The Highs and Lows of George Best

“Maradona good, Pele better, George Best” - A famous quote from George Best's Funeral.

“Don’t die like me!” - Supposed final message from George Best

The two quotes above sum up what is probably one of the most complex men in football history. When Bob Bishop and Manchester United first discovered Best when he was fifteen, he telegrammed the then Manchester United manager Matt Busby: “I think I’ve found you a genius.”

How right he was. George Best made his Manchester United debut at age 17 and two weeks later had scored his first goal. In his first season at age 17, Best had already scored 6 goals and become the fan favourite.

By the time Best was aged 22, he had

1. Won 2 FA League Championships (1965 and 1967),
2. Won an UEFA European Cup (1968)
3. Become European footballer of the year (1968)
4. Become Football Writer’s Association Footballer of the year (1968)

By this time he had tormented defences all over Europe with the best football skills that same say have never been seen in England since. In one of the most memorable matches that he played in, he scored six goals in an 8-2 win for Manchester United against Northampton Town. Roy Fairfax, a Northampton player remarked later that “The closest I got to him was when we shook hands at the end of the game”.

After the 1968 football accolades the football genius started to show his weak side. He opened two nightclubs in Manchester in the late 1960’s and a few fashion boutiques and seemed to lose interest in football. He slowly became more interested in gambling, womanising and alcoholism.

All this seemingly high fun life mad him quit United in 1974 at age 27. He had scored 178 goals, was the United’s top scorer for 6 consecutive seasons and the fan favourite. His talent and showmanship made him the best in Manchester United History.

His football life after that was marked with a rapid decline, his night life having taken over. He was to play for Fulham and have a stint in the USA but he never regained his genius form. His time at Fulham is best remembered for one FA Cup game where he tackled his own team mate who was a drinking buddy.

His drinking habits became as legendary as his football skills. He was twice placed behind bars for drunk driving and was actually banned from driving for 20 months. He was loved by the media but his appearance on the BBC primetime chat show Wogan on September 1990, was probably one of his worst performances. He was clearly drunk and went ahead and told the host “Terry, I like screwing”.

In 2002, his alcoholism got the better of him and he had to get a liver transplant. However, he did not endear himself to many when despite his transplant he was seen publicly drinking alcohol. He continued to drink with his transplanted liver and on 3 October 2005, he was admitted to intensive care suffering from kidney problems. He passed away on 25 November 2005 after making the now famous final message: “Don’t die like me” from multiple organ failure and lung infection.

The FA league announced a minute’s silence to be observed before every game but fans went ahead and gave a minute’s applause to probably one of the best football players to grace the pitch. No one forgets a goal like he scored against England in 1971 completely taking Gordon Banks by surprise.

The legendary Pele probably summed it up best on a signed football,

“From the second best player in the world”.

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