The fifth Beatles with no. 7!

I would like people to remember me for what I did on the field…”.

These are the words of George Best, one of the most controversial figures in the history of football and of course, the only one who was “All in One”!

He came from Northern Ireland, “Belfast Boy”. Best came to Manchester at the age of 15 and as an obedient son of a family with rules, he never forgot to write letters to his family, twice a week. He trained with Manchester twice a week and after almost two years, the “architect” of United’s history, Mat Busby, finally agrees and makes him part of the formation of the team he was building for the second time in history.

Five years ago, that the entire team of Manchester United lost their lives during the air tragedy in Munich, Germany. He is only 19 years old when, after the match in Portugal for the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup against Benfica, he receives from the Portuguese the title “O quinto Beatle – the fifth Beatle”.

Now, he became famous!

Before the fame, he was an alcohol addicted , one of his three weaknesses, but also the friend-enemy that became an inseparable part of his life, at first destroying him and once, finally taking him!

At the age of 22, like few others to date, he won the English Premier League title, the Champions Cup and the Ballon d’Or!

It is an absolute star!

Uses his wealth and name and opens a shop of boutiques selling men’s perfumes, clothes and shoes. He was the first to introduce glamor into the world of football, directly influencing fashion. That’s why it was often called “Fashion Forward”.

It was he who paved the way that David Beckham would walk 30 years later. Of course, he had previously been careful to identify himself with the number 7 on the red shirt.

”What is the most tempting for you? To spend a night with Miss World or to score from 40m at Anfield?” journalists once asked him.

“I don’t know… I’ve tried both!” answered George Best without any complex.

Women were one of his three great passions. Even today, there are many stories told about him in Manchester and beyond. George Best outside the football fields, was the same thing as Alain Delon outside the cinematography!

His third great passion was football. In fact, football brought him fame and fortune. Erotic scandals hit his name, but alcohol took everything he achieved from football!

Here too, he was the first to open the series of footballers – self-destructive people like Garrinça, Maradona, Mueller, Gasgoine…

People prefer to remember George Best, as well as Maradona, through football.

In Belfast, everyone remembers him as that simple man like you and me, who was in the PUB from the morning and offered drinks whoever was next to him.

By Arian Muraj

_______________

Sports Vision + / The Hour of The Champion, in activity since 2013