The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and OpinionsFootball has seen many great players over the years, many of which were, and continue, to be household names round the globe. The game has changed drastically, but the talent of the players has not, and many of the players who are commonly regarded as some of the best of all time plied their trade well before the game turned into the mega-business it now is. Every sport has their all-time legends and contemporary stars, and none more so than football, and comparing players of different generations is an impossible task.
Here at The Sports Lowdown, we attempt to do just that. In our top 10 countdown, our specialist team of football writers will formulate a list of the greatest players of all time in reverse order, commencing at 8am on Monday and finishing at 6pm that same day.
Pele? Maradona? Messi? Zidane? Keep a watchful eye at The Sports Lowdown to find out who we have picked as out top 10 players of all time, and as usual we would love to hear your views, so any comments would be greatly appreciated!
Number 8: George Best
George Best was a player you would pay good money to watch; had he been around in the modern game he would have been up there with the very best. He had it all: he was quick, had great skill, equally good with both feet, and scored a lot of goals playing out wide. He had a glittering 11 years at Manchester United where he scored 137 goals in 361 games, which is a phenomenal record considering he was a midfielder, and playing in arguably the toughest and most physically demanding league in the world.
George Best was discovered at the age of 15 in Belfast by United scout Bob Bishop. He sent a telegram to then manager Matt Busby saying ” I think I’ve found a genius” Bishop was proved to be correct, but things could have been very different for Best as he was rejected by his local club Glentoran for being too small and light. That rejection was possibly the best thing that could have happened to George.
Best made his first division debut for United aged 17 on 14 September 1963 in a match against West Bromwich Albion which United went on to win 1-0. He was then dropped back to the reserves for a long while, making his next appearance on 28 December where he scored as United beat Burnley 5-1. This match was the start of Best’s run in the team, and he went on to finish the 1963-64 season having made 26 appearances, scoring 6 goals. Opponents would often use rough play to try and stifle his technical ability, but his then manager Matt Busby ensured that “fierce, sometimes brutal” training sessions enabled Best to cope with these tough challenges.
His first few seasons at United were very good, and he continued to get better and better.It was the 1967-68 season where Best really started producing his best form. In 41 league appearances he went on to score 28 goals, and ended up with 32 in all competitions which is a phenomenal record considering he was playing on the left wing.
The 1968-69 season was another great one, George scored 19 goals in 41 league games and ended up with 22 in all competitions. The 69-70 season was equally as impressive with Best firing in 23 goals in all competitions. The 70-71 season saw Best end up with 22 goals again, and the 71-72 season saw Best do even better finishing up with 27 goals. 4 seasons in a row with 20+ goals for an attacking midfielder is a brilliant achievement, and at the time those goalscoring records were probably as good as a lot of top strikers in the game.
For 8 seasons in a row Best scored over 10 goals, and that is a record some attacking midfielders nowadays will only dream of. In those days it as an even more remarkable record as midfielders didn’t really score as many as they do in the modern game. If Best was playing now his goal scoring records would be up there with the worlds best; only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo would be able to boast better records for players who aren’t out and out strikers, that shows just how good George was.
Whilst at United George played a huge part in a successful period for the club. He won the FA Youth Cup in 64, 2 league titles, 2 Charity Shields and the European Cup in 1968. It was at 19 when George announced himself on the world stage with 2 goals away at Benfica in a European Cup quarter final.
During his United career he won several individual awards. He was the Football League First Division Top scorer in the 1967-68 season, he won the 1968 Ballon d’Or, and came 3rd in the 1971 Ballon D’or. In a lot of people’s eyes Best is arguably the greatest ever player to pull on a United and Northern Ireland shirt. George Best scored some of the best goals you are ever likely to see, his goal against Tottenham in 1971 being one of his greatest goals.
His last few seasons at United were pretty poor by his high standards and this was largely down to his heavy drinking and partying. He scored a mere 6 goals in his final 2 seasons at United. After leaving United George went on to play for several clubs, but unfortunately his best days were behind him. His most successful period after United was with the Sane Jose Earthquakes, where he scored 54 goals in 2 seasons.
Joe Mercer Manchester City manager said this of Best in 1969. “It seems impossible to hurt him. All manner of men have tried to intimidate him. Best merely glided along, riding tackles and brushing giants aside like leaves.” “George Best was one of the most talented players of all time and probably the best footballer who never made it to a major world final” were the words of 1974 World Cup winning West Germany captain Franz Beckenbauer.
Had Best kept away from drink and the party lifestyle I have no doubt he would have ended up even higher on the list; unfortunately his ill-advised choiced caught up with him and affected his performances on the pitch. He may have ended up staying at United a lot longer and ended up winning a lot more had it not been for his various problems.
Best’s talent is undisputed: he had the ability to dance past defenders with an ease and a guile that many players and fans marvelled at, and as far as talent goes, Best is in the top 3 or 4 of all time without a doubt. Where the question marks lie though, is in the way he handled himself on a professional level. He battled with alcoholism for the best part of his career, and his charisma and celebrity status often got the better of him, and was a distraction from his football. Some may say he lacked the desire, determination and motivation to make it to the very top of the sport, and it remains uncertain as to just how good Best could have become had he had the motivation and sheer professionalism of some of the other greats in the sport. In that regard there are strong parallelisms between himself and Paul Gascoigne in terms of their natural ability with a football, but on the flip-side their tendency to engage in destructive behaviour off the pitch.
In many ways George Best was the David Beckham of his generation; he became one of the first celebrity footballers and this was down to his talent and charisma and in other words, he was the James Hunt of the footballing world. In 1966 he was given the nickname “El Beatle” He was seen on the front pages of newspapers just as much as he was on the back pages, and in essence this encapsulates the very nature of George Best: a flawed genius.
And that is what he will be remembered as: a player who had the world at his feet, to such an extent he did not know what to do with his fame. ‘Bestie’ was – as the name suggests – one of the greatest players of his generation, and by our book, one of the greatest of all time.
