Taken from Wikipedia:
George Best (May 22, 1946–November 25, 2005 ) is a former Northern Irish football international who is mainly remembered for his time with Manchester United F.C. and widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the game. However, he has also gained headlines because of his troubled personal life.
Playing career
Best played for Manchester United between 1963 and 1974, with whom he won the the Football League Championship in 1965 and 1967, and the European Cup in 1968. The same year, he was named European Footballer of the Year and Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year.
He made 466 appearances for Manchester United in all competitions, scoring 178 goals (including six in one game against Northampton Town). In 1974, the 27-year-old Best was sacked by United for excessive drinking and persistent failure to attend training sessions and matches. Over the next decade, Best drifted between several football clubs including Fulham, Stockport County, Dunstable Town, Hibernian, Los Angeles Aztecs, San Jose Earthquakes and finally Bournemouth until he retired from the game in 1983 at the age of 37.
He was capped 37 times for Northern Ireland, scoring nine goals. He played mainly as a winger and was known for his dribbling skills and accurate passing.
Best has often been called the most naturally gifted player from the British Isles, rivaled only by Pelé and Diego Maradona on the world stage. Maradona himself has frequently named Best as his all-time favourite player. Pelé once stated that George Best was the best player he ever saw play and named him as one of the 125 best living footballers in his 2004 FIFA 100 list. His talent might have been recognised more on the world stage had his national team not been a relative “minnow” (Best has often said that he would like to see a United Ireland soccer team like those in rugby and hockey). Along with Paul Gascoigne, Best is frequently held up by UK football fans as an example of the dark side of the game, where a prodigous playing talent is squandered by managers and agents too quick to ignore players’ personal problems.
Celebrity
While at Manchester United, Best’s talent and showmanship made him a crowd and media favourite. He was dubbed “the fifth Beatle” for his long hair and good looks, but his extravagant celebrity lifestyle led to problems with gambling, womanising and alcoholism. Best often tells the story of a bellboy who entered his hotel room with breakfast in the early 1970s. Seeing Best drunk, in bed with the current Miss World, a magnum of champagne and several thousand pounds of cash won from a night’s gambling, the youth exclaimed, “George, where did it all go wrong?”
In 1984 Best made a keep fit video with girlfriend and former Miss World Mary Stavin called Shape Up And Dance.
In 1988 a testimonial match was held for Best at Windsor Park, Belfast. Amongst the crowd were Sir Matt Busby and players including Ossie Ardiles and Pat Jennings.
In November 2004 Best agreed to join FA Premier League club Portsmouth F.C. as youth coach, citing his desire to get involved in football again.
June 9, 2005 Best was arrested for sexually assaulting a girl under the age of 13. He was cleared of all charges on July 6 2005.
He has a son, Calum Best from his first marriage to Angie.
Alcoholism
In 1984, Best received a three-month prison sentence for drunk driving, assaulting a police officer and failing to answer bail. He spent Christmas 1984 behind bars and turned out as a player for Ford Open Prison. In 1991, he appeared on an edition of prime time BBC chat show Wogan in which he swore and was clearly drunk. He later apologised and said this was one of the worst episodes of his alcoholism.
In 2002, he had a liver transplant. In 2003 he was the focus of much criticism when, despite his transplant, he openly drank white wine spritzers and was accused of being selfish and having no regard for other people’s feelings.
In 2003, his second wife Alex appeared as a contestant on the reality television programme I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! and made allegations about their relationship. On 3 January 2004, Best was convicted of another drunk driving offence and banned from driving for 20 months.
Illness
Best continued to drink, and was often seen at his local pub in Petersfield, Hampshire. In Autumn 2005 Best was taken ill. The timeline of events is:-
• 2005-10-03 Best was admitted to intensive care at the private Cromwell Hospital in London, suffering from kidney problems caused by the side-effects of drugs used to prevent his body from rejecting his transplanted liver. (BBC). (The drugs specifically suppress the immune system, reducing the chance of rejection, but increasing the risk of other infections).
• 2005-10-04 Best’s manager Phil Hughes said Best’s condition had improved but said he would stay in intensive care. As his condition slowly improved he began to ask for sugary treats such as a Ribena lollipop.
• 2005-10-21 It was reported that his recovery had hit a setback which doctors thought was probably due to a lung infection. Professor Roger Williams, the doctor in charge of Best’s medical care, said he was “battling on, but very ill.”
• 2005-10-26 Late in the evening, a “dramatic deterioration” in Best’s condition was reported by his ex-wife; he was said to be on a life support machine.
• 2005-10-27 Early editions of the morning newspapers stated that Best was close to death and had sent farewell messages to loved ones. During the day, the situation was reported as grim, with reporters stating Best’s illness as ’severe’.
• 2005-10-28 In the morning, Best’s doctor reported he was slightly better, still on a ventilator however.
• 2005-10-29 In the morning, Sky Sports reported that Best’s condition had “improved overnight.”
• 2005-10-31 It was reported that Best’s condition was improving but he was “very desperately ill”.
• 2005-11-18 Following a lung infection, Best was put onto a life support machine. It was also reported that his weight had dropped to six stone (84 lbs).
• 2005-11-20 Best’s family continued to hold a vigil, as he remained in intensive care. People began to try and cash in on Best’s illness by asking for signed t-shirts, etc. and then selling them online, rather that donating the money to charity. That same day, the British tabloid the News of the World published a picture portraying Best in the hospital bed, along with what was reported to be his final message: “Don’t die like me”.
• 2005-11-22 Best remained “responsive”, but “gravely ill”. The following day Best “…partly regained consciousness and was able to move his head and eyes.” An interview on SEN 1116 with Professor Roger Williams raised hopes of Best’s condition.
• 2005-11-23 Best’s condition worsened.
• 2005-11-24 In the morning it was reported that doctors said family, friends and fans should “prepare for the worst”. At around 1300GMT Thursday 24 November doctors said that Best “is unlikely to survive the next 24 hours.”
• 2005-11-25 Best stops receiving treatment to keep him alive.
Quotations by Best
• “I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars - the rest I just squandered.”
• “I used to go missing a lot…Miss Canada, Miss United Kingdom, Miss World…”
• (On David Beckham) “He cannot kick with his left foot, he cannot head a ball, he cannot tackle and he doesn’t score many goals. Apart from that he’s all right.”
• “If I had been born ugly, you would never have heard of Pelé.”
• ” In 1969 I gave up women and alcohol. It was the worst 20 minutes of my life.”
• “Pele called me the greatest footballer in the world. That is the ultimate salute to my life.”
I wanted to write a tribute to Best on this page, but I thought my amateurish writing skills wouldn’t do him justice, so that is the page on his life taken from Wikipedia.
I’ve never lost a hero before. Best probably wasn’t the greatest role model or professional the game has ever seen, but as a Manchester United fan AND having been born in Northern Ireland, Best meant an awful lot to me. He is probably the greatest player in United’s history, and without a doubt Northern Ireland’s. Unlike most sportsmen, musicians or artists whose work isn’t fully appreciated until they pass away… Best was recognised by both Pele and Maradona (two of the most celebrated players ever) as the greatest footballer the world has ever seen. This is a real sad day for Manchester United, Northern Ireland and football as a whole.
A lot will be made of Best’s [not so] private life… the man enjoyed himself. In his short lifetime he will have partied harder than most could ever dream to. And while his life wasn’t too pretty towards the end, I bet he had a fuckload of fun getting there. I probably would have been the same.
Hilarious in the press, a party go-er that I’d certainly liked to have hung with and a tremendous footballer. My thoughts are with your family and friends. R.I.P. George.
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