Best was the man who originated the
Number 7 legend at United, making the shirt
an icon of skill, desire and status. Among its
wearers have been Ronaldo, Cantona,
Beckham and Robson. But Best was the best
of the lot, a supremely talented footballer
who could dribble, pass, perform outrageous
tricks and score goals. Busby once said of
him that he was the best at everything at
the club – best tackler, fastest runner,
hardest shoot er, most skilful... And as with
Cantona years later, the flamboyance was
backed by a work ethic that meant Best was
a great trainer. He scored 179 goals in 4 70
matches – an impressive number for a player
who was not an out-and-out striker and was
rarely the beneficiary of a tap in. Many of
them are memorable, owing to his sublime
touch and insane ball control, which enabled
him to dribble past defenders and round
goalkeepers. Best had his problems off the
pitch, wanting to outdo everyone there as
well as on it before finally succumbing to his
destructive streak, but as José Mourinho
famously said, “Players like George Best
never die. What they leave behind them
never dies.” Anyone who saw Best at his
peak will attest to the truth of that verdict.Charlton was more than a great player; he was the rock
on which the club was anchored in the dark days after
Munich, the one constant (even above Busby) who kept
the club afloat, kept the dream alive and dragged the
club back to the pinnacle of the sport. For a long time
Charlton was at the head of both the all-time
appearances list (758) and the all-time scorers list (249),
and though he’s now slipped into second place on both,
behind Giggs and Rooney respectively, it’s still a mark of
the player as to how long and successful his United
career was. Born in Northumberland, Charlton signed to
the club as a 15 year old on 9 February 1953, although
his mother insisted he start an apprenticeship as an
electrical engineer in case the football didn’t work out.
Strong and well balanced, with a piledriver of a right foot- though he was genuinely two-footed – Charlton was
equally at home in midfield or up front. He always carried
with him the pain of losing his friends and team-mates,
but he paid them homage in the best way possible by
winning the European Cup.
02
BOBBY CHARLTON
1953–1973
03
GEORGE
BEST
1963–1974
“A SUPREMELY TALEnTED
FOOTBALLER WHO COULD DRIBBLE,
PASS, PERFORM OUTRAGEOUS
TRICKS AnD SCORE GOALS”
“IT’S STILL A MARK OF THE
PLAYER AS TO HOW LOnG AnD
SUCCESSFUL HIS UnITED
CAREER WAS”
THE
STORY OF
MAn UTD58 The Story of Man Utd FourFourTwo.com