Bestie

Most of the TV tributes to George Best are calling him 'the greatest player of his generation' and 'the best ever'. It's difficult to argue against, should you want to. Best had it all and nowadays we rarely see a player even attempt the things that he could do with ease.

There was never enough players on the park for Best to beat and if a defender wanted to get up off the deck and try to tackle him again, he was happy to wait for him to get to his feet, then beat him again.

I always enjoyed watching old footage of Best, on muddy pitches that wouldn't even pass muster on a council field, shimming past one defenders desperate lunge, then another's, before slotting the ball home. He was what wanting to be a football player was all about. When you played in the street that was the way you wanted to play the game. For all his individuality he was still a team player and helped Manchester United to their greatest success in the 1968 European Cup Final. Showing that Celtic's win of the previous year was no fluke and that the Southern European sides' dominance was at an end.

But the thing with football is that when your playing days are over you still have to live your life in the public eye and do so without a clear indication of what you're going to do next. Best was never going to make a manager and therefore never really found a niche to sit in comfortably. He became as famous for his lifestyle as for his football skills, but today the latter is what everyone is focused on.

You can say that he chucked away his talents, leaving Manchester United as he did at 26, you can say that he was unfortunate to play in an international side where the only truly outstanding outfield player was himself, but the thing about George Best was that he lived his life the way he wanted to live it.

Here are his complete career statistics. He played in the days when it was commonplace to head over to play in the US in the British close season.

1946: Born 22 May
Man Utd 1963-73: 466 games 178 goals
Stockport County 1975: 3 games 2 goals
Cork Celtic 1975-76: 3 games 0 goals
LA Aztecs 1976: 24 games 15 goals
Fulham 1976-77: 37 games 8 goals
LA Aztecs 1977: 25 games 13 goals
Fulham 1977: 10 games 2 goals
LA Aztecs 1978: 12 games 1 goal
Fort Lauderdale 1979: 14 games 5 goals
Hibernian 1979-80: 16 games 3 goals
Fort Lauderdale 1980: 19 games 2 goals
Hibernian 1980: 6 games 0 goals
San Jose 1981-82: 56 games 21 goals
AFC Bournemouth 1983: 5 games 0 goals
Brisbane Lions 1983: 4 games 0 goals