George Best passed away yesterday. Born in Northern Ireland, Best went on to become Great Britain's first true global football superstar. A slick, weaving and clever hard-tacking forward, Best was incredibly skillful and a masterful deceiving menace to opposing defenders.Best arrived on the British football scene in 1963 with West Bromwich - five years after the Busby tragedy. In 1965, he inspired Manchester United to the Premiership title and the semi-finals in the European Cup. He led them to another title in 1967. In 1968, his performance in a 4-1 masterful defeat of Benfica in the Champions' Cup finals - Man-U's first - earned him the nickname "O'Beatle" by the Portuguese press. Manchester United did not win another Champions League Cup until 1999.
When all was said and done, the "Fifth Beatle" scored 136 goals in 361 appearances for Man-U. He was voted World and European Footballer of the Year in 1968. Unfortunately, because Best was born in Northern Ireland, the football world never had the chance to watch him showcase his skills on the biggest stage; the World Cup.
His on-field prowess was matched by his off-field antics. Addicted to women and alcohol, Best was washed up by the age of 28; usually the peak years for any athlete. Indeed, he was another great tragic figure among sports legends. God knows there have been a few in North American professional sports.
The tributes have been gracefully and furiously coming in fast. So, where does George Best fit among the all-time greats?
There is no doubt he is among the greatest footballers of the century. Where he fits is a little more difficult to assess. As mentioned, he did not play in the World Cup - though this should have no weight except for popularity considerations - and his career was cut short.
Soccer - and sports in general - is highly subjective. Nor is soccer a sport that relies too much on statistics like we relish in North America. Still, there should be some parameters to follow. One writer from the London Daily Graph ranked him behind Pele and Maradona. Another had him just behind those two and Johan Cruyff. Nice sentiments but a little misguided.
I won't even attempt to rank him. What I will do is point out where some prestigious and important soccer publications placed him. Placar, Brazil's soccer magazine, ranked him 27th in a list of top 100 - a list dominated by 25 Brazilians and 11 Italians. Italy's Venerdi Magazine published their 100 top players (100 Magnifici) in no particular order which included George Best. Another Italian magazine, Guerin Sportivo, compiled a list of the world's top 50 players in the century. Interestingly, Best was left off the list. France's Planéte Football, did include him in their top 50 list; A list which included 6 Brazilians and 6 Italians. France Footballer ranked him 12th. Last, World Soccer magazine mentions Best in their top 100.
In all these lists and others I examined, along with fan threads I read, we can arrive at a reasonable conclusion as to where George Best fit among the all-time greats. In each of these, he was firmly and staunchly behind the geniuses of the game. They include, Pelé, Diego Maradona, Johan Cruyff, Alfredo DiStefano, Eusebio, Ferenc Puskas, Giuseppe Meazza, Michel Platini and Garrincha. For those of you who are wondering where Beckenbauer and Baresi are, not to mention goalkeepers, I kept it to midfielders and forwards. Heck, I'm sure there are many a Briton who would debate who was greatest among Matthews, Charlton, Moore or Best. Such is sports.
On this day, however, it doesn't really matter. George Best does sit comfortably along side these majestic players. Soccer has lost one of its true giants.
As a Canadian, I didn't even know who George Best was until he died. Was he the Wayne Gretzky of soccer? Or more like a Ron Francis (still a hall of famer, but not a "genius")?
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