart, Best latched onto a Brian Kidd knockdown, from a long Alex Stepney clearance, nutmegged the last defender on the edge of the Benfica box, rounded goalkeeper Henrique before before "simply walking the ball into the net". Just a minute later Kidd added a second and Charlton put the icing on the cake six minutes after that with a delightful fourth. A George Best inspired performace helped Manchester United quell the anguish of the Munich Air Disaster, as the club won their first European Cup in their illustrious history. A memorable season for George Best was capped off when he became the first Northern Irishman to win the European Footbaler of the Year, which was awarded on part by his exploits in the European Cup.

After the Cup triumph of 1968, although Best still enjoyed prolofic goalscoring campaigns, averaging 22 goals per season between 1969 and 1972 Manchester United's team began to faulter in the League and it was at this point that Best seemed to become disillusioned with life at Old Trafford, he famously walked out on the club 1972 and although he did come back to the club in 1973 that was really the begenning of the end for the player and he finally quit the club in January 1974 at just 27 years of age.

George Best - Life After Manchester United
After he left Manchester United in 1974 George Best returned to action, playing for Second Division Fulham in 1976-77, still only aged 29, although he was noticebly heavier than he was when at his peak with United, it was clear he had not lost any of his mesmorosing skills, finishing the season with six goals in thirty-two matches.

Intermitantly George Best played in the USA between 1976 and 1981, taking in spells at L.A. Aztecs, Fort Lauredale Strikers and San Jose Earthquakes. In total he made 139 Stateside appearances, scoring 54 goals.

George Best skills were seen at a number of clubs, before his retirement in 1983, including Third Division Bournmouth and Austarlia's Brisbane Lions.

George Best - Northern Ireland
George Best was capped 37 by Northern Ireland, scoring 9 goals. Despite his glitering club career with Manchester United his international team was unable to make a big enough impact on the interantional scene as they failed to reach the final stages of any major tournament during the winger's time. Some people say that Geroge Best is the greastest ever player never to have played in a major international tournament.

Geroge Best made his Northern Ireland debut aged just 18 years old on 7 April 1964 alongside Pat Jennings in a 3-2 victory over Wales in the British Home Championship at Swansea's Vetch Field.

George Best Honours

Manchester United
Football League: 1965, 1967
European Cup: 1968

George Best Personal Honours

European Footballer of the Year: 1968
Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year: 1968
Freeman of Castlereagh: 2002
Inaugural inductee into the English Football Hall of Fame: 2002
Honorary doctorate from Queen's University Belfast: 2001
PFA Special Merit Award, for his services to football: 2006

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