George Best was the first child of Richard "Dickie" Best (1919–2008) and Anne Withers (1922–1978). The playing fields in the estate where he played football as a boy, Cregagh Green, is protected for community recreation in perpetuity as a Fields in Trust Active Space. He died in 2005, aged 59, from complications from the immunosuppressive drugs he needed to take after a liver transplant in 2002.Įarly years and family Best grew up on the Cregagh estate, east Belfast. After football, he spent some time as a football analyst, but his financial and health problems continued into his retirement. Although conscious of his problems, he made light of them: "I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars – the rest I just squandered". These issues affected him on and off the field, often causing controversy. However, his extravagant lifestyle led to various personal problems, most notably alcoholism, from which he suffered for the rest of his life. With his handsomeness, dark Beatle mop-top hair and playboy lifestyle, Best became one of the first media celebrity footballers, earning the nickname " o Quinto Beatle" by Portuguese press reporters after a stand-out performance for Manchester United in Lisbon in March 1966. The Irish Football Association described him as the "greatest player to ever pull on the green shirt of Northern Ireland". He is regarded as one of the greatest players never to have played at a World Cup. He considered his international career as being "recreational football", with the expectations placed on a smaller nation in Northern Ireland being much less than with his club. A combination of the team's performance and his lack of fitness in 1982 meant that he never played in the finals of a major tournament. In international football, Best was capped 37 times for Northern Ireland between 19. He won two League titles and the European Cup with the club. After making his debut at age 17, he scored 179 goals in 470 appearances over 11 years and was the club's top goalscorer in the league for five consecutive seasons.
He was also an inaugural inductee into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002.īorn in Belfast, Best began his club career in England with Manchester United, with the scout who had spotted his talent at the age of 15 sending a telegram to manager Matt Busby which read: "I think I've found you a genius". His style of play captured the public's imagination, and in 1999 he was on the six-man short-list for the BBC's Sports Personality of the Century. Best received plaudits for his playing style, which combined pace, skill, balance, feints, goalscoring and the ability to get past defenders.
He was named European Footballer of the Year in 1968 and came fifth in the FIFA Player of the Century vote. A skilful dribbler, he is considered one of the greatest players of all time.
#Autographed picture don nottingham professional#
George Best ( – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United. *Club domestic league appearances and goals
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