George Best was a football player associated with Manchester United. He won the European Cup in the year 1968 and was named European Footballer of the Year, 1968. George Best was also named Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year and European Footballer of the Year for the 1966-67 seasons.
George Best belonged to Northern Ireland and he was born to Dicky Best and Anne Withers. George Best spent his childhood in Cregagh, Belfast along with his four sisters and one brother.
Manchester United scout Bob Bishop is credited with discovering George Best’s talent when the latter was just 15 years old. The first football game George Best played was against West Bromwich Albion at Old Trafford in 1963.
George Best’s talent gained him quick popularity and when he scored a couple of goals in a European Cup quarter-final match in 1966 against Benfica, he became famous., George Best was only 20, then.
George Best was equally popular for his good looks, long hair and the luxurious life he led. He was variously called ‘The Fifth Beatle’, the ‘Belfast Boy’, ‘Georgie’ and ‘Geordie’ by his fans. Described as one of the 50 most stylish men in the last 50 years by the magazine GQ, George Best was undoubtedly a celebrity footballer in his time.
His iconic status led to the creation of an exhaustive line of products as George Best memorabilia ranging from t-shirts, prints, photographs, canvases, cigarette lighters, autographed fridge magnets, bone china mugs, porcelain and bone china plates, card sets, whisky miniature sets and a lot more.
Besides football, Best tried his hand at other businesses too. Two nightclubs, Oscar’s and Slack Alice’s were opened by George Best in Manchester. George Best also owned a number of fashion boutiques. In California, George Best came up with the popular ‘Bestie’s Beach Club’.
Apart from Manchester, George Best was also associated with various other clubs in countries such as America, Scotland, Ireland and Australia. Between 1976 and 1977, George Best played for Fulham Football Club. Between the years 1976 and 1981, George Best was associated with three different clubs in the United States. These included Fort Lauderdale Strikers, Los Angeles Aztecs and San Jose Earthquakes. George Best spent some time with the Detroit Express too. The last part of the year 1982 saw George Best becoming a part of A.F.C. Bournemouth where he remained until his retirement at the age of 37. Northern Ireland still pays tribute to this great footballer with the popular saying, "Maradona good; Pelé better; George Best."
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