Welcome to the eighth in the "A Tribute To..." series. Today's tribute is to the man who was the first to cross from mere footballer to huge celebrity: George Best.
Best boasted the ideal image for the swinging 60s—young, handsome and talented. He was the first "pop-star" of football, and made as many headlines off the pitch as he did on it.
Born on May 22, 1946, Best was raised in Northern Ireland, and joined his first youth club at 14 years old. A year later he was spotted by a Manchester United scout, who said to then manager Matt Busby "I think I've found you a genius."
Best joined Manchester United's youth team that year, and soon started to impress. At this time, United were trying to re-build after the Munich Air Disaster, and Best was coming through the ranks.
In 1963, at 17 years of age, George Best found himself playing alongside the likes of Bobby Charlton as he made his debut for United, against West Bromwich Albion. It took just two weeks for the young Best to make a goalscoring impact, when he netted against Burnley.
16 more games followed for him that season, along with five more goals. Best had arrived, and his manager and fellow players could already he that he was something special.
His displays had also alerted Northern Ireland, and he was soon called up for international duty. It didn't take long for him to establish himself as an important first-team player.
He took this talent into his second season at Old Trafford, becoming a virtual shoe-in at just 18 years old. He played in 41 of United's 42 League games that season, his deceptive dribbling, lightning pace, and sharp-eye for a goal enabling him to score ten that season, and help Manchester United to the League Championship.
It was not only the first trophy George Best had won as a professional footballer, but the first Manchester United had won since the tragic demise of the Busby Babes.
Best was beginning to get noticed, not just in England and Northern Ireland, but throughout Europe. Impressive displays in the Cup Winners' Cup in his first season at United had already alerted some clubs to his talent, most famously Sporting Lisbon.
However, in 1966, Best was to return to Portugal, this time in the European Cup, as this time United faced Benfica. Here, United came up against one of the best strikers in the world—the great Eusebio.
At 20 years old, Best outshone Eusebio. In fact, Best outshone everyone else on the pitch. His mazy runs and hypnotic dribbles which the English public had been used to dazzled the Portuguese, and his two early goals led helped United to a 5-1 win.
They went on to lose in the semi-finals, somehow, to Partizan Belgrade, but Best had left his mark on Europe. The Portuguese press dubbed him "El Beatle" or "O Quinto Beatle" (the fifth Beatle), for his pop-star looks that wouldn't have looked out of place among Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr of the Beatles.
By now he was a superstar, and was almost single-handedly carrying a mediocre Northern Ireland team. Despite his individual genius, one man doesn't make a team, and Northern Ireland failed to make the 1966 World Cup.
3 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete