50 years of George Best - The first superstar footballer

George Best in action for Manchester United, at Old Trafford in Manchester, 1964.

In the 1960s, a football genius burst onto the scene – he graced the world with his talent, dazzled it with his beauty, and was so far ahead of his time that he proved to be the forerunner of every modern day football superstar. He loved women, he loved life, but most of all, he loved to kick a football around. George Best was the first superstar footballer who was born to play football, and to mesmerise the world with his silky skills and pop-star looks.

Best’s love for the game became prominent while growing up in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was not long before his talent as a 15-year old boy was spotted by then Manchester United scout, Bob Bishop, who famously told then United manager Sir Matt Busby, “Boss, I think I’ve found you a genius.”

He was immediately called for trials at Old Trafford, and after fending off initial homesickness, the Irishman spent two years at Manchester United as an amateur. He then signed a professional contract with the club at the age of 17 in May 1963. Just days after Best signed his contract, as United were celebrating their FA Cup final victory over Leicester City, George’s father Dickie Best took Matt Busby to a quiet corner to reassure himself whether his son had what it takes to be a top level footballer. He told the United manager, “If George isn’t going to make it, I’d be grateful if you’d let me know within six months because I have a position held open for him back home in the printing trade.”

Sir Matt had full confidence in Best’s abilities and reassured Best senior that his son had a big future ahead in football. Four months later, Sir Matt’s moment, for which he was preparing the shy, skinny lad from Belfast since 1961, finally arrived – George Best made his United debut against West Bromwich Albion at Old Trafford. The rest, as they say, is history. Fifty years on from his debut at the big stage, his legacy continues to live strong in the hearts of everyone associated with the beautiful game.

When Best arrived at Old Trafford, Matt Busby was still under the process of rebuilding his team from the tragic air crash in Munich in 1958, and it was the stylish Irishman’s influx into the team upfront with Denis Law and Bobby Charlton that proved to be the brooding, swaggering catalyst for what followed next in the glorious five years at Manchester United.

Within minutes of his debut, the United faithful realized that they had seen something special in this young lad from Belfast. Sir Matt later commented, “Almost immediately the little whipper-snapper had taken it (the match) by the scruff of the neck and was cheekily beating his man as if he’d been in the First Division for years. From the moment he started to play in the first team, George Best had pulses racing.”

Georgie’s greatest strength was his dribbling skills – speed, balance and superb close control. Everybody likes dribblers, everybody likes people who can control the ball, who they can see while sitting on the edge of their seats. But very few players possess the confidence and the ability to showcase those dribbling skills in front of thousands of glaring eyes watching. George Best, however, had confidence in bucket-loads.

Best could run as quick with the ball as he could without it. He was like an express train; one didn’t know which way he would turn until the very last second, when he would turn the defender inside out. The speed with which he turned with the football at his feet while running towards the goal was reminiscent of a cheetah hunting down its prey – the defender just knew that he would get beaten.

George Best holds up his 1968 Footballer Of The Year award.

With Best becoming a complete player, he was at the heart of Manchester United’s holy trinity of Law, Best and Charlton. It used to simply roll off the tongue – Best-Law-Charlton – as the trio produced one magical moment after another on the pitch to become one of the most fearsome triumvirate of attack in Europe. And although they were different in terms of their abilities and lifestyles, they had one thing in common – to get United to the pinnacle of domestic and European football. The trio, led by Georgie’s heroics, helped United win their first league title in the post-Munich era in 1965.

Then, in March 1966, came the match of George Best’s career – a European Cup quarterfinal against the legendary Eusebio’s Benfica at the Stadium of Light – when the 19-year-old well and truly announced himself to the world stage. It was a match where United weren’t expected to come away with anything. But when you’re a genius like George Best, there are often days when everything falls into place and you become almost unplayable.

Georgie, on that particular day, was on fire. He was fast, he was quick, he was everything that you wanted him to be. Inspired by Best, who scored two goals of exceptional quality on the night, United ran out 5-1 winners in a match that would go down in history as one of Best’s all-time great performances. Things would never be the same again for him.

With pop-star looks and a distinctive sense of style, he returned from Lisbon to a hero’s welcome and became an instant celebrity. The Portuguese media nicknamed him ‘El Beatle’ (fifth Beatle of a rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960). He became a worldwide star overnight. The chiselled face with flowing dark hair and twinkling black eyes – he could stop traffic in those days. The women wanted to go out with him, while the men wanted to be him.

He became the first footballer who attracted legions of female admirers into the stadiums. Every time he got the ball, thousands of teenage girls used to scream and shout in the stands for him. Footballers, before George Best, were anything but glamorous. Georgie, however, made the jump from football into show business. He became the first footballer to have all kinds of adulation and madness surround him, from both the media and the masses.

With his football superstar status confirmed, George Best was an advertiser’s dream. Sex appeal and football were a potent combination, and Georgie was the only one who combined both of them so explosively. He was so marketable that he could have sold snow to the Eskimos.

By the late 60s, traces of that shy, skinny lad from Belfast flew by, as it was a 24-hour party amongst booze, cars and women. He was like the pied piper – wherever he went, everyone followed.

As the charisma gushed forth off the pitch, George Best on the pitch was no less spectacular. After another league triumph in 1967, he became the scorn of Benfica again in the 1968 European Cup final, typically going the hard way by rounding the keeper while giving United an extra-time 2-1 lead en route to a 4-1 success. His 32 goals in 53 appearances for United that season earned him the European Footballer of Year award too.

A supporter of Russia poses for a photograph in front of a graffiti tribute to George Best.

With the European Cup and footballer of the year award in his trophy cabinet, so much more seemed destined for George Best, but he would never know the entirety of it. On that warm night in May 1968, he had already reached the pinnacle of his career at the tender age of just 22 years. After achieving the zenith of their success, Manchester United approached the crossroads as the Busby era ended and an ageing side was dismantled.

As the team started to fall into pieces, Georgie started to lose interest. The tackles that he shrugged off as a teenager, now provoked retaliation. Battles with the authorities mounted. And alcohol, that had once been a lubricant for success, now became the refuge from defeat.

The days of the mercurial Irishman weaving his magic on Old Trafford’s wings had long gone. He had been the greatest player of his time, but his time on the world stage was over. After 470 appearances, 179 goals, two league titles and a European Cup, George Best left Manchester United in January 1974.

After leaving United, Georgie became a kind of journeyman, making his football comebacks in various clubs across the globe. But it was his personal demons, most obvious of which was alcohol, that he always struggled to cope with until he died in November 2005.

Besides all the front page stories that he created in the latter half of his career, George Best always wanted to be remembered for the back page headlines. The memories that he left are sufficient to say that the world has seen the best of George Best. Perhaps it was his vulnerability and his public battle with alcoholism, but he never lost the love of his many fans. Despite his continual battles with drinks, and the many medical problems that he had endured, George Best will remain loved and admired by everyone who ever saw him play. A true legend in the history of football.