George Best - Top 10 goals
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2021
- George Best - Top 10 goals
Controversial, fast and deadly. George Best was an athlete with unquestionable talent on the pitch, one of the greatest in the history of Manchester United and his generation.
So much so that, in 1968, he received the Golden Ball award, as the best player in Europe. However, his life was also surrounded by controversy both inside and outside the lawns. If outside he liked to enjoy with a lot of drink and women, on the field he was an explosive and temperamental athlete.
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One of the best players of all time?
Yep
Top 5
@@samir5765 1 Pele 2 Maradona 3 Best 4 Cruyff 5 Eusebio
A total genius
@@dermot51 Messi, both Ronaldos,Ronaldinho all above Best...great player though...forgot Vinnie Jones
No matter what team you support if you love football.
You love George Best.
The man's an absolute legend.
The greatest player in his day. What todays superstars do on billiard table smooth pitches, George did on wet, muddy pitches that sometimes looked like ploughed fields.
Or the Hickstead Derby
@@dermot51 Quite right Dermot, Do you remember Harvey Smith on Matty Brown 1971 giving the judges the V sign for victory but the judges took a dim view and disqualified him .Kind regards Glynn n greetings from Stourbridge West Midlands UK and Aston Villa fan since 1968 .Luv horse sports too.🤝
And.. was trying to stay on his feet at all times!...shock horror!
@@WELLBRAN Hello Wellbran , may I ask concerning your meaning of Shock horror sir.Kind regards Glynn n greetings from Stourbridge West Midlands UK and Aston Villa fan since 1968
@@glynnevans1851 because today's football players fall over if you blow on them. always looking for a free kick or get you a yellow/ red card
With modern stars like Ronaldo and Messi, history will tell how good they were because every second of their careers has been recorded: every goal, every piece of skill; sadly, in George's case we only have a merest glimpse by comparison of his sheer genius. He was the perfect footballer, without a single flaw in his game. Even as a lifelong Liverpool fan, for me he was the greatest ever.
That’s why he’s called Best🗿
George best was the greatest of all time!!!
Yes
I'm a Liverpool fan . but I can remember best.. what a great player he was.no doubt about it..a legend
George Best was to football, what Jimi Hendrix was to the guitar. A true one-off.
He was beyond his time, indeed. A modern player "avant la lettre".
@Andy Butler “The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame describes him as "arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music".
Jimi was 2nd best was Eric Clapton
Reporter: "How does it feel to be the best guitar player in the world?"
Hendrix: "I wouldn't know. Ask Rory Gallagher."
@@thegrimmcommoner2203 Tbf rory gallagher was really good I won't argue with that
I'm 60. And went to my first football match in 1971. I remember seeing George Best for Manchester United against my team Nottingham Forest, and the memory of his dazzling skills has stayed with me. The best player I've seen.
I'm 69, my first game was in 1965, United v Liverpool, George scored,I agree best player I've ever seen.Some of the best he scored were never filmed, not all games televised in those days, we had a great rivalry with Forest in 1966-67, always loved Cloughie too, great manager.
I remember football from Chile 1962
"The best player I've seen." Really? 😯
better than messi?
@@tc98826 I've only seen Messi on TV. But, similar in style.
I think Lionel Messi is a truly great player, but having seen George Best play in the flesh between 1965 - 1971 if I had to choose it would be George.
There’s something about this era of football that has such unique beauty it’s hard to describe. Today it’s perfect pitches, rigorous militant training for players, perfect boots, technology all over the pitch. But back in these days it was so raw and ‘natural’ for lack of a better word I wish I was alive to experience this era
absolutely
But you'd be old now, wishing you weren't.
@@user-sw2lv3zp6o you get old eventually
Now we have VAR, dozens of cameras, balls and jerseys that cost a salary, and social media. So almost no one is interested in doing what has to be done anymore in that field, they want to be famous. Exceptions show up here and there once in a while.
Before the enormous amounts of money became involved and before fooling the ref became an important skill.
I think all those spectators in those clips could pay the equivalent of a fiver to see the game, they were generally locals and not wealthy people travelling long distance and overnighting in hotels.
The sad thing is that only a handful of his best goals were filmed. Many more of them are just etched in the memories of those who were lucky enough to be in the ground.
Not to mention all the other wonderful moments that weren´t actually goals.
Best, Law, Charlton - I can still see them running out onto the pitch at five to three. Goosebumps!
Wonderful comment sir. So true.
@@paulredhead8603 Thanks. Maybe you were there, too?
Like Garrincha in Brazil.
Spot on. I can remember the thrill of being close to the tunnel watching Best, Charlton, Law and co running out in those red shirts.
@@craigappleton938 Yes, there was an `aura´. No fanfares, fireworks, handshakes and all that nonsense.
Pure genius...we will never see his likes again...remember him for what he did on the pitch....there is no-one today who even comes close....George Best...Yes...
Some of the best goals he scored on camera. Not every game was filmed back then, unlike today.
Such a shame as well
100%.
And take into account the state of the pitch; goal areas thick with mud and a water logged leather ball often weighing in at not much less than a cannon ball, and STILL George Best makes it all look like a walk in the park... ABSOLUTE GENIUS!
it's like a walk in the park
if todays bayern played against those teams they would score over 20
And defenders were allowed to commit gbh !
@@thebreathlessman3710 Nonsense.
People do not understand how light the football is the football today.
George Best born in Belfast Northern Ireland in 1946 and passed away in 2005 at age 59 from alcoholism...what a great soccer player !!!!
He had something nobody else had. Still infuriates me to see defenders trying to hack him off the park and the refs letting it carry on. Never a swan dive or any BS theatrics with Bestie, just a type of flow with the ball beyond all the rest. Incredible talent and much of it never caught on camera.
Imagine having the last name "Best" and living up to that name lol.
Dude, that goal starting at 2:45.. that's pure world class skill and talent that is awesome in any era of football.
Genius is eternal.
Messi looks like him in this clip.
@@hoochymama haha, I would've said the same thing, Messi is doing that haha It's strange to acknowledge that everything players do today were already being done half a century ago haha
The thing that’s strikes me most with George is how easy he made it look, such a talent
No featherlight ball, perfect diet, golf coarse pitches, pundits drooling over you for money, celebrity fans eating prawn sandwiches giving opinions, just working class fans on a Saturday afternoon watching a talent that is rare and never to be forgotten. Sad that there is not enough footage of him, and I'm a Man City fan lucky enough to see him numerous times.
Right on the money with that comment!
Able to control the ball like that on a pitch that is basically a ploughed field and having lumps kicked out of him in the tackles.
@@WillCamx Spot on👍.A certain generation just.don't understand how good these guys were,PELE.(May his soul R.I.P) Cruyff,Best,Eusabio,Bobby Charlton Maradona,Baggio,Mathius, Socrates..All they know is Messi and CR7.
He also played against players who had to work a second job because playing soccer full time didn’t cut it. He played against plumbers. Surely would be an average player in todays game
@@jamesmessi2331 Played against players who were actually allowed to tackle and stayed on his feet unlike the overprotected drama queens of today who fall down at the slightest touch and roll about like they're having some sort of fit.
What an underrated player too bad we lost him at only 59! He’s top 10 in my books! RIP legend
He was the most skillful player I have ever seen. Perhaps not the best teammate but individually sublime.
His composure in front of goal was sublime.
He just didn't care and no one could stop him.
Class, genius, elegance that has few equals in the world of football: surely George Best is among the 10 best players of all time.
Without a shadow of a doubt, one of the best ever, at his peak he was untouchable and any pro from around that time will tell you so.
If not the best - it’s in the name.
No. He was better than that.
The BEST ever!
Top 5 , our greatest ever player
His bursts of speed - incredible.
What is instantly recognisable is his composure on the ball despite the melee around him, he instantly creates space in the tightest of situations by going up or down one gear. Lovely to see that in action when so many think that you can only go faster to create that space and time.
This is a great observation.
Agreed, he was so comfortable-confident with the ball.
Messi I think is like that as well. Nothing fazess them him or Best. RIP Champ.🇬🇧
totally unfazed when close to goal. Anyone else would shoot, he doesn't have to
He had incredible balance and turn of foot.
I'm old enough to have watched Best in his prime and can recall a number of goals much better than this that were never captured on film.
What people rarely talk about is this man's courage. He was well under 6 foot tall and quite slightly built, but he used to get kicked from pillar to post and would finish a game with his legs badly bruised and blooded. That said, he very rarely retaliated. He just picked himself up and got on with it. That aspect of his game is what has stuck in my mind more than his skill and trickery down the years. He was a great, great player.
You are so right. I lived in Manchester when he was in his prime and I remember a local channel showing his legs hacked to bits by rough tackles. Had guts to spare
And he used to turn up to most of his games without warmup at all and drunk
@Robert Doyle you mad?
@Robert Doyle what do you mean 'ashamed' you absolute clown, pele said he was the greatest player of all time you muppet so don't say anything on a subject you don't have any knowledge of.
Glynn Pardoe might disagree.
Showing my age here. How smart the shirts look without an advert splashed across the front. Those standing crowds look so natural unlike todays counterparts sat in neat rows and just applauding politely at the final whistle.
I saw George scorea hat trick as Utd beat the Saints 5-2. he was the difference between the teams that day.
Martin - Yes and no distracting pitchside flashing advertising, or silly goal celebrations of today, or kneeling political stunts by teams. Just a simpler age where only the actual football mattered!
Replica people living replica lives in replica football shirts, says it fucking all.
@@dermot51 his goal in america still baffles me now and the audicity to kick the ball out of banks's hand. and the one in 68 final
I saw him play at the dell myself and the charltons etc
Yes, someone said it. The adverts across the jerseys now look so cheesy... I know it's a business and there's millions of dollars that need to be paid out to players, but the adverts should be smaller than the crest of the actual football team.
The ball had an uncanny habit of sticking to George like glue. Magical gifted and very human with it.
The most mesmerizing footballer ever
Imagination, audacity, speed, and accuracy. He had it all.
He played about 6 games for Bournemouth. I saw one of em at Southend. He was 37 and still easily the best player on the pitch. I remember he tried to score from the kick off. Quite a day for the 9 year old me. I'm a West Ham fan but cried when he died. Gifted player.
Must have been amazing to see him at Roots Hall.
He was a one off,, brilliant goals, skillfull, , there's nobody in the premier league, now, better than he was..!!
I’m an Evertonian 💙...but I was in awe of Georgie Best back in the 60’s...even watching those goals again, and again just reminds me of what a brilliant player he was.....so natural with the ball, even on those mud heaps the ball was ‘stuck’ to his magical feet....I’m blessed to have seen him play ...💙
Has to be the greatest player of all time, pure genius 👏 rip George thanks for the memories 🙏
Yes he is!!!
@@RocketCalcutta not even the best of his era
@@user-mh6nm5mv4b I was there, and to me, and countless others, he was! As far as I am concerned, he had something so unique and special.
@@RocketCalcutta a great player but not as good as pele or cruyff
@@user-mh6nm5mv4b Pele and Cruyff were sensational but for me watching Best was like watching someone from another dimension. His graceful ease and sublime fluidity made him seem like some kind of enchanted wind spirit in human form. But of course, this is my highly subjective viewpoint. Everyone to their own tastes 😌🙏🏼
The 5th Beatle and what an amazing player he was, his love of women and nightlife was also legendary. R.I.P Bestie The King of N. Ireland
I'm a Man U fan and all I can say is thank you Belfast.
I do believe he once said, “ I spent about 90% of my money on Booze and Women, the other 10% I wasted”. RIP George, you really were the best
The maverick genius of a great player. George best. Best, zidane, Le tissier, my 3 all time favourite players.
There's about 20 "5th" Beatles, apparently.
Forget about the lifestyle ..He was a magical player ..Retired 27 .. Genius .. Irish legend
How you can not like that is beyond me. What a legend ❤
George's skill on the ball is one thing but his reading of the game and knowing where the ball may go and where he should be is truly great. The similarity between he and another tortured genius his countryman Alex Higgins is uncanny.
Alcohol?
@@mizofan Yes alcoholism blighting each of their superlative natural talents, each not fulfilling their full potential, each having troubled private lives and reaching the end of their own lives in sad circumstances. But what a legacy left, they lived their lives as best they could given their ailments, and what lives they were! RIP Legends.
@@mizofan two genious never see the like again mohammed ali in the league
Higgins wasn’t a great player
@@dondamon4669 maybe not a safe player but still great in his own right.
He gave my parents great joy so he will always be number 1 in my book, I don't even like snooker anymore, it's way too boring, with the exception of maybe O'Sullivan there's never been anything like Higgins and Jimmy White for edge of the seat and off the cuff genius.
Absolute legend of a football player .. His balance and skill was unreal. Rip George
I like to look through clips of the old masters from time to time, but the one I can never resist is Best. I don't think anyone has ever looked more at one with the ball.
Greatest ever player in my opinion. I was lucky enough to get my photo taken with him. Incredible player !!!
Você é maluco! George Best é a minha pica. Pelé é maior
That trap and drag on the final goal ! Those pitches..woah. Imagine if he was on the perfect pitches of today? Think how many goals he scored that were missed by tv cameras.
I saw just such a goal. For Fulham. No camera's. Cold night, icy pitch, Best on the ball 35 yards out, opposition keeper comes to the edge of the box sbouting instructions. Slips over. Best sees it. Immediately chips the ball, with pace. Whilst the keeper is still trying to stand up, like a new born horse, the ball sails in to the net. Genius and awareness.
Today's defenders wouldn't give him so much freedom as those did
@@sergeyalexandrovich8443 that's almost certainly true in the top divisions now.
@@sergeyalexandrovich8443 More to the point they wouldn’t have been allowed to try and scythe him down as they did in those days. Those two footed tackles would have been red carded these days - even though Best was so quick that they didn’t make cintact
One of the greatest ever, true legend.
And so modest in his genius. Scores a goal, acknowledges the congratulations of his team-mates (and even shakes hands with one who set up one of his goals) never sliding into the corner, big-noting himself declaring "how good am I?" Not like the wallies these days.
I agree. No double pointing in mock ecstasy at the heavens as if to say, I'm as great as him up there.
I don't know whether it's the players fault that they appear so narcissistic today, or whether to quote a Kate Wolf song "it's the times we are living in". Honestly though, the English Football Association, Manchester United, etc could and should have done more to help George Best as his life was spinning out of control imo.
@@jamesdolan4042 I'm 57 from Hammersmith and Chelsea FC.. used to go see Fulham FC just to see George..and I %100 agree the F.A. and player's union or whatever should of helped him with his drinking problem.. I've been teetotaler over ten years in considering in my teens and to my forties I worked for Watneys brewery and Fuller's brewery 😎😎
Because that was the way of celebrating then. Things change over time. Mind you, watching those clips the goalkeeping and a lot of the defending was absolutely woeful, wasn't it. I'm glad that's changed!
His turn of pace was incredible.
He was very light, but strong so could turn easily.
George Best is a rare breed, true Legend.
I saw George Best in action against Arsenal at Highbury in the late 60's. He took two defenders with him ,stopped turned on his heal and punted the ball past Arsenal goalkeeper Jim Furnell. Arsenal till I die but that man had class! What a privilige to have seen that!
That must have been a fantastic experience! On an unrelated topic, did you notice that, in the last goal of the video, United’s outfit was the yellow shirts and blue shorts historically associated with Arsenal as their away kit? Or was it Stockport, which Best briefly played for?
@@sergiosaunier
Best was definitely not playing for Stockport there! That was for Man Utd away at Southampton in the early 1970s.
@@staceygrove5976 Ok! I thought it might be from the brief period he played for Stockport County because their colours are yellow and blue.
Very interesting memory, and I remember his game in Moscow for the national team. I support Spartak.
Thank you, good luck!
That , my mate is the comment of a proper football fan.
Those were the days, when best was at his best. RIP GEORGE BEST ⚽️🙏 🏴
Fantastic skills from George, what I also found interesting was the after goal celebrations so low key compared to today, it was like “just scored, well done, now let’s get on with the game.”
Yes, today's pampered superstars with their tired celebratory rituals each thinking they're being so entertaining and original couldn't lace this guy's boots. A better age in football no doubt!
In the past Football was a Sport , Today it is a bizness lol .
@@houcinimahmoud9298 And turned into politics....
Good...better...BEST!!
And it was great to see shirts with no silly advertising everywhere!..just pure team colours..how it still should be but of course it's all about the money now!🙄👹
Had heard about George Best, saw his video clip for the first time....In this short span of a 3 mnt clip i can now understand why many consider him to be the best ever player. Cheers to George Best 👍
I forget there are people who never saw him play. Take it from me he was better than they say.
I feel a caveat coming on, His genius was bourne out of his love for the game and the pureness of his enjoyment of playing in a way those against him couldn't. He lost interest from intrusive dissection by a society and Press that was alien to his mentality.
In those days very few matches were filmed, so most of his moments of genius aren't on film. He was the greatest player of all time without question.
HE IS THE GREATEST EVER PLAYER TO GRACE A FOOTBALL PITCH!!!
I only saw him play live at his testimonial at Windsor Park he was past his best but he created a goal out of nothing the stadium was packed with only one seated stand people stood through the heavy rain
Lo mejor de él no solo es el espectáculo de su futbol, sino también su cautivadora sonrisa, su melena al viento, su barba, sus patillas, su camiseta por fuera del pantalón, su rebeldía, que además era el quinto beatle y, qué diablos, la vida está para disfrutarla y él lo hizo sin complejos: alcohol y chicas. Y nos ha dejado como legado ese futbol maravilloso que yo no olvido desde que con 7 años lo vi jugar por televisión desde mi país, España. Desde entonces supe que ni Pelé, ni Maradona, ni nada. Mi ídolo siempre fue y será Georgie Best. Diablo de irlandés.
Very poetic! True.
Sí, aunque después se arrepintió de tanto alcohol cuando murió agonizando varios días con mucho dolor en un hospital. Pero no podía dejar el alcohol ni siquiera después del transplante de hígado que había recibido, ya era un adicto. Pobre loco, murió como vivió, y solamente se arrepintió cuando estaba agonizando, mientras tanto vivió como quiso
best player i have ever seen in an era of alot of very good players no one comes any where near him in my
estimation.
you have not watched Pele. Oh well.
@@annarakannan6620 did not see much brazillian football during the
60and70 except for the world cupsp
Best was very talented...saw him once at Wembley but he wasn't in the same class as Pele, Maradona or Messi.
Pele and Best are in the same level .lf Best Played in England team he would have been more famous .Too bad !
@@houcinimahmoud9298 I saw Best play.Yes he was a truly brilliant player but he wasn't as good as Pele.Best was the leading scorere in the first division (now Premier league before top foreign players played in it) just once and came in the top 5 just a couple of times.
One of the all time greats he was magical
LEGEND! Nothing more needs to be said.
He was an entertainer of the highest calibre, which is sadly missing from today's robotic footballers.
Thank you to Ireland for the best natural talent ever to play in the English league. To think he did a lot of stuff whilst hung over, can’t imagine what he could have been with modern conditioning and training.
I as a 10 year old football player and fanatic was mesmerised by his genius to my family’s dismay I became a Man U fan no regrets xxxxx
There are plenty more examples of his genius, not only scoring but putting defenders on their back sides and creating goals for others. Two great feet and a great header of the ball for his size. Brave, exciting, dazzling. A beautiful player - shame he didn't play for a better national side and shame about his descent into alcoholism. Wonderful, wonderful player when pitches were poor and defenders were vicious.
Quality never dies.
A real football champion.
He was a natural, I could watch him all day.
I had great pleasure in seeing Best Law and Charlton play at the Baseball ground against my team Derby County. Fond memories. R I P George
That ball from Johnny Aston to Best in the Chelsea goal was perfectly weighted to assist the move.
Nel 1972 ero a Manchester, nel pomeriggio di sabato si giocava Manchester Southampton , ed io ero presente allo stadio Old Trafford ( che bello che emozione) ricordo alcuni giocatori per il Southampton Mike Channon, che siglo ' un gran goal, Bobby Charlton e George Best per lo United, mi sembra il risultato finale fu 2/1 per il M. United, che bello ricordare quel sabato pomeriggio🇮🇹👍👏 ciao da Piero from Tuscany
Wow I couldn’t imagine what an experience, how was George best in person ?
52years HAVE passed since that saturday afternoon(25 novembre 1972) i was 22 Years old, i Remember my big emotion being at Old Trafford Stadium watching M. United - Southampton . The scorers were Wyn Davies, and Ted Macdougail for United, and Mike Channnon for Southampton, he also played for England team i was in Manchester , guest of a beautiful girl, i HAVE met in London were i was working as waiter in an italian restaurant🇮🇹 , the final result was 2/1 forUNITED, George Best was One of the best wingers ever all over the world also nowdays , he was a true show seeing him playing his skill of football grazie thank you
George Best will be great in any era!
The goal he scored against Chelsea when N0 3: Ron 'Chopper' Harris, I think, tried to break his legs is the greatest goal ever. He rode that tackle, then sold the goalie a dummy to pop it into the net.
Truly the GOAT.
I was in the stretford end that night..the united fans were willing him on so much to score that goal..Harris tried to hack his legs away and best made him look stupid!..players today wouldn't last five minutes on those pitches he played on week after week..genius and best player I've ever seen!👍🤨👹
Any goal against Chelsea is great but that was something truly special.
Today's players would have gone screaming for a penalty
What is not realised about George is that either four was as strong and efficient as the other, he could head the ball, he could tackle strongly with either foot, he could pass the ball sixty yards to land perfectly at the feet of a team mate, his reading of game was only surpassed by Bobby Moore and finally, sadly, he never got to show it on the biggest stage as NI never qualified for international tournaments. He met my son when my son was seven, he tousled his hair and spoke sincerely, what an absolute God of football.
God I wish he could been around longer, as a player, and as a pundit, what a fantastic personality, very humble genius.
George always wanted an all-Ireland team. It would have been some team, and would have qualified for major tournaments. Jennings, Rice, Nelson, Dougan and Best combining with Giles, Heighway, Givens and Tony Dunne
@@joekavanagh7171, that would have been a very strong team Joe.
@@steaks652 I agree. Even today it is absurd that there are two teams on this small island. Neither of them is a force in international football, but they could be so much stronger if they united.
I know he was a shadow of his former self in 82 but he still should've gone instead of the zero cap, no marks who filled up the squad spaces. At 35/36 he could've been brought on as a sub etc. Nicholl was also 36 and played. Roger Miller of Cameroon was at least 38 when he played at Italia 90
Fast, great balance, excellent overview - and a fighter - everything a great forward needs.
Theres been thousands of goals over the years from a lad in the park to Maradona against England and yet its the Last Goal in this clip from Best that always takes my breath away most 👌👌👌👏👏👏
The only person he couldn't beat was himself.
I remember the Man U keeper saying George didn’t get it all and we didn’t get it all .
Thanks for putting this film up , supreme ball control , one of the all time graets , very sadly missed .
There will never be a better player in my eyes my football Hero Genius RIP GEORGE THE BEST FOOTBALL PLAYER EVER.
best by name and ability
@Victor Bastos NO WAY MAN GEORGE USED IS FEET NOT IS HANDS .
@Victor Bastos George played football maradona was a dirty cheat.
Ronaldo 9 🇧🇷 is literally the best and most gifted player who ever played the game💯
Absolute genius and had such joy for the game aswell. how can you not enjoy watching him.
He was streets ahead of his contemporaries.A little lrish fella that never ceases to amaze.
People dont realise how smart he was. I saw him on a quiz show, where he was on a team of four. He answered pretty much all of his teams questions.
I was so fortunate to see him play at OT.
I recall one match in November about 1966 v Newcastle. Harold Wilson (PM) was in the stands just behind me.
As usual in the second half, Utd, played towards their favourite Stretford end. George was trapped in the far corner near the cantilever stand by two defenders. He turned to his right... no way out. Turned to the left ... the same. Left .. right .. left'... right.. Blocked!
So he rolled the ball onto his foot, flicked it up and did a scissors kick over his shoulder right into the penalty area.
Stood there was Dennis with his back to goal, who did a bicycle kick right in the back of the net. OT erupted to such wizardry. Only for it to be disallowed by the ref for ......... dangerous kicking (nobody was near him). Absolute sacrilege!
Super! Thanks!
George "the" Best for ever!
✌️🤠💥🌟⚽🏆🌀🌐
@#rolfdejonge@
Georgie Best. So calm and collected under pressure.
When I played football as a kid in the sixties I was always George Best ;)
His close control of the ball.. keeping it glued to his feet on those pockmarked pitches.. poetry in motion!
My first memory of football at age 6 was watching George Best on our black and white TV as he took the ball around the Benfica goalkeeper to score United's second goal in the European Cup final at Wembley in 1968. From then on I was a fan. I had his picture taped to my school copybooks and chewed "George Best Match Gum" before playing our weekly kickabouts. We didn't see much football on TV in Ireland in those days but I saw enough to say that I've never seen anyone who was more at one with a football, with the possible exception of Maradona.
In the 60s and 70s people loved to see players dribble the ball, and while people rightly celebrate Maradona's 2nd goal in the '86 World Cup final, we expected the same thing from George Best every time he touched the football. When I see football on TV today all I see is players passing the ball to each other in tight little triangles, for the most part going nowhere. Best would have put most of them on their backsides, and when they got back up he'd have gone back with the ball and done it to them again - as indeed he did on some occasions. He sometimes had defenders looking at him like rabbits staring at headlights, afraid to tackle him in case he put them on their bums.
Considering the number of goals he scored against defenders like Norman Hunter and Ron "Chopper" Harris, with no protection, heaven knows how many goals he'd have scored in today's game. With all due respect to Messi and Ronaldo, who are superlative players, I honestly think George was a naturally more gifted player than any of them.
This man was really outstanding, I'm sorry he suffered so much.
I saw Bestie play a couple of times, an absolute genius, on muddy pitches and crunching tackles, not even Chopper Harris could stop him. The likes of Messi and CR7 wouldn't get a look in if he was playing today, on pristine pitches and modern rules, a shame he didn't play in any World Cups, he truly was the G.O.A.T
Loooooool that was quite funny
Bit overdramatic dont ya think?
The pitches he had to play on and the defenders he had to play against confirm he was in the top 5 best players ever. On todays pitches and the tackles now outlawed that he was subjected to he would indeed have been a sight to see in the Premiership.
My favourite is the goal against Chelsea. He'd had a bit of a goal drought, apparently.
Ron Harris tries to take him off at the knees, but George just wriggles past, makes Bonnetti fall over and slips the ball in. All on a mud heap. Genius.
Peter Bonetti (the cat)
@@mizofan well he certainly "landed on all fours" on that occasion
Entre os 5 top do mundo! Foi um esquecido! From Rio Brasil
The man was a genius, loved watching him, imagine what he could do with today's pitches and balls, I remember him taking his boot of in one match and then dribbling around players, spurs i think
Best had everything: TWO good feet, not one like Pele, Maradona, Messi and others; he was brilliant in the air; he rode tackles as if they weren't there; he did things you just couldn't believe any other player could. I'm a Liverpool fan, but for me George Best was the greatest of them all
So few games shown back in the day & yet still such brilliance to enjoy .
Looks like he had 2 more gears than any other player. His acceleration was awesome.
Defenders are much quicker now.
@@markant9534 He would Still would leave them standing wondering where he had gone
As well as the skill, people forget how quick he was. Look at that turn of pace when he scored against Sheffield United.
I was there that day, as a young 11 or 12 yo kid. First away game I can remember supporting SUFC. Never saw a crowd so big, thought we would be crushed there were so many people in the ground that day. GB broke my heart that day with that goal.....the man was a genius with a ball.
Grande, muy muy grande
Eterno George BEST !!!!!
I never saw any of the greats play live, but as local premiere league player in the 90's I remember just looking at clips of past games and seeing this guy with "chops" just leave everyone in his wake and wouldn't go down even when hit by much bigger guys!!!. It was only years later that I researched and found all these great clips and really absorbed them as a player - especially as a mid-fielder. George imho was the most versatile in every area of the game; left foot, right foot, speed, header, timing, game intelligence, toughness, and he was exceptional in all of these, not just good!. But two things stood out that almost no-one then or now have :-Supreme Balance : Incredible ability to stay on his feet despite brutal hacks!, and Creativity ;- he saw opponents weakness and found not one or two ,but several ways to beat them - sometimes in the one play !! - it was insanely good. Don't get me wrong Pele is insanely great and his records speak for themselves so it's hard to argue against him, but even he said "Best is the greatest player ever to come out of the British isles". Maradona also hard to argue against, and in some ways they were better and clearly their records were better, but even these legends did not have ALL those abilities that he did. I see people here talking about Ronaldo's and Christiano' etc...and that' all fine but how do you compare ?- these guys have science, teams of trainers, perfect fields to play on, vastly different rules, and soccer in general and life around it is very different and far more professional now. As far as just PLAYING-Assessing every single skill set and a players ability to combine all of them - to me George was the Best & I doubt there will ever be anyone like him ever. R I P legend.
Remember as a teenager watching him on the tele. He was mesmerizing. The best British footballer ever.
I still think that people should remember his name for both his good looks and mature skills @ football soccer
One of the best in the world. Name seven better? You choose!!
He's not British he's from northern Ireland
Saw him once and he scored perhaps the greatest goal of his career 😳
He was playing for Fulham in the League Cup against Peterborough Utd.
He had put on some weight and was thicker in the legs but damn could he turn fast. In his prime he must have been a nightmare to play against.
Best by name best by nature ..way ahead of his time ! Nothing on the planet like him at that time
Didn't see a lot of him just highlight reels & he was a genius over the ball & putting in the back of the net. Freak ! 👍
...ONE OF THE BEST...
Absolute legend Britain will never produce another player like him
R.I.P George Best
Ireland Will.😉😃😆
What a loss to international football that he was born in Northern Ireland.
His skills were beyond compare, his ability beyond question.
His goal scoring sublime, George Best was in a class all of his own.
I'm grateful that I got to see him play the game, a few times.
Im an Evertonian, the man was magic! Nothing like him since.
I got moved to watch this after reading his autobiography. Though I saw him at Old Trafford as a kid, I'd forgotten how brilliant he was and after reading his book you still wouldn't remember- he is so humble and shrugs off his talent casually. It's a great (though slightly depressing) read and he pulls no punches about what a dick he was at times- especially whe he was a slave to the booze. Fascinating insight to the life of the 60's, of how it was to be a footballer in those so different days and the constant rise and fall of a legend.