THE JOURNAL
Mr George Best, 1966. Photograph by Mr John Varley/Offside
A poignant new documentary explores the troubled life of the UK’s first football superstar.
It is May 1968 and Mr George Best, the most exciting footballer of his generation, is sitting in the changing room at Wembley stadium. At the tender age of 22, the boy wonder from Belfast has just helped Manchester United beat Benfica 4-1 to win the European Cup. But what ought to be the happiest moment of his life and career has left him feeling low and isolated. It is perhaps the defining scene of a new documentary, Best (George Best: All By Himself), released today, just over a decade after Mr Best succumbed fatally to alcohol-related illnesses. It shows the first signs of the dissatisfaction and depression that would turn into excessive drinking and womanising and cause Mr Best, at 27, to quit the team he joined at 17 after the legendary Sir Matt Busby received a telegram from his scout saying, “I think I’ve found you a genius.”
Mr Best is the first example of a footballer becoming a major celebrity – and the tragedy that can result from such attention. When the real money and the fame arrived in the mid-1960s for Mr Best, his good looks and iconic locks garnered him the label “the fifth Beatle”. He opened a boutique. He appeared on Top Of The Pops. He advertised brands. But, through the archive audio and interviews with footballers and ex-wives Msses Alex and Angie Best, the documentary paints a picture of a man who did not enjoy the circus, despite courting it. He spent his life trying to recreate the incredible highs of playing top-level professional football at 22.
Before his death in 2005, Mr Best is quoted as saying, “They’ll forget all the rubbish when I’ve gone and they’ll remember the football.” He’s half right. The sideshow is hard to forget completely. A star that burns brightly and explodes is far more interesting than one that simply shines – as this documentary attests – but his slaloming on the football field provides images that linger just as long in the memory. Scroll down to discover the very best of Mr George Best.
Photograph courtesy of Mirrorpix
Mr Best shows exactly why he became synonymous with the style and celebrity of The Beatles, with a suit and haircut that ape the Fab Four’s look at the time this picture was taken – in a printing office in November 1964. This was the same year he became a first-team regular at Manchester United and made his debut for Northern Ireland.
Photograph courtesy Offside Sports
Mr George Best in full flight, showing his inimitable dribbling skills against Benfica in the quarter finals of the European Cup in 1966. He scored twice during this memorable 1-5 win, and caused the Portuguese press to label him “O Quinto Beatle”.
Photograph by Mr John Varley/Offside
Photograph courtesy of Popperfoto/Getty Images
Mr Best, looking at ease in a tassled, Western-inspired jacket and polo neck, with his driver, Mr Bill White, personal secretary, Ms Pearl Goodman, and business manager, Mr Malcolm Mooney. This picture was taken in London in October 1968, just months after he won the European Cup with Manchester United.
Photograph courtesy of Mirrorpix
Mr Best is named European Footballer Of The Year at Old Trafford in Manchester in 1969. This was a year in which he famously claimed to give up alcohol and women. Which, he said, was “the worst 20 minutes of my life”.
Best (George Best: All By Himself) in is cinemas across the UK and Ireland from today