How many more words can be written about George Best? There must be thousands upon thousands of column inches describing, commenting on and evaluating his performances on and off the pitch, all settled and collecting dust in the archives of every newspaper right through the land, and indeed throughout the world. Hardback and paperback books either written in partnership with or by the man himself, some translated into other languages, still grace the bookshelves of fans, libraries, book fairs and bookshops. All this along with collections and portfolios of photographs depicting every stage of George Best’s life, most of his action shots, goal-scoring poise and celebration poses he has become so famous for, together with the more compromising pictures that the paparazzi has earned large sums of money in selling. So why the need for more?
Growing up, George made a football part of his anatomy. That incredible body swerve which terrorised top-class fullbacks was there even as a kid. As were the deceptive changes of pace, the lightning shooting and the determination never to be on the losing side. As Christmases and birthdays came and went George was easy to buy presents for. Football was a near religion for him so he invariably got books on football, football boots or footballs.
George became possibly the most controversial of all postwar football stars, not only in the way he played but also in the way he was built and the way he looked. George was so different to footballers of the past. Remember those grim faces, short-back-and-sides haircuts, massive shinpads, burly bodies and barn-door shoulders, with perhaps a few busted noses and cauliflower ears thrown in, evident in photographs of pre-1950 football teams? Then look at George. Small framed with not an ounce of fat on his body, hairstyles that changed regularly, a rather shy but face-splitting smile that revealed his brilliant white teeth and an added extra sparkle to those already twinkling blues eyes.
George Best the football star, the photographic pin-up of thousands who never even watched him kick a ball. George Best the boutique owner, the nightclub owner who could spot a business idea as well as he could spot a chance to avoid a tackle on the pitch, weave his way through mesmerised defenders to score a goal and rejoice with his trademark one-arm-raised jubilation.
Some may say that George’s fame and fortune unfortunately coincided with the social explosion of the 1960s. The total opposition of ideas, ideals and freedom of decades prior to the 1960s and the 1960s themselves has become the subject of social historians and the 1960s written about profusely as being a decade of complete change and social revolution. George Best became part of the ‘in’ scene in the 1960s and his engagement in every facet of this change has been documented to death. George Best became a commodity that everyone wanted a part of. Companies and businesses craved for and wanted him to promote everything from aftershave to sausages, from overalls to oranges. He was part of the first generation of footballers who enjoyed the demolished capped wages in the footballing world and so began to earn money he could never in his wildest Irish dreams have ever thought of earning. The life of George Best has been documented, deliberated, debated and in some cases argued over.
There are differences of opinions on his decision to leave Manchester United, the reports on his off-pitch antics, the number of beautiful women who became a part of his life – some for a very short time, others over a period of time. The most controversial aspect of George’s life is of course his life-changing addiction to alcohol, an illness that eventually beat him and resulted in a claim on his life.
One thing is for sure, there was absolutely no doubt that George Best was special. A young man from a Belfast council estate blessed with the most astonishing talent the world of football was fortunate to witness, who spent 11 years with Manchester United displaying his almost superhuman skills in the Theatre of Dreams as well as the world stage of football. George was central to Manchester United’s post-Munich disaster successes and, towards the end of his time at United, he was relied upon by an ageing team to pull them through difficult matches at certain times. He became a legend before he was 30 years of age and some would say that he spent the rest of his life trying to deny any legendary attributes.
George Best was part of the first English club to win the European Cup Final, he was voted English and European Footballer of the Year during the same year United raised that trophy. He was young, gifted, beautiful, talented, skilful – but he lived a totally unprotected superstar lifestyle, something that nowadays would never happen.
George Best combined mercurial talent with pop-star looks, his attributes attracted men and women alike, a combination that vaulted him to the pinnacle of celebrity in London’s Swinging Sixties. But there is no way of avoiding the fact that his love of champagne and playboy lifestyle slid George into alcoholism, and that George was unable to shake the disease.
At George’s funeral at Stormont, the home of Northern Ireland politics, on 5 December 2005, Eamonn Holmes said, ‘Today we celebrate his life. In a country that often cannot rise above religion and politics, George Best did more than most to bring us together as people to make us recognise that maybe there is more that unites us than divides us.’
Consider this just for a moment: tributes and wreaths laid at the foot of Parliament Buildings included ones from former Prime Minister Tony Blair and the UK government, Bertie Ahern, his former clubs Manchester United and Edinburgh side Hibernian. The Duke of York sent white roses with this tribute: ‘An inspirational footballer from Northern Ireland whose skills captured the imagination of fans from around the world.’ Hollywood actor Mickey Rourke sent a wreath and there was a floral tribute from one of east Belfast’s other famous sons, the singer/songwriter Van Morrison. The turnout and the tributes that flooded in after the death of George Best, a Protestant, show his immense popularity, one that crossed Northern Ireland’s sectarian divide. This public outpouring was recognised as the biggest nationally since the death of Princess Diana.
All this and more in recognition to a footballer? Yes, because most people know that George Best was actually more than that, and George Best – A Celebration seeks to unveil some of what the man was really all about. It looks behind the tabloid headlines and diverts away from his flaws and questionable chosen way of life to see the man himself and tries to uncover why George Best was loved so much by so many.
The different phases of George’s life always included within them his capacity to entertain. Throughout George’s post-United years he was still able to display his God-given talents on the football pitch. At times it was only for 15 or 20 minutes of the game but that didn’t matter, he was also able to use his natural way that he had of making people feel that they mattered. He may not have been showing his skills on a weekly basis in the Theatre of Dreams but in Dunstable Town, for example, he was still able to increase the usual gate of 53 to a capacity gate of 10,000. This was the game that officially ‘switched on’ the new floodlights when Dunstable played Manchester United Reserves. When George Best graced a football pitch whether it was for the Jewish Guild in South Africa, Hibernian F.C. in Scotland or Bournemouth F.C. in the south of England people still poured into the ground to see him play.
The famous and record-breaking six goals scored by George for Manchester United against Northampton Town in 1970 are much talked about, deliberated over and are part of many people’s memories. In fact, the video clip of this event was used when George was introduced on a chat show in 1991 for the now infamous interview, when Terry Wogan said, ‘What happened to the man Pelé himself called the world’s greatest footballer?’ But equally so is the goal talked about by those who were fortunate enough to see George in action when he scored for the San Jose Earthquakes in the United States in 1981, when he wove his way through six players to score an outstanding and near impossible goal.
George Best couldn’t help being idolised, he couldn’t help being popular and he couldn’t help being top of the list of interesting stories for the press to get hold of. True, some of his antics off the pitch were a journalist’s dream to ‘hold the front page’ for – and who knows whether perhaps he may have done some of the headlining behaviour just for the hell of it? We just don’t know, but what we do know is that many, many people were pleased to have George as their friend, even though at times he let them down. People were oh so glad when they saw George Best and were able to go up and chat with him like old mates and to maybe share a drink with him.
George himself knew that he wasn’t perfect and perhaps coming to terms with how many thought he was a genius, an extraordinarily gifted person that the game of football had never seen before was a part of his decline. When Sir Alex Ferguson (who could have been speaking for the masses) said that George Best was ‘unquestionably the greatest’, to George it was just normality.
Similarly, someone who lived not far from George in Northern Ireland, who would often see him around, said that ‘George was special to everyone and his faults were overlooked’.
In his book Blessed George is open and honest about himself and about his mistakes. He looks back at his regrets, of which he had a few, and admits, ‘It all went wrong with football, the thing I loved most of all and from there my life slowly fell apart.’ But clearly he also didn’t forget the good times, of which there were many, and the successes and achievements.
George Best was for many a player who never reached his full potential on the field, so why then did so many wannabes want to emulate him? Michael Parkinson said of George: ‘The only tragedy George Best had to confront is that he will never know how good he could have been.’ He helped Manchester United win the First Division title in 1965 and 1967 and the European Cup in 1968, but he never played in a World Cup tournament. Quite sad to think that such dynamism never graced the world football stage at that level. George even suggested at times that perhaps things may have been different had he been born an Englishman or even a Brazilian, or born ugly.
George was renowned not only for remarkable footballing genius, skills and talents but also for his Sixties playboy lifestyle and eventual alcoholism. He was the first footballing ‘celebrity’ on and off the pitch who became involved in more than just the beautiful game, but he tried to combine football with glamour and some would say practised overindulgence in most things.
George Best – A Celebration is just what the title suggests. It is a selection of stories, tributes and memories that celebrate George Best the man, the son, the father, the brother, the friend, the genius, the footballing icon, the business man, the once-in-a-lifetime talent that many have had the pleasure of either seeing, meeting, watching, playing with or against, knowing or simply have heard about. The authors of the book have also used objects and memorabilia linked to George Best and have uncovered the story behind the real people who either own or have previously owned such items.
George Best – A Celebration weaves in between his colourful life and seeks to piece together some of the stories left on his way from those who will always remember their close encounter with the Best.
It reveals some of the more everyday activities and the less well-known and commentated aspects of a genuine, loving and caring person. Some of the stories make known the more unusual events and happenings in the lives of people, the famous and the not so famous, who have encountered George Best and have held their memories of him very close to them for a number of years. Some of these memories are simple but poignant, some are very personal while others are told from a different perspective. Some tributes are from those known to many of us, others are made from people you would pass by on the street.
George Best – A Celebration is an opportunity and a way of joining together all of these experiences, tributes and memories and a way of sharing as well as maybe bringing your own memories back to the surface. It enlightens the celebration of a life worth celebrating – the life of the kid off the streets of Belfast who became a superstar, the genius and the man, George Best. A man who in 1981 was described by a long-serving octogenarian tour guide at Old Trafford as ‘the best man and footballer ever to have played the field or walked the corridors. A man who had as much time to give to the tea lady as he would to the main board director. A man dearly loved by all true Manchester United fans.’
