Saturday, November 26, 2005

R.I.P. GEORGE BEST

Much as I love to see Christiano Ronaldo using his trickery and pace to round defenders, or Wayne Rooney using his guile and strength to leave them for dead, both look rather ordinary when you see footage of Best practically walking the ball round players almost twice his size. Sure, today's defenders possess much better technique than their predecessors, but when you remember that Best was plying his trade in the days when a scything two-footed tackle from behind was positively encouraged and pitches were often more mud than grass, that he got away with such amazing play is all the more remarkable.

According to manutdzone.com:
George was perhaps the most important member of the great United team which won the League Championship twice in the 1960's as well as the European Cup in 1968 - where he scored a superb solo goal in the final. He later claimed that having beaten round the Benfica keeper he wanted to take the ball up to the line stop it, lie down on the ground and head the ball over the line. Only a truly special sort of player would even have considered such an outrageous act in a game of such importance.
That really says it all. Cheers George.