Best of the Best: Rock Star Footballer

The Rock Star Footballer

Joining Pele, Bobby Moore, Giorgio Chinaglia, Johan Cruyff, and other living legends in the North American Soccer League (NASL), the Northern Irishman Best donned the dark red kit of the San Jose Earthquakes to take on the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.

Receiving the ball at midfield, he immediately turned the defender around, skipping over his desperate tackle. With three defenders marking him and a fourth approaching from behind, he moved the ball to the right, before making a hard cut to the left, taking one defender out of the play. As quickly as he had changed direction, he had stopped and turned the ball back to the right and forward, moving past the next defender. One more flick of the foot changed direction yet again, allowing him to split the remaining two defenders. All that was left was for him to place the ball to the inside of the right post, beyond the reach of the sprawling keeper.

Immediately following this astounding feat that had his teammates, opponents and observers in jubilant awe, he was oblivious to his accomplishment and was running up to the referee to register his complaint. For Best, it was an ordinary day on the pitch.

Even here, in the twilight of a legendary, yet somehow unfulfilling, career, and seemingly a million years away from his days with Manchester United, Best was still the same as he had always been.  He was still the original rock star footballer.

Best was born to working class parents in Belfast in 1946. His father was a shipyard worker, while his mother was employed at a tobacco factory, according to The Scotsman newspaper. However, it was evident at an early age, he was destined for much more. He was destined to play football.

The 15-year-old Best was discovered in Belfast by Bob Bishop, the renowned Manchester United talent scout.  He sent a telegram to club manager Matt Busby that simply read: “I think I've found you a genius.”

So in 1961, at that tender age, he arrived in Manchester to serve his football apprenticeship. While homesickness would call him briefly back to Belfast, his destiny as a footballer could not be denied.

Turning professional in 1963 at the age of 17, Best debuted against West Bromwich Albion, which was second in the League at the time, according to the International Football Hall of Fame (IFHOF).  The IFHOF notes that “Best had a fine game, giving West Brom's experienced full-back Graham Williams a roasting. One of his first moves was to show Williams the ball - and then he ‘nutmegged’ him!”

Best in action with Northern Ireland

With that, a spectacular career was born. At age 18, he earned the first of 37 international caps for Northern Ireland. In ’67 and ’68, he was the top scorer for First Division United, and in 1968 won a European Cup Medal and was named English and European Footballer of the Year. In all, during six seasons with United, Best tallied 115 goals in 290 games. Even the great Pele said Best was his favorite player.

His career is dotted with mythic performances, but none stood out more than a 1966 European Cup match against Benfica. Prior to the match, Benfica were unbeaten in their previous 19 Cup matches in the Estádio da Luz, and featured Eusebio, who was awarded the European Footballer of the Year trophy before kick-off. As such, Busby instructed his squad to “keep it tight for the first 15 minutes and see how things went,” according to IFHOF.
Within 12 minutes, however, Best made his mark, scoring once on a header and again after beating three defenders and slipping the ball by the keeper. He added a hat trick goal in a 5-1 victory for Man U.

Unfortunately, Best’s genius on the pitch left him troubled off it and on a downward spiral toward alcoholism.  As early as 1966, he began running into trouble. First, it was speeding, then he was charged with ramming into another car, and, throughout it all, there were bar brawls, according The Scotsman.  It came to a head in 1974 when he was dropped from United after missing training and showing up intoxicated.

After leaving United, Best bounced from team to team - Stockport County, Cork Celtics, Dunstable Town, Los Angeles Aztecs, Fulham, Fort Lauderdale Strikers, Hibernian, San Jose Earthquakes, Bournemouth, and the Brisbane Lions. At the same time, he also bounced from woman to woman, including three Miss Worlds, a Miss Great Britain, a Miss Northern Ireland, and even a Miss Motorway Scotland, The Scotsman asserts.

Tributes to the memory of George Best

Best’s life seemed to start to improve with a new wife, newfound sobriety, and a new liver. After a 2002 transplant, he vowed to never drink again. Not surprising to anyone familiar with alcoholism, Best was unable to live up to his promise and spiraled back into addiction a year later, leading to a messy divorce and another series of public embarrassments.

Finally, a tumultuous and often spectacular life came to an end when Best, 59, succumbed to multiple organ failure on November 25, 2005. Reports flashed across the BBC and across the globe, as he was remember fondly by prime ministers, celebrities, and football legends alike. And just as many of them pondered what might have been.

The Scotsman recounted his life with a famous anecdote about a hotel porter finding him in his room with a Miss World lying on a bed with £20,000. The porter simply asked, “Mr. Best, where did it all go wrong?”

To millions of his fans and admirers, it seemed like a fair question. But it was lost on Best. In a seeming response to that question, Best famously stated: "I spent a lot of my money on booze, birds, and fast cars - the rest I squandered."

To the end, he was the original rock star footballer.

Resources:

Best coming to the end of his life , The Scotsman, November 25 2005
George Best , International Football Hall of Fame
YouTube (This is the move I describe in the lead).
Football legend George Best dies, BBC News, November, 25 2005

Playing from Amnesia is a monthly column by Scott T. Shepherd highlighting the legends of our beloved game. He can be reached at shep1028@hotmail.com.