George Best: Original playboy footballer, the ‘fifth Beatle’ and Manchester United legend
Iconic star was one of the most skilful players ever but after a long struggle with alcoholism he died in 2005, aged 59
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THOUGH he never played in a World Cup, or even a European Championship, George Best is still rightly regarded as one of the finest, most skilful players to ever grace a football field.
Spotted as a 15-year-old playing in his native Northern Ireland, Best signed for Manchester United and went to play 470 games for the Red Devils, scoring 179 goals and winning two league titles and, famously, the European Cup in 1968.
But it was his hedonistic lifestyle that all too often saw his name move from the back pages to the front pages and after a lifelong struggle with alcoholism he died in 2005, aged 59.
“They'll forget all the rubbish when I've gone and they'll remember the football,” he reflected.
“If only one person thinks I'm the best player in the world, that's good enough for me.”
He was the original playboy footballer…
"I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered."
It’s one of George Best’s most famous quotes but it perfectly encapsulated his attitude to life.
Dubbed the ‘fifth Beatle’, Best used his wealth and celebrity to pursue a lifestyle that saw him open his own nightclubs, restaurants and clothes shops.
He also appeared in films and even made a fitness album with former Miss World Marie Stavin called Shape Up and Dance, although he was probably more interested in the latter rather than the former to be fair.
He was tough as old boots…
He may have had a slight frame and movie star looks but Best was remarkably resilient in the face of some truly brutal opposition.
Unable to get the ball off him, defenders would often resort to just hacking him down instead.
Not that it always worked.
“It seems impossible to hurt him,” said the Manchester City manager Joe Mercer.
“All manner of men have tried to intimidate him. Best merely glides along, riding tackles and brushing giants aside like leaves.”
Talking of Miss World…
"I used to go missing a lot,” he once admitted. “Miss Canada, Miss United Kingdom, Miss World...”
He was one of the game’s true greats…
Says who?
Pele, that’s who.
The three-time World Cup winner called Best “the greatest player in the world” and even Best was humbled.
“That is the ultimate salute to my life,” he said.
But he was scathing about some other ‘stars’…
Best wasn’t backward in coming forward when asked for his opinions on other players.
In the 1970s he described Kevin Keegan as “an average player who came into the game when it was short of personalities” while, more recently, he gave his assessment of the former England skipper, David Beckham.
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"He cannot kick with his left foot, he cannot head a ball, he cannot tackle and he doesn't score many goals,” he said. “Apart from that he's all right.”
He made a new life in the USA…
When he moved to the North American Soccer League in the 1970s Best found the way of life to his liking and the game too.
He would play for the LA Aztecs, Fort Lauderdale Striker and the San Jose Earthquakes.
It was for the latter that he scored one of the greatest goals of his career.
In a game against his former club, the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, Best picked the ball up 40 yards from goal and then set on a mesmerising run that saw him leave defender after defender in his wake before slamming the ball into the back of the net.
But scoring spectacular goals wasn’t enough for him…
There wasn’t anything that George Best couldn’t do with a football.
In fact, sometimes he got a bit bored with just how good he was.
BACK IN THE JAY So good they named him twice.. we remember the great Jay-Jay Okocha
“I used to dream about taking the ball round the keeper, stopping it on the line and then getting on my hands and knees and heading it into the net,” he once said.
“When I scored against Benfica in the 1968 European Cup final I nearly did it.
"I left the keeper for dead but then I chickened out. I might have given the boss a heart attack!”
The bottle got the better of him…
Best’s longstanding drink problem may have seen his life cut short at just 59 but his battle with the bottle was something he always faced with honesty and humour.
When he was jailed for drink driving in 1984 he shrugged: “Well I suppose that’s the knighthood f*****!”
But he knew he had a problem…
“I was born with a great gift, and sometimes with that comes a destructive streak,” he admitted.
“Just as I wanted to outdo everyone when I played, I had to outdo everyone when we were out on the town.”
Later, when he was asked if he’d considered seeking help, he was typically upfront.
“I might go to Alcoholics Anonymous,” he said, “but I think it would be difficult for me to remain anonymous.
And he always had an eye for the ladies…
"If you'd given me the choice of going out and beating four men and smashing a goal in from thirty yards against Liverpool or going to bed with Miss World, it would have been a difficult choice” said Best.
“Luckily, I had both.”
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Yes, George Best somehow managed to maintain a professional football career despite his wandering eye and his perpetual thirst.
Besides he did try to clean up his ways.
“In 1969 I gave up women and alcohol,” he recalled. “It was the worst 20 minutes of my life.”