George Best (original) (raw)
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The Greatest? Certainly his name deserves to be mentioned alongside Pele, Maradona, Cruyff et al, and he was our "Belfast Boy"...
Name: George Best
Born: 22 May 1946, Belfast
Died: 25 November 2005, London (England)
Height: 5.09 ft
Weight: 10.03 st
Position: Forward
Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 37 Full Caps/9 Goals (1964-1977), Youth Caps.
Club Honours: (with Manchester United) Football League Champion 1964/65, 1966/67; European Cup Winner 1967/68, Watney Cup Runner-Up 1970; FA Youth Cup Winner 1963/64.
Awards: Football Writers' Association Player of the Year 1968; European Footballer of the Year 1968, Texaco Award Winner (Annual Contribution to Irish Football) 1967; NASL All-Star Team 1976, 1977; NASL Second Team 1981; NASL Honourable Mention Team 1978; International Hall of Champions Inductee 1997; International Hall of Fame Inductee 2000; PFA Special Merit Award 2006; PFA Division Two Team of the Year 1977.
Club Career:
| Teams | Seasons | Signed | Fee | League | FA Cup | FL Cup | Europe | Other* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cregagh B.C. | - | - | Youth | - | - | - | - | - |
| Manchester Utd | 63/64-73/74 | May-63 | Youth | 361(0)/137 | 46(0)/21 | 25(0)/ 9 | 34(0)/11 | 8(0)/ 3 |
| Jewish Guild | 1974 | May-74 | Guest | 5(0)/ ? | - | (South Africa) | ||
| Stockport Co. | 75/76 | Nov-75 | Loan | 3(0)/ 2 | - | - | - | - |
| Cork Celtic | 75/76 | Dec-75 | - | 3(0)/ 0 | - | - | - | - |
| L.A. Aztecs | 1976 - 1978 | Apr-76 | - | 55(-)/ 27 | - | - | - | 6(-)/ 2 |
| Fulham | 76/77-77/78 | Sep-76 | - | 42(0)/ 8 | 2(0)/ 0 | 3(0)/ 2 | - | - |
| F t L auderdale S t. | 1978 - 1979 | Jun-78 | - | 28(-)/ 6 | - | - | - | 5(-)/ 1 |
| Hibernian | 79/80-80/81 | Nov-79 | £50k | 17(0)/ 3 | 3(0)/ 0 | 2(0)/ 0 | - | - |
| San.Jose Earthquakes | 1980 - 1981 | Apr-80 | - | 56(-)/ 21 | - | - | - | 21(-)/33 |
| Bournemouth | 82/83 | Mar-83 | - | 5(0)/ 0 | - | - | - | - |
| Brisbane Lions | 1983 | - | - | 4(0)/ 0 | - | (Australia) | ||
| Tobermore Utd | 83/84 | Feb-84 | Guest | - | 1(0)/ 0 | (Irish League B Division) | ||
| TOTALS | - | £0 | 579(0)/204 | 51(0)/21 | 30(0)/11 | 34(0)/11 | 40(0)/39 |
* Other matches - Manchester United: 2/1 Charity Shield, 2/0 Intercontinental Cup, 4/2 Watney Cup; LA Aztecs and Fort Lauderdale Strikers: all play-offs; San Jose Earthquakes: all NASL Indoor season.
Best also guested for a number of clubs in friendlies and testimonials including Dunstable Town, Nuneaton Borough, Glentoran, Reading and many others.
Biography:
What is there to say about George Best? Too many articles have been written already to do him justice, so please check out the links below:
Irish FA Official Site Biography
Manchester United Official Site Biography
George Best Foundation
BEST Page
State of the Game Article - Where Did It All Go Wrong?
International Hall of Champions
International Hall of Fame
SoccerHistory Biography
George Best Books
FIFA: The Things They Say
"Pelé called me the greatest footballer in the world. That is the ultimate salute to my life." George Best
George Best statue at Windsor Park
Northern Ireland Cap Details:
| 1 | 15/4/64 | Wales | a | W | 3-2 | BC |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 29/4/64 | Uruguay | h | W | 3-0 | FR | |
| 3 | 3/10/64 | England | h | L | 3-4 | BC | |
| 4 | 14/10/64 | Switzerland | h | W | 1-0 | WCq | |
| 5 | 14/11/64 | Switzerland | a | L | 1-2 | WCq | 1 gl |
| 6 | 25/11/64 | Scotland | a | L | 2-3 | BC | 1 gl |
| 7 | 17/3/65 | Netherlands | h | W | 2-1 | WCq | |
| 8 | 7/4/65 | Netherlands | a | D | 0-0 | WCq | |
| 9 | 7/5/65 | Albania | h | W | 4-1 | WCq | 1 gl |
| 10 | 2/10/65 | Scotland | h | W | 3-2 | BC | |
| 11 | 10/11/65 | England | a | L | 1-2 | BC | |
| 12 | 24/11/65 | Albania | a | D | 1-1 | WCq | |
| 13 | 22/10/66 | England | h | L | 0-2 | ECq | |
| 14 | 21/10/67 | Scotland | h | W | 1-0 | ECq | |
| 15 | 23/10/68 | Turkey | h | W | 4-1 | WCq | 1 gl |
| 16 | 3/5/69 | England | h | L | 1-3 | BC | |
| 17 | 6/5/69 | Scotland | a | D | 1-1 | BC | |
| 18 | 10/5/69 | Wales | h | D | 0-0 | BC | |
| 19 | 10/9/69 | USSR | h | D | 0-0 | WCq | |
| 20 | 18/4/70 | Scotland | h | L | 0-1 | BC | ■ |
| 21 | 21/4/70 | England | a | L | 1-3 | BC | 1 gl |
| 22 | 25/4/70 | Wales | a | L | 0-1 | BC | |
| 23 | 11/11/70 | Spain | a | L | 0-3 | ECq | |
| 24 | 3/2/71 | Cyprus | a | W | 3-0 | ECq | 1 gl |
| 25 | 21/4/71 | Cyprus | h | W | 5-0 | ECq | 3 gls |
| 26 | 15/5/71 | England | h | L | 0-1 | BC | |
| 27 | 18/5/71 | Scotland | a | W | 1-0 | BC | |
| 28 | 22/5/71 | Wales | h | W | 1-0 | BC | |
| 29 | 22/9/71 | USSR | a | L | 0-1 | ECq | |
| 30 | 16/2/72 | Spain | h | D | 1-1 | ECq | |
| 31 | 18/10/72 | Bulgaria | a | L | 0-3 | WCq | ■ |
| 32 | 14/11/73 | Portugal | a | D | 1-1 | WCq | |
| 33 | 13/10/76 | Netherlands | a | D | 2-2 | WCq | |
| 34 | 10/11/76 | Belgium | a | L | 0-2 | WCq | |
| 35 | 27/4/77 | W..Germany | a | L | 0-5 | FR | |
| 36 | 21/9/77 | Iceland | h | W | 2-0 | WCq | |
| 37 | 12/10/77 | Netherlands | h | L | 0-1 | WCq |
Summary: 37/9. Won 13, Drew 8, Lost 16.
𝗧𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟭𝟱𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁'𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 💚 He appeared for a number of Irish League clubs: Portadown...
Posted by Irish Football Memories on Wednesday, 25 November 2020