Yeah, so they went to all the trouble and expense of giving him a new, healthy, organ just to have him try and burn it out again.
George Best wanted to be remembered for his football.
I’ll say that he was a great footballer, and when I met him briefly he was very nice.
Not wanting to speak ill of the dead, I won’t say anything else.
I exaggerate indeed, but mostly as a left-handed compliment to the man in the flower of his youth. Even so, it’s not just a question of wearing out his welcome but of allowing the excesses of his off-field life to interfere with his on-field prowess. Drinking and missed training would take their toll of anyone. Once the edge goes it’s hard to get it back, sporadic flashes of barely-credible brilliance notwithstanding.
Hudson? Oh assuredly. But the rest of your swipe at the English I’ll gloss over, in the interests of a soft answer turning away wrath. A tribute thread isn’t the place for it.
Some of his acid comments were priceless, and he could turn them out without second thought, it just came so naturally to him did the wit, and that was part of his charisma, a top class footballer who was articulate was and still is a rarity in English football leagues.
I remember him talking avout Kevin Keegan who was at his peak and being compared to Best,
‘Kevin Keegan is the Julie Andrews of football’
‘He is not fit to lace my drinks’
I would rate him as the equal of the very best, I wish he could have played in an international team that could have displayed his talent on the stage that it deserved, the world cup.
I should maybe clear up one of those quotes.
Keegan on Best He’s not fit to lace my boots
Best on KeeganHe’s not fit to lace my drinks
I think Billy Joe Keane said it best when he wrote about Best:
“The sense that even though he knew he could beat any defender in the world with a swivel of his hips or a quick step with those dancing feet, the one thing he could never sidestep was a drink.”
Greatest player ever to come from Europe and the second greatest player of all-time (imho) second only to Maradonna.
He could score, dribble, pass, head and he was a ferocious tackler. Hard as nails. Wish I would have seen him live.
The funny part is that you say (imho) only when speaking of him perhaps being the second greatest player of all time and not the greatest from Europe ;).
Best was amazing, but arguably, a case can be made for Cruyff and Beckenbauer.
Obviously this is a subjective issue but for the sake of argument I’ll give you my reasoning as to why I think George Best was the single greatest talent ever from Europe.
Cryuff was technically brillaint. He had incredible vision, drop-dead first touch and an ability to put the ball anywhere. One of his weaknesess, however, was the fact that he would tend to drift in and out of games. Further, he couldn’t tackle to save his life so he was often a defensive liability.
Beckenbauer was fast, tough and also had incredible vision. He had trouble beating men though (in fairness, that was rarely required in his particular style of play) and was always surrounded by other world-class players.
Best had the touch and speed of Cryuff along with the hardness and vision of Beckenbauer. In my mind, that makes him more of a complete player than either of the two. Also, Best nutmegged Cryuff in Amsterdam so that’s enough for me 