George Best: All by Himself

0:00:10 > 0:00:11George Best is through.

0:00:11 > 0:00:13He goes round Enrique. He must score.

0:00:14 > 0:00:16And the crowd rising to Best.

0:00:16 > 0:00:19Here comes Best again.

0:00:19 > 0:00:21- What a player this boy is. He's got another!- What a...

0:00:31 > 0:00:34I'm taking my new baby for a check-up.

0:00:36 > 0:00:38It's raining and it's miserable.

0:00:40 > 0:00:42It's like a movie.

0:00:42 > 0:00:45The windscreen wipers are going and I'm really happy

0:00:45 > 0:00:47because I've got my little baby next to me...

0:00:49 > 0:00:52..and I see this man walking down the centre of the road,

0:00:52 > 0:00:54down the yellow lines.

0:00:54 > 0:00:59And this poor man is all hunched over, soaking wet and I think, oh,

0:00:59 > 0:01:00my God, that poor homeless tramp.

0:01:03 > 0:01:07Then I realise it's my husband.

0:01:08 > 0:01:13Drunk as a skunk, walking down the road, soaking wet,

0:01:13 > 0:01:15obviously staggering home,

0:01:16 > 0:01:17and I just keep driving.

0:01:19 > 0:01:20Taking my baby to the doctor.

0:01:20 > 0:01:22I'm done. I'm done.

0:01:25 > 0:01:28He was out of reach in so many ways.

0:01:28 > 0:01:32Out of reach of not just his mates who wanted to help,

0:01:32 > 0:01:39and perhaps tried to. Out of reach of defenders, of coaches,

0:01:39 > 0:01:41of his ladies, of his wife.

0:01:46 > 0:01:50A true story of Shakespearean tragedy.

0:01:50 > 0:01:54Sad, isn't it? When somebody sabotages themselves, really.

0:01:54 > 0:01:58I think he was a victim of his excess.

0:01:58 > 0:02:02For a time there, he was the best player in the world.

0:02:33 > 0:02:35You can't describe the feeling.

0:02:35 > 0:02:38You know, this little skinny 15-year-old kid from Belfast

0:02:38 > 0:02:41has been invited to one of the biggest clubs in the world

0:02:41 > 0:02:42for a trial.

0:02:45 > 0:02:48The furthest I think I'd ever been out of Belfast was to Bangor,

0:02:48 > 0:02:50which was about 15 miles down the road.

0:02:52 > 0:02:55I just seen him going out of my life into a country

0:02:55 > 0:02:57that he knew nothing about.

0:02:57 > 0:03:00Wondered what he would do because of him being so shy and backward.

0:03:00 > 0:03:01He was very frail.

0:03:04 > 0:03:06I went off with Eric McMordie, another young lad.

0:03:08 > 0:03:09Because it was such a footballing city,

0:03:09 > 0:03:12I'd heard about him before I'd actually seen him.

0:03:14 > 0:03:16His reputation then was already growing.

0:03:22 > 0:03:25Manchester United, the name itself is frightening.

0:03:26 > 0:03:29The first thing that struck me was the size of everybody.

0:03:29 > 0:03:33We were two little kids, but when we looked at people like Harry Gregg,

0:03:33 > 0:03:34he looked like a monster to us.

0:03:36 > 0:03:40George went very quiet and I said to him, George,

0:03:40 > 0:03:44how did you feel, type of thing, and before he could answer I thought I'd

0:03:44 > 0:03:47better tell him and be honest with him exactly how I felt.

0:03:47 > 0:03:49He just said to me, 'Do you want to go home?'

0:03:49 > 0:03:52You know, we'd been there half a day or something.

0:03:52 > 0:03:54He said, I think I'd be better going home as well, Eric.

0:03:54 > 0:03:58We decided yeah, we didn't want to be away from home, and really,

0:03:58 > 0:04:00we didn't think we were going to make it.

0:04:04 > 0:04:08I think it was just the fact the two of us hadn't been very far

0:04:08 > 0:04:10in life, really, and found it extremely difficult.

0:04:12 > 0:04:15It's very, very hard for kids at 14 or 15 to leave home

0:04:15 > 0:04:18and not have their parents to turn to and ask advice from.

0:04:22 > 0:04:25When I came home, my brothers happened to say to me,

0:04:25 > 0:04:28"You've given one of the best opportunities of your life up."

0:04:32 > 0:04:35We all make mistakes in life and that was a mistake, a great mistake.

0:04:43 > 0:04:47On the fringe of a Munich airport lies the wreckage of an airliner.

0:04:47 > 0:04:51Still smouldering from a crash in which 21 people were killed.

0:04:51 > 0:04:53Tragedy enough at any time,

0:04:53 > 0:04:55but in that plane were a group of young men

0:04:55 > 0:04:58who were almost the personal friends of millions.

0:04:58 > 0:04:59Manchester United,

0:04:59 > 0:05:02the finest soccer team Britain has produced since the war.

0:05:07 > 0:05:09I was playing with Celtic then.

0:05:09 > 0:05:10I was only a kid on the reserve team.

0:05:10 > 0:05:13I remember going training on a Thursday night.

0:05:13 > 0:05:15It was only when we got to Celtic Park that we realised

0:05:15 > 0:05:18the number of players that more or less were dead

0:05:18 > 0:05:20and some of them that were near death.

0:05:22 > 0:05:24That's like the John Kennedy assassination.

0:05:24 > 0:05:25Everybody remembers that date

0:05:25 > 0:05:27and everyone remembers the date of Munich.

0:05:30 > 0:05:31Here is the news.

0:05:33 > 0:05:37The aircraft is a twin-engined Elizabethan on charter from BEA.

0:05:37 > 0:05:39It was returning from Belgrade,

0:05:39 > 0:05:43where Manchester United had entered the semifinal of the European Cup.

0:05:44 > 0:05:48Manchester United was the big name that everybody knew because of this

0:05:48 > 0:05:51European Cup, that had come into being at that time.

0:05:51 > 0:05:54Next to the World Cup, this was THE competition to be in.

0:05:55 > 0:05:58Manchester, from the moment the news came through,

0:05:58 > 0:05:59was a city in mourning.

0:05:59 > 0:06:01It was as though every family in a city

0:06:01 > 0:06:05of three quarters of a million people had suffered a personal loss.

0:06:05 > 0:06:08It was of such epic proportions at that time.

0:06:09 > 0:06:11What, 23 died?

0:06:11 > 0:06:13To me, they were everything.

0:06:13 > 0:06:16I mean, because they were a young side,

0:06:16 > 0:06:19most teams were full of old men.

0:06:19 > 0:06:21These were blokes who could've been my older brother.

0:06:22 > 0:06:25Matt Busby was their worst problem.

0:06:25 > 0:06:28For two days he lay between life and death with one of his lungs

0:06:28 > 0:06:31completely deflated. Then came the welcome news,

0:06:31 > 0:06:33Matt was off the danger list.

0:06:35 > 0:06:38I knew something terrible had happened.

0:06:38 > 0:06:40My wife was there.

0:06:40 > 0:06:44I said to her, you have to tell me what has happened.

0:06:44 > 0:06:47So when I went through the names,

0:06:47 > 0:06:52she either nodded her head or tossed her head like that.

0:06:54 > 0:06:57One really has to think football's going to go on,

0:06:57 > 0:06:59the club is going to manage.

0:06:59 > 0:07:02There are certain players that we know are survivors

0:07:02 > 0:07:04and I think with the help of a lot of the young fellows

0:07:04 > 0:07:07they have at Manchester United, then this Manchester United team

0:07:07 > 0:07:09will build itself again.

0:07:19 > 0:07:20I have lovely memories of home.

0:07:23 > 0:07:27We were never well off and I was the first of six, eventually.

0:07:28 > 0:07:31My father was an iron turner in the shipyards.

0:07:32 > 0:07:34My mother always had part-time jobs.

0:07:34 > 0:07:37She worked in an ice cream factory, a cigarette factory, anything,

0:07:37 > 0:07:39just to bring a few extra bob in.

0:07:40 > 0:07:43The sports freak in the family really was my mother.

0:07:43 > 0:07:44She was a hockey player.

0:07:44 > 0:07:47A very, very good hockey player and actually represented her country.

0:07:47 > 0:07:50I remember as a young kid, I used to go and watch her play.

0:07:50 > 0:07:54He walked before he was ten months old and he always had the ball,

0:07:54 > 0:07:55even at ten months old.

0:07:55 > 0:07:58And ever from that, he's played it right from ten months.

0:07:58 > 0:08:01The living room, bedroom, any place at all.

0:08:01 > 0:08:02Took the ball to bed.

0:08:07 > 0:08:08My whole life revolved around football.

0:08:17 > 0:08:18When I got home, poor mum and dad,

0:08:18 > 0:08:20they thought I'd done something wrong.

0:08:20 > 0:08:23They couldn't understand why I'd come home after a day.

0:08:23 > 0:08:25I felt I'd let my mum and dad down,

0:08:25 > 0:08:28so they contacted the club and spoke to Sir Matt.

0:08:30 > 0:08:33Sir Matt said, we'd like him to come back and try again.

0:08:37 > 0:08:40I'd gone there just three years after Munich.

0:08:40 > 0:08:44No-one really talked about the air crash.

0:08:44 > 0:08:45It wasn't taboo.

0:08:45 > 0:08:48People that had been involved in it who were still at the club really

0:08:48 > 0:08:51didn't want to discuss it, which you can understand, really.

0:08:58 > 0:09:02It was only a couple of years after Munich that George arrived.

0:09:02 > 0:09:04My mum, a widow,

0:09:04 > 0:09:08she was talked into taking in footballers from Old Trafford.

0:09:09 > 0:09:12He was treated as a son.

0:09:12 > 0:09:17If he stepped out of line, I mean, she'd tell him, same as she tell me.

0:09:17 > 0:09:20She was a typical landlady, you know?

0:09:20 > 0:09:24She became my second mum, looked after me and tried to protect me

0:09:24 > 0:09:26as much as she could.

0:09:31 > 0:09:33You did your training and in the afternoons

0:09:33 > 0:09:35you were cleaning the boots of your heroes.

0:09:35 > 0:09:37It was exciting, it really was.

0:09:39 > 0:09:41I went to watch a youth match at Old Trafford one day

0:09:41 > 0:09:44and this kid's playing outside left for United

0:09:44 > 0:09:45and I'm sitting beside Jack Crompton,

0:09:45 > 0:09:47who was the first team trainer.

0:09:48 > 0:09:50I'm struck, you know, right?

0:09:50 > 0:09:52God Almighty, what's this?

0:09:52 > 0:09:56And I turned to Jack Crompton, I says, "Who's the kid?"

0:09:56 > 0:09:59"Oh, it's George Best. We're try to keep it quiet."

0:09:59 > 0:10:01We're trying to keep him quiet and let nobody know about him.

0:10:01 > 0:10:05I says, well, you're going to make a big mistake because everybody's seen

0:10:05 > 0:10:06him on the pitch. You've no chance.

0:10:07 > 0:10:09He's was just sensational.

0:10:10 > 0:10:12I'd never seen anything like him.

0:10:14 > 0:10:17And you know something? You never met a nicer lad.

0:10:17 > 0:10:19Quiet, wrote to his parents every week

0:10:19 > 0:10:22to tell them how things were going and all that.

0:10:22 > 0:10:26I got to know him exceptionally well, George, and what a lovely lad.

0:10:26 > 0:10:29In Northern Ireland is George Best,

0:10:29 > 0:10:32the Manchester United boy from Cregagh district of Belfast

0:10:32 > 0:10:35who has done so well since he went in the team.

0:10:35 > 0:10:37George, tell me about yourself.

0:10:37 > 0:10:40Well, I've always been interested in football

0:10:40 > 0:10:44since I was a youngster and the first I ever played

0:10:44 > 0:10:48was at Lisnasharragh school in the school's teams

0:10:48 > 0:10:53and I played for Cregagh Boys Club and a Manchester United scout

0:10:53 > 0:10:56seen me playing for Cregagh and invited me for trials

0:10:56 > 0:10:58with Manchester United.

0:10:58 > 0:11:01At first when I went over,

0:11:01 > 0:11:05I only stayed a couple of days and I was homesick and I came back home.

0:11:05 > 0:11:08But my father, he had a talk with Matt Busby,

0:11:08 > 0:11:11and they said they'd give me another chance,

0:11:11 > 0:11:14so I went back and stayed since then.

0:11:16 > 0:11:18This one particular day, it was my day off,

0:11:18 > 0:11:20it was a Wednesday and Wednesday morning

0:11:20 > 0:11:23I ended up going to a cafe called the Kardomah,

0:11:23 > 0:11:25and I noticed George Best sat on his own in a corner.

0:11:27 > 0:11:30He'd just come back from Belfast, where he'd been homesick.

0:11:31 > 0:11:34We were just two lads who were lost in a big city

0:11:34 > 0:11:37and we were a bit lonely and we just spoke to each other

0:11:37 > 0:11:40and we got on very well. We never spoke about football.

0:11:41 > 0:11:43The relationship that we had was very, very close.

0:11:45 > 0:11:49It really was about two young lads who were lost, really.

0:11:51 > 0:11:54Once he got over the shyness, he was one of the lads,

0:11:54 > 0:11:55like all the rest of us.

0:11:56 > 0:11:58We'd go to the pictures together.

0:11:58 > 0:12:03On a Sunday evening George would come along to bingo at the church

0:12:03 > 0:12:07and then we'd go out with my mum in the local pub

0:12:07 > 0:12:11and we were allowed a shandy each.

0:12:11 > 0:12:13In that early period, we were good boys.

0:12:13 > 0:12:16We'd be in bed for 11, 12 o'clock at night,

0:12:16 > 0:12:18after the dot on the television.

0:12:25 > 0:12:28I always remember coming home from work and my mum said,

0:12:28 > 0:12:30'You're not going to believe it'. So I said, 'What?'

0:12:30 > 0:12:33She said, 'George is playing today.'

0:12:38 > 0:12:41When I actually made my debut, I'd been playing in the A team,

0:12:41 > 0:12:43not even in the reserves,

0:12:43 > 0:12:46and I had no thoughts in my head that I was going to play.

0:12:48 > 0:12:50But Sir Matt said, "You're playing today, son,"

0:12:50 > 0:12:51and that was it.

0:12:56 > 0:12:57The funny thing, I wasn't nervous.

0:12:57 > 0:12:59I just couldn't wait to get out there.

0:13:10 > 0:13:13I was born with something and I didn't have to work very hard at it.

0:13:15 > 0:13:17If I was playing against a player in particular

0:13:17 > 0:13:19who was giving me a hard time and he was getting stuck in,

0:13:19 > 0:13:22I would stand on the ball and tell him to come and get it off me

0:13:22 > 0:13:24and the crowd went crazy, and I loved it.

0:13:26 > 0:13:28George became addicted to football.

0:13:30 > 0:13:34He spent every possible hour developing his abilities

0:13:34 > 0:13:39and just enjoying it, and almost having, one would imagine,

0:13:39 > 0:13:42transcendental experiences when he found what he could do

0:13:42 > 0:13:44on a football park.

0:13:44 > 0:13:48He put the ball through my leg, and he did it again.

0:13:49 > 0:13:51And he did it a third time.

0:13:51 > 0:13:53And I said,

0:13:53 > 0:13:55"Son, if you do that again, I'll break your bloody neck."

0:13:55 > 0:13:56Best.

0:13:58 > 0:13:59Oh, he's going to get number five.

0:13:59 > 0:14:00Yes!

0:14:01 > 0:14:04Beautiful football by George Best.

0:14:04 > 0:14:06The boy with the Beatle haircut.

0:14:06 > 0:14:09I'd only been away from Belfast for two years

0:14:09 > 0:14:12and I played for one of the greatest club sides of all time

0:14:12 > 0:14:13when I was 17.

0:14:13 > 0:14:14Best.

0:14:17 > 0:14:19There's more... And it's 3-0!

0:14:19 > 0:14:25And Manchester United just carving this Arsenal team apart.

0:14:25 > 0:14:27The times I saw him playing and I played against him,

0:14:27 > 0:14:30he was coming on the field pulling his socks up, doing his boots up.

0:14:30 > 0:14:33It was as if you were going home from school and you were just,

0:14:33 > 0:14:35you went in the house and put your other shoes on

0:14:35 > 0:14:38and took your uniform off and went out and played football.

0:14:38 > 0:14:40That's how he was. Perfect footballer.

0:14:43 > 0:14:44McCreadie.

0:14:48 > 0:14:49Best.

0:14:52 > 0:14:55And it's a magnificent goal.

0:14:55 > 0:14:57CROWD CHEER

0:14:57 > 0:14:59What a magnificent goal!

0:15:00 > 0:15:02Truly brilliant football by Best.

0:15:05 > 0:15:06Number 11.

0:15:08 > 0:15:11Sheer brilliant individual effort there by Best.

0:15:20 > 0:15:25There are boys that would come to this club from leaving school

0:15:25 > 0:15:29and you get a tremendous kick out of a boy coming,

0:15:29 > 0:15:32and eventually coming through and making himself a top-class player

0:15:32 > 0:15:37and, of course, you get a tremendous sense of seeing a boy achieving

0:15:37 > 0:15:39this, and you get a tremendous sense of achievement yourself.

0:15:42 > 0:15:46The affinity was a father and son affinity

0:15:46 > 0:15:48between George and Sir Matt.

0:15:48 > 0:15:50Sir Matt just loved him to bits.

0:15:50 > 0:15:53From the first time I met him, even though I was a kid,

0:15:53 > 0:15:55I knew I was in the presence of someone

0:15:55 > 0:15:56who was a little bit special.

0:15:57 > 0:16:00He became such an important figure because of the way he treated you

0:16:00 > 0:16:02and the way he wanted to play football.

0:16:03 > 0:16:06He wanted to play the way I think it should be played.

0:16:06 > 0:16:08We didn't really have team talks.

0:16:08 > 0:16:12He basically threw the ball to us and said, go out and enjoy yourself.

0:16:12 > 0:16:16And it really was just, sheer enjoyment.

0:16:16 > 0:16:18It's like being in control of anything,

0:16:18 > 0:16:20if you think you are the best at it,

0:16:20 > 0:16:22whether it's acting or singing or whatever,

0:16:22 > 0:16:24it's nice to go out there knowing or feeling

0:16:24 > 0:16:26that you are better than anyone else.

0:16:28 > 0:16:32From winning the Youth Cup in '64 and '65, the League.

0:16:35 > 0:16:36It seemed like it was never going to end.

0:16:36 > 0:16:38It was just getting better and better.

0:16:44 > 0:16:46Because of the Munich crash everyone at Old Trafford,

0:16:46 > 0:16:48particularly people who had been there during that time,

0:16:48 > 0:16:50their dream, of course, was to win the European Cup.

0:16:52 > 0:16:57That was the aim. From Munich, the aim was to win that cup,

0:16:57 > 0:17:01for the fans, the players, Matt Busby, everybody.

0:17:01 > 0:17:04It was Manchester United's obsession.

0:17:12 > 0:17:15We played the first leg and beat them 3-2 at Old Trafford

0:17:15 > 0:17:17and we'd gone there to play them.

0:17:18 > 0:17:21They hadn't lost for years and years at home.

0:17:21 > 0:17:23Benfica, playing all in white, kick off.

0:17:25 > 0:17:28Matt was always a great believer in, for the first 10-15 minutes

0:17:28 > 0:17:31of every game, just keep it tight,

0:17:31 > 0:17:32quieten the crowd

0:17:32 > 0:17:35because there'd be 100-odd thousand people at the game.

0:17:35 > 0:17:37Beautifully intercepted by Best.

0:17:39 > 0:17:41Great little player this boy is.

0:17:41 > 0:17:43Quieten the crowd and then start from there.

0:17:44 > 0:17:46Quick goal essential for Benfica

0:17:46 > 0:17:49if they want to get back into this game.

0:17:49 > 0:17:52Trail 3-2 from the first leg.

0:17:52 > 0:17:55Tony Dunne was our left-back and Tony wasn't the longest kicker

0:17:55 > 0:17:57of the ball you ever met in your life and George was outside

0:17:57 > 0:18:00and I said, "George, George, push over to that left-hand side.

0:18:00 > 0:18:04"Tony will never get it. He'll struggle to get it into the box."

0:18:04 > 0:18:07That was the free kick. Up goes Best, he scores!

0:18:07 > 0:18:12Best has got a goal for Manchester United!

0:18:12 > 0:18:13That was my genius.

0:18:13 > 0:18:16That's my claim to fame from now on.

0:18:16 > 0:18:18I made that first goal by telling George

0:18:18 > 0:18:19Tony couldn't kick it that far.

0:18:21 > 0:18:26After seven minutes played, Manchester United fans go mad.

0:18:26 > 0:18:29Best puts them in the lead.

0:18:29 > 0:18:31Georgie went daft!

0:18:33 > 0:18:34Incredible.

0:18:36 > 0:18:38Here comes Best again.

0:18:38 > 0:18:41What a player this boy is, he's got another!

0:18:43 > 0:18:46What a player!

0:18:46 > 0:18:48"Don't obey orders, George, do what you want to do."

0:18:48 > 0:18:50He was incredible.

0:18:50 > 0:18:53This is going to be a rout!

0:18:53 > 0:18:55The bigger the stage, the more I enjoyed it.

0:18:55 > 0:18:58It didn't get any bigger than Benfica.

0:18:58 > 0:19:00The control of this boy.

0:19:00 > 0:19:03It was 90 minutes of almost perfection.

0:19:03 > 0:19:07He just ran them ragged, won the game for them.

0:19:07 > 0:19:11The night George became a different person was the night

0:19:11 > 0:19:14that George scored two goals against Benfica.

0:19:17 > 0:19:20The fact that the child that the world hadn't really known about

0:19:20 > 0:19:25up to that time, on that night, became the legend

0:19:25 > 0:19:27that was George Best.

0:19:28 > 0:19:32Although George was the absolute star of that performance

0:19:32 > 0:19:34it wasn't enough to send Man United on their way

0:19:34 > 0:19:36to winning the European Cup.

0:19:36 > 0:19:41We beat Benfica 5-1, then we lost in the semifinal.

0:19:41 > 0:19:45That was a blow because we thought we were going to win it that year.

0:19:45 > 0:19:46But George was just sensational.

0:19:50 > 0:19:54You know when you go abroad sometimes and you do something daft,

0:19:54 > 0:19:56like if it's Spain, you buy a big hat as well.

0:19:56 > 0:20:00And he bought it for a laugh, George, more than anything.

0:20:00 > 0:20:03He didn't think for one minute it was going to be worldwide picture in

0:20:03 > 0:20:05the paper or anything like that.

0:20:05 > 0:20:09He just, for a laugh, wore this big sombrero.

0:20:11 > 0:20:14When George wore that thing, I remember saying, George,

0:20:14 > 0:20:16great people don't need gimmicks.

0:20:18 > 0:20:23In those days, footballers were always back page stuff.

0:20:23 > 0:20:24Front page, no.

0:20:24 > 0:20:26When George became the star that he was,

0:20:26 > 0:20:29he became the front page as well as the back page.

0:20:29 > 0:20:33He was capable of producing a remarkable performance

0:20:33 > 0:20:37against Benfica that had an accelerating effect

0:20:37 > 0:20:40on the granting of pop star status to George.

0:20:42 > 0:20:45He became a pop star footballer.

0:20:45 > 0:20:46You got the Rolling Stones,

0:20:46 > 0:20:49you got all the pop groups, but he was a footballer.

0:20:49 > 0:20:51There was just something special about him.

0:20:51 > 0:20:52It was like an Elvis Presley,

0:20:52 > 0:20:56like a young Paul McCartney, where they just had that special look.

0:20:56 > 0:20:59And I could understand why girls would be very much enamoured

0:20:59 > 0:21:04with him, apart from him being the good-looking bastard he was.

0:21:05 > 0:21:08Girls wouldn't leave him alone until they had a date with him.

0:21:08 > 0:21:11Unfortunately, didn't last very long.

0:21:11 > 0:21:13Not many relationships lasted very long with George.

0:21:26 > 0:21:28I think so, yes. Weekends is...

0:21:28 > 0:21:30Shut up!

0:21:30 > 0:21:32That's your mates laughing at you.

0:21:32 > 0:21:36Weekends is really the only time, you know, I can let go.

0:21:38 > 0:21:43I was still only 19, and it became sort of total madness.

0:21:43 > 0:21:45A lot of things happened to him,

0:21:45 > 0:21:47that didn't happen to players before.

0:21:47 > 0:21:50If that happened nowadays they would be clamping down on it

0:21:50 > 0:21:52and trying to get help to the player.

0:21:52 > 0:21:54George. Georgie.

0:21:56 > 0:21:58Get out of the way, come on.

0:21:58 > 0:22:01Maybe if his family had lived in England at that particular time,

0:22:01 > 0:22:05I know Matt tried to get his family over but they wouldn't leave.

0:22:05 > 0:22:08That must have been a difficult period of time. You're a single lad,

0:22:08 > 0:22:11you can't go anywhere, the media are after you, women are chasing him,

0:22:11 > 0:22:14all sorts of things. It must have been very difficult.

0:22:20 > 0:22:24George, how did you get into this boutique business?

0:22:24 > 0:22:28I used to get a bit fed up, in the afternoons, with nothing else to do.

0:22:28 > 0:22:30I mean, once we finish training,

0:22:30 > 0:22:33I was walking about town and I hadn't a clue what to do.

0:22:33 > 0:22:36I was getting quite a bit of publicity so I thought,

0:22:36 > 0:22:38try and put it to an advantage.

0:22:38 > 0:22:41Does running two boutiques affect your football in any way?

0:22:43 > 0:22:45Not really. I don't let anything interfere with

0:22:45 > 0:22:47the football because it's put me where I am so

0:22:47 > 0:22:50I can't really afford to let anything get in the way of it.

0:22:52 > 0:22:53And you join us at Windsor Park,

0:22:53 > 0:22:57Belfast, in perfect footballing weather as two teams,

0:22:57 > 0:23:00Ireland and Scotland, come on side-by-side.

0:23:01 > 0:23:06Georgie Best, one of the key men in the Irish side.

0:23:06 > 0:23:08He could win the match on his own.

0:23:08 > 0:23:10George became the first boy, basically,

0:23:10 > 0:23:13who, what I call, was a superstar in football.

0:23:15 > 0:23:16Best.

0:23:18 > 0:23:21His nickname in the Ireland team was 007.

0:23:21 > 0:23:22Because that's how he lived.

0:23:22 > 0:23:25Best is the most dynamic marksman on the pitch today.

0:23:31 > 0:23:33Everybody got on particularly well with him.

0:23:33 > 0:23:37There was nothing where he thought he was better than anybody else.

0:23:37 > 0:23:38Here he goes again.

0:23:40 > 0:23:44I think that ball is tied to his feet.

0:23:44 > 0:23:47The Ireland team in particular had wonderful, wonderful times.

0:23:48 > 0:23:50George Best, the star of this game,

0:23:50 > 0:23:53has turned in another brilliant performance.

0:23:57 > 0:23:59The crowd rise to Ireland.

0:24:33 > 0:24:34You're on!

0:24:35 > 0:24:38You're on!

0:24:38 > 0:24:42I still think he has enough sense, you know, to know what he's doing.

0:24:42 > 0:24:45As I say, he's not a child any longer.

0:24:45 > 0:24:49To me, now, he's a man, and I think he should have a bit of sense now.

0:24:49 > 0:24:50A drink?

0:24:51 > 0:24:53Anything?

0:24:53 > 0:24:54What's anything?

0:24:56 > 0:24:57What about girls, Mrs Best?

0:24:57 > 0:25:00I just leave that up to the lad himself.

0:25:00 > 0:25:05He must know the good girls from the bad ones, and I hope that he,

0:25:05 > 0:25:08when he does decide to marry or take a girl,

0:25:08 > 0:25:12only would be sensible enough to take one that can look after him.

0:25:12 > 0:25:16Not one that's just wanting him for his looks, for his money,

0:25:16 > 0:25:20because he has a name. I'd like to see him settling well

0:25:20 > 0:25:24and making a real home for himself and a family,

0:25:24 > 0:25:26what have you, you know?

0:25:26 > 0:25:30But not one that's just after him for the name.

0:25:31 > 0:25:36The very first time I met him was in a club in Manchester.

0:25:36 > 0:25:41I mean, I knew who he was but to be honest,

0:25:41 > 0:25:45I was living in London at that time and I was writing films

0:25:45 > 0:25:47so I was involved in a completely different world.

0:25:48 > 0:25:51He was gorgeous. You know, he was a sweet boy,

0:25:51 > 0:25:52I thought.

0:25:54 > 0:25:56We were very much in love.

0:25:56 > 0:25:58George did talk about marriage to me but it was so early

0:25:58 > 0:26:02in our relationship, we were still swinging from the chandeliers.

0:26:05 > 0:26:07His football was the most important thing to him.

0:26:07 > 0:26:10He loved his football, he loved to train, he loved to play,

0:26:10 > 0:26:13he loved to show off. I mean, show off on the football field.

0:26:13 > 0:26:15So that was his focus.

0:26:15 > 0:26:18The rest of it was just a bit of fun and came naturally.

0:26:18 > 0:26:21Do you think, in fact, George, if professional football came to an end

0:26:21 > 0:26:25tomorrow you'd still want to play football seriously every week?

0:26:25 > 0:26:27I'd still play it, I play for anybody.

0:26:27 > 0:26:29And anyone that wanted me. I'd still play it.

0:26:30 > 0:26:32You just think you couldn't live without it?

0:26:32 > 0:26:35- I couldn't. It's impossible.- Do you not feel on the other hand, Pat,

0:26:35 > 0:26:39that there is a very real danger that when you finish with all this

0:26:39 > 0:26:43tremendous drama of sport at this level, that the rest of your life is

0:26:43 > 0:26:46- liable to be an anti-climax? - I think it is hard to say

0:26:46 > 0:26:48what the rest of your life is going to be like at the moment,

0:26:48 > 0:26:50probably, at our stage,

0:26:50 > 0:26:53but I think if you love football the way I love it, and I know George

0:26:53 > 0:26:55loves it, it would be a terrible anti-climax.

0:26:55 > 0:26:57I think most players dread the day

0:26:57 > 0:26:59when you've got to hang up your boots. I know I will.

0:26:59 > 0:27:01I'll go out and commit suicide, I think.

0:27:06 > 0:27:07They wanted to win Europe.

0:27:08 > 0:27:11We certainly believe we can win it in '68.

0:27:11 > 0:27:15We nearly won it in '66, but we believed we could win it in '68.

0:27:15 > 0:27:16We've got to win it this year.

0:27:18 > 0:27:22That is bigger than any other trophy for us, Manchester United fans,

0:27:22 > 0:27:24and the club, I think.

0:27:25 > 0:27:26That was the goal.

0:27:28 > 0:27:31Absolutely gorgeous day, a gorgeous evening.

0:27:31 > 0:27:36100,000 expectant fans pack the stands to see great football.

0:27:36 > 0:27:39The fact that it was at Wembley, yeah, was special anyway.

0:27:40 > 0:27:44The first English side to get there, and after the Munich disaster.

0:27:44 > 0:27:46Nobody mentioned Munich.

0:27:46 > 0:27:48That never got a mention.

0:27:48 > 0:27:50Lots of people were thinking about it, of course.

0:27:50 > 0:27:52That would be on everybody's minds.

0:27:52 > 0:27:54But nobody mentioned it.

0:27:54 > 0:27:55Skipper Bobby Charlton,

0:27:55 > 0:28:00and for manager Matt Busby this was the great occasion of their lives.

0:28:00 > 0:28:02There's Eusebio.

0:28:03 > 0:28:08Number seven. One man who just needs no identification.

0:28:08 > 0:28:09George Best.

0:28:11 > 0:28:15I've never known such tension in Wembley Stadium before.

0:28:15 > 0:28:17This is a tremendous emotional occasion.

0:28:19 > 0:28:21United, playing in blue, kick off.

0:28:25 > 0:28:27George Best was in terrific form.

0:28:27 > 0:28:29But so was Henrique.

0:28:57 > 0:29:00What a tonic for the fans. United one up in the 55th minute.

0:29:15 > 0:29:16One all, and time running out.

0:29:16 > 0:29:18I don't know why, but we were so sure

0:29:18 > 0:29:19of winning you wouldn't believe it.

0:29:19 > 0:29:22Every one of us knew we were going to win the game.

0:29:22 > 0:29:27Until the 91st minute when Alex made that save.

0:29:27 > 0:29:30Eusebio! Oh, what a save by Stepney!

0:29:30 > 0:29:33Eusebio, if you had given him the same chance 100 times

0:29:33 > 0:29:38he would stick it away 99 times and, fortunately for us, he didn't.

0:29:38 > 0:29:4090 minutes up, and still deadlock.

0:29:40 > 0:29:43I think it woke us up a little bit. It gave us a little bit of a jolt.

0:29:43 > 0:29:45And we thought we could have lost it.

0:29:47 > 0:29:52I remember Matt getting us all down and talking to us.

0:29:52 > 0:29:55"Don't give the ball away, because it's such a warm night.

0:29:55 > 0:29:57"Don't give the ball away.

0:29:57 > 0:29:59"They're a very tired team.

0:29:59 > 0:30:01"In fact, all get up on your feet.

0:30:01 > 0:30:03"You're not lying down. Get on your feet now.

0:30:03 > 0:30:05"Look at them. They're shattered."

0:30:05 > 0:30:08And so on into the first half of extra time.

0:30:08 > 0:30:10Went into extra time and all of a sudden,

0:30:10 > 0:30:12we did what all great sides can do.

0:30:12 > 0:30:13We changed gear.

0:30:15 > 0:30:18Shouldn't imagine that anyone will want to run about.

0:30:18 > 0:30:21Over much time as extra time.

0:30:23 > 0:30:26Sensible players will withhold, will conserve their energy.

0:30:35 > 0:30:37Best. Oh, he's got a great chance!

0:30:37 > 0:30:38Oh, he must!

0:30:43 > 0:30:46I still have dreams about the split-second where everything

0:30:46 > 0:30:48almost stood still.

0:30:48 > 0:30:50100,000 people. I mean, I knew I was going to score,

0:30:50 > 0:30:53but in that split-second between going past him

0:30:53 > 0:30:55and it going into the net, something might go wrong.

0:30:55 > 0:30:58A chance here for George Best. George Best is through.

0:30:58 > 0:31:01He goes round Henrique. He must score, George Best must score!

0:31:01 > 0:31:03George Best has scored!

0:31:03 > 0:31:06Second minute of extra time,

0:31:06 > 0:31:09George Best has put Manchester United into the lead.

0:31:14 > 0:31:16He simply walked the ball into the net.

0:31:18 > 0:31:20What a goal! United in the lead.

0:31:20 > 0:31:22I was the first player that met him,

0:31:22 > 0:31:25that crashed into him when we were, obviously, jumping up and down.

0:31:25 > 0:31:28And then he scored the second goal, because we knew that was the winner.

0:31:28 > 0:31:29We knew that was it.

0:31:29 > 0:31:32The Busby Babes were raring to go.

0:31:32 > 0:31:33They hammered Benfica.

0:31:36 > 0:31:38Watch this fantastic goal.

0:31:43 > 0:31:44But were United finished?

0:31:44 > 0:31:46Not on your life.

0:31:46 > 0:31:48Bobby Charlton made it 4-1.

0:31:51 > 0:31:53Manchester United had well and truly done it.

0:31:53 > 0:31:55They were supreme soccer champions of Europe.

0:32:02 > 0:32:04We have achieved the ultimate.

0:32:04 > 0:32:08We've won the big one. And did it the first time out as well.

0:32:08 > 0:32:10My first hero.

0:32:11 > 0:32:13I still see his face after the game.

0:32:17 > 0:32:20At last Matt Busby, the maestro of Manchester United,

0:32:20 > 0:32:23had groomed a team great enough to beat Europe's best.

0:32:26 > 0:32:28How they cheered as Bobby Charlton led his men

0:32:28 > 0:32:31up to receive the handsome, outsized trophy.

0:32:45 > 0:32:48I can remember quite a lot of the games and incidents in the games.

0:32:48 > 0:32:51I can't remember anything about after the game.

0:32:51 > 0:32:53I don't know where we went to celebrate,

0:32:53 > 0:32:55I don't know where I went. To this day I can't remember.

0:33:09 > 0:33:14He always maintained to me that at the height of it all,

0:33:14 > 0:33:16after he was in the shower after the European Cup final, he said,

0:33:16 > 0:33:18"I immediately went on a downer,

0:33:18 > 0:33:22because I thought I may never in my life ever experience this again."

0:33:25 > 0:33:27He came probably about 11-ish or something.

0:33:28 > 0:33:30He was a bit subdued.

0:33:31 > 0:33:33It was so emotional for him and for Matt Busby

0:33:33 > 0:33:36and for people like Bobby Charlton who had been on the plane,

0:33:36 > 0:33:37you know, that crashed.

0:33:37 > 0:33:40After all those setbacks and all those years that had passed,

0:33:40 > 0:33:45and they finally, you know, got the Holy Grail or something, you know,

0:33:45 > 0:33:49and then, yeah, and then what? I guess there must have been

0:33:49 > 0:33:52a feeling of, "And now what?" You know.

0:33:55 > 0:33:58For a man of 22 at the height of his powers,

0:33:58 > 0:34:00to think that was as good as it gets,

0:34:00 > 0:34:02there's something wrong with him.

0:34:03 > 0:34:05BELLS PEAL

0:34:10 > 0:34:14I met a young lady. I mean, she probably saved my life,

0:34:14 > 0:34:18because, you know, she brought some stability to my life.

0:34:21 > 0:34:24When he was my best man, he was absolutely marvellous.

0:34:24 > 0:34:26He did everything perfectly.

0:34:26 > 0:34:30He was brilliant. But Tina always said to me, she said,

0:34:30 > 0:34:33"I could never imagine George being an old man, like you!"

0:34:36 > 0:34:39May I have your autograph, please, Mr Best? I seen you on telly.

0:34:39 > 0:34:42And I've seen you on telly. You're Aunt Et's nephew, aren't you?

0:34:42 > 0:34:44- Yeah.- Remember that last match in Spain?

0:34:44 > 0:34:46Terrible game. Didn't have an egg for breakfast.

0:34:46 > 0:34:49- Well, there you are.- I always play better when I have had my E for B.

0:34:49 > 0:34:50E for B, and be your best.

0:34:50 > 0:34:52Cool. So I play centre forward, you know.

0:34:52 > 0:34:54E for B and Georgie Best!

0:35:01 > 0:35:03Can I have my kiss now, please?

0:35:07 > 0:35:09Commercially, he was really the first.

0:35:10 > 0:35:12Well, he was unprecedented.

0:35:12 > 0:35:15He had no real support, if you like.

0:35:15 > 0:35:19What the man means is, Cookstown are the best family sausages.

0:35:19 > 0:35:22It was a step into the unknown. Nobody knew what they were doing.

0:35:22 > 0:35:24Nobody knew how big he was going to be,

0:35:24 > 0:35:26or what he could do commercially.

0:35:26 > 0:35:30We anticipated that we would sell in the region of 2,000 pairs.

0:35:30 > 0:35:34We, in point of fact, sold 28,000 pairs.

0:35:34 > 0:35:36David Beckham can say thank-you to George,

0:35:36 > 0:35:39because George Best was the first professional footballer

0:35:39 > 0:35:40to become a fashion icon.

0:35:40 > 0:35:42They made a lot of mistakes along the way and I can

0:35:42 > 0:35:46understand why, because you just didn't know what was involved.

0:35:46 > 0:35:50The thing with George was that he didn't really want to do it.

0:35:50 > 0:35:52That was the thing.

0:35:52 > 0:35:54Unless there were girls involved.

0:35:54 > 0:35:57And, usually, the photo shoots did involve girls,

0:35:57 > 0:35:58so he used to do them.

0:35:59 > 0:36:02Men's grooming aids, real masculine.

0:36:02 > 0:36:05Aftershave, hairspray, talc.

0:36:05 > 0:36:08The lot. Fore brings out the best in a man.

0:36:13 > 0:36:15The early start of the season means a timely shot in the arm

0:36:15 > 0:36:17for millions of fans who miss even a few days

0:36:17 > 0:36:20without their favourite relaxation.

0:36:20 > 0:36:22It was a chance to see how the European champions would fare

0:36:22 > 0:36:24against their traditional Merseyside opponents, Everton.

0:36:27 > 0:36:28With their European triumph,

0:36:28 > 0:36:30United have set themselves a terrifically high standard.

0:36:33 > 0:36:36When we won the European Cup, everybody said,

0:36:36 > 0:36:39"This is the start of something beautiful and wonderful."

0:36:40 > 0:36:42Best. Oh!

0:36:45 > 0:36:46That is what makes this slip of a lad

0:36:46 > 0:36:50one of the great players - sheer speed.

0:36:53 > 0:36:57That's when Matt decided that he was going to retire.

0:37:03 > 0:37:06I went to the board and mentioned that I felt,

0:37:06 > 0:37:09in the best interests of the club, that I should give up

0:37:09 > 0:37:13all things appertaining to team management.

0:37:13 > 0:37:16And they accepted with reluctance

0:37:16 > 0:37:20and immediately appointed me general manager.

0:37:20 > 0:37:24I think he got tired. I mean, he had achieved it.

0:37:24 > 0:37:28Still a great man, but it was time for someone else to come in.

0:37:30 > 0:37:31To follow Matt Busby?

0:37:31 > 0:37:35God Almighty. God Almighty.

0:37:37 > 0:37:40We had been so used to the one man at Manchester United.

0:37:40 > 0:37:41A great, great manager.

0:37:43 > 0:37:45You know, how do you replace him? And they tried.

0:37:46 > 0:37:49Will you refer all your decisions to Sir Matt?

0:37:49 > 0:37:54Well, I think that's why he has relinquished the team duties,

0:37:54 > 0:37:58to let somebody else have those decisions

0:37:58 > 0:38:00and make those decisions.

0:38:03 > 0:38:05Foul given.

0:38:05 > 0:38:07I was 22.

0:38:07 > 0:38:09And I wasn't going to reach my peak for another seven or eight years.

0:38:09 > 0:38:12It's an own goal by Sadler.

0:38:12 > 0:38:16After losing Sir Matt, the team started to disintegrate very,

0:38:16 > 0:38:19very quickly. From going out week in, week out,

0:38:19 > 0:38:21not ever thinking we were going to lose a game,

0:38:21 > 0:38:24we were starting to go out thinking we were going to lose,

0:38:24 > 0:38:27or knowing we were going to lose to certain sides, which was a disaster.

0:38:27 > 0:38:28Good goal.

0:38:28 > 0:38:31Good goal.

0:38:31 > 0:38:33I started to have a lot of doubts about what was going on

0:38:33 > 0:38:35within the club, which hurt me, you know,

0:38:35 > 0:38:37because Manchester United had been my whole life.

0:38:41 > 0:38:44The team weren't playing particularly well.

0:38:44 > 0:38:47In fact, I think, you know, they did go on a bit of a downward spiral,

0:38:47 > 0:38:50so that must have been really heartbreaking for him.

0:38:50 > 0:38:53He wasn't big-headed, but he wasn't falsely modest, either.

0:38:53 > 0:38:56He knew his worth as a footballer.

0:38:56 > 0:38:59He felt that they should have been building a younger team around him.

0:39:01 > 0:39:04Collins' header, that was.

0:39:04 > 0:39:06Comes to Best.

0:39:06 > 0:39:11And it's there. Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful!

0:39:11 > 0:39:13I personally felt I was still doing it on the field.

0:39:13 > 0:39:16But what's the good in me going out there and being top goal-scorer

0:39:16 > 0:39:18this season if we're finishing

0:39:18 > 0:39:2019th in the league and 13th in the league?

0:39:22 > 0:39:25George was starting to get strange things into his head.

0:39:25 > 0:39:28Doing certain things that he basically had never done before,

0:39:28 > 0:39:31and continued to go through a spell after that

0:39:31 > 0:39:33which was really the start of the downfall.

0:39:35 > 0:39:37And now, is Best going to have his name taken?

0:39:37 > 0:39:40Ungentlemanly conduct, the book is out...

0:39:40 > 0:39:43I think quite honestly, if you start throwing mud at the referee,

0:39:43 > 0:39:46even today, I think you're going to be sent off, really, in a way,

0:39:46 > 0:39:47you know.

0:39:47 > 0:39:50George was starting to make his own rules up

0:39:50 > 0:39:51a little bit as it went along.

0:39:51 > 0:39:54George Best is the mercury of Manchester United.

0:39:54 > 0:39:57Banned a month, a long time for a footballer.

0:39:58 > 0:40:01It was the constant expectations of the fans.

0:40:01 > 0:40:04They've got to see George Best play fantastic every week.

0:40:04 > 0:40:07That's a difficult burden to carry.

0:40:07 > 0:40:09I think we all just depended on him,

0:40:09 > 0:40:11and expected him to do it week in and week out.

0:40:21 > 0:40:23Once the football was...

0:40:23 > 0:40:24the enjoyment of that was taken away,

0:40:24 > 0:40:27I started looking for things to replace the excitement

0:40:27 > 0:40:29that I got from football.

0:40:33 > 0:40:37He was the star of the club scene, and a bit of a pop idol.

0:40:39 > 0:40:42His fondness for drink was bound to become

0:40:42 > 0:40:45more than just a leisure activity.

0:40:47 > 0:40:50I always thought the only time he took a drink was to bolster

0:40:50 > 0:40:54his confidence. He was so shy, and George found it difficult

0:40:54 > 0:40:58to talk to people. But a drink made him confident.

0:40:58 > 0:41:01It was the '60s. People were drinking, you know,

0:41:01 > 0:41:06he was drinking, I was drinking. And it just gradually became a problem.

0:41:06 > 0:41:09You want more and more and more, there's no satisfaction.

0:41:09 > 0:41:11Why do you want more? Because you're not satisfied.

0:41:11 > 0:41:12Why are you not satisfied?

0:41:12 > 0:41:14Because you're seeking happiness in things

0:41:14 > 0:41:16that can't give you happiness.

0:41:16 > 0:41:19You know, like alcohol, or sex, or whatever the thing is,

0:41:19 > 0:41:24when you become addicted, there's no happiness there.

0:41:24 > 0:41:27He started missing training.

0:41:27 > 0:41:32That was a nightmare, a disaster, all the things you want to call it.

0:41:33 > 0:41:35George had a few pals in Manchester,

0:41:35 > 0:41:36and a couple of pals that were United fans,

0:41:36 > 0:41:39that should have known a bit better and maybe given him a kick up the

0:41:39 > 0:41:41backside, and said, "You should be in training.

0:41:41 > 0:41:44"It's important for Manchester United, it's important for you."

0:41:46 > 0:41:47I'm saying, blame his pals,

0:41:47 > 0:41:50but then you can only point the finger at one person at the end,

0:41:50 > 0:41:52and that's George.

0:41:52 > 0:41:55And it was downhill on a toboggan after that.

0:41:55 > 0:41:58It wasn't as if it was a slow downhill, it was...

0:42:29 > 0:42:32The white one with the brown, and, er...

0:42:32 > 0:42:35Stripes at the bottom, please. We've got them with their ties on.

0:42:35 > 0:42:38At the beginning when I was with him, he would go to training.

0:42:38 > 0:42:40But then gradually, he started to miss training.

0:42:40 > 0:42:43And I mean sometimes, I'd get Matt Busby on the phone ringing up,

0:42:43 > 0:42:45saying, "Is George with you? And he's not turned up,

0:42:45 > 0:42:47"and isn't it time you two got married?"

0:42:47 > 0:42:49And all this kind of thing, you know.

0:42:49 > 0:42:51I'd say, what do you what me to do? You know?

0:42:51 > 0:42:54Do you see any kind of permanent relationship here, Jackie?

0:42:54 > 0:42:55I mean, would you like to marry him?

0:42:57 > 0:43:02I don't know. I haven't told him, so I don't see why I should tell you!

0:43:07 > 0:43:09Well, if Jackie wasn't there, it was...

0:43:09 > 0:43:13Unfortunately he wasn't the most faithful animal in the world,

0:43:13 > 0:43:18and of course, very difficult to keep up a relationship where,

0:43:18 > 0:43:21from her part, the trust wasn't there.

0:43:21 > 0:43:24And she knew the temptations that were there for him.

0:43:26 > 0:43:28I had a tremendous amount of relationships,

0:43:28 > 0:43:30because I suppose I was in a position to.

0:43:30 > 0:43:32I was getting a lot of publicity, I had plenty of money,

0:43:32 > 0:43:36and I went to the sort of functions where there were always plenty of beautiful women around.

0:43:38 > 0:43:42He'd gone from being quite a fresh and sweet boy

0:43:42 > 0:43:46to starting to become quite jaded, and I think, you know,

0:43:46 > 0:43:49because of the alcohol and girls throwing themselves at him.

0:43:49 > 0:43:51If you imagine you're in a sweet shop

0:43:51 > 0:43:54and you're eating sweets all the time, you're going to get sick.

0:43:54 > 0:43:56It's fun at first, but then you get sick.

0:43:56 > 0:43:59And I think it became like that with everything.

0:44:01 > 0:44:02He was very fond of Jackie,

0:44:02 > 0:44:07and I think it's a pity that relationship never continued.

0:44:07 > 0:44:11Once your trust has been betrayed, you can't really get that back.

0:44:11 > 0:44:12I can't see any future in this.

0:44:17 > 0:44:22There was far more focus on him than any other player in the country.

0:44:25 > 0:44:29Once you get that cross-fertilisation

0:44:29 > 0:44:35between football and showbiz, then you're going to heighten interest

0:44:35 > 0:44:37in everything you're up to.

0:44:56 > 0:44:59On face value, it looks like you have everything.

0:45:00 > 0:45:03The money's coming in, you're doing something you love,

0:45:03 > 0:45:04the adulation is there.

0:45:04 > 0:45:05Best...

0:45:05 > 0:45:08Here's the record! There it is!

0:45:08 > 0:45:11What a way to come back into big-time football, Georgie Best!

0:45:15 > 0:45:17The whole thing just became a total nightmare.

0:45:21 > 0:45:23They stopped writing about the football

0:45:23 > 0:45:27and writing about my private life, which is nothing to do with them.

0:45:27 > 0:45:30Have you any idea why he didn't do any training during the week?

0:45:30 > 0:45:32I... I really don't know, I don't know...

0:45:32 > 0:45:34Carolyn, are you going to marry George Best?

0:45:35 > 0:45:37No, that was a rumour.

0:45:38 > 0:45:41Best's frenetic social life had been chronicled with the sort of

0:45:41 > 0:45:45thoroughness that is usually reserved for the Burtons.

0:45:45 > 0:45:48Many people were at once bored and fascinated by the saga.

0:45:48 > 0:45:51Almost everybody had an opinion about what was wrong with Georgie,

0:45:51 > 0:45:53or what should be done about him.

0:45:54 > 0:45:56Do you feel sorry for George Best?

0:45:56 > 0:45:58No, not in the least, no.

0:45:58 > 0:46:02Got plenty of money, hasn't he? He's been very silly, I think.

0:46:02 > 0:46:04I think he's selfish, and always has been.

0:46:04 > 0:46:07Be better if he got his hair cut and got his whiskers off.

0:46:07 > 0:46:08That's my opinion of him.

0:46:08 > 0:46:12You ask most of the people who come to Old Trafford, George Best,

0:46:12 > 0:46:13all the time.

0:46:14 > 0:46:17It was the constant changes of managers

0:46:17 > 0:46:19that was getting to the fans, not so much George.

0:46:19 > 0:46:21It was like, "not another manager".

0:46:22 > 0:46:25Frank O'Farrell, what are your feelings as you take over this job?

0:46:25 > 0:46:28I feel optimistic. I feel that inevitably,

0:46:28 > 0:46:29this club will again win honours.

0:46:29 > 0:46:33How soon I can't say at the present time, obviously.

0:46:33 > 0:46:36The stability went, and I think that's what the fans saw,

0:46:36 > 0:46:38not that George is the big bad boy.

0:46:43 > 0:46:46It hurts me a lot, when I listen to stories.

0:46:47 > 0:46:51On one occasion, I was standing having a drink with one man,

0:46:51 > 0:46:53and he was actually ridiculing George to me,

0:46:53 > 0:46:57in a football conversation. And he left the bar that night,

0:46:57 > 0:46:59and he still didn't know that I was George's mum.

0:47:01 > 0:47:04He brought a lot of pressure on the family.

0:47:04 > 0:47:08He brought them a lot of pressure that they didn't know how to handle.

0:47:08 > 0:47:13And I think George was hurt about that.

0:47:14 > 0:47:18The effect it has on your family, when you become famous.

0:47:18 > 0:47:20My poor old mother couldn't handle it.

0:47:20 > 0:47:24My dad, he's as strong as an ox, and he's got a strong character,

0:47:24 > 0:47:26but my mum couldn't handle it.

0:47:26 > 0:47:28And for a long time I blamed myself, I thought it was me.

0:47:28 > 0:47:30But I'd been away from home since I was 15,

0:47:30 > 0:47:32and I certainly couldn't look after her,

0:47:32 > 0:47:34because I was having enough problems

0:47:34 > 0:47:36looking after myself, and failing most of the time.

0:47:37 > 0:47:41The Best family, they were absolutely wonderful people, beautiful.

0:47:41 > 0:47:46They had to face part of that, which was not very pleasant for them.

0:47:46 > 0:47:48No-one at Old Trafford has seen George Best

0:47:48 > 0:47:52since Manchester United's 3-0 defeat at West Ham last Saturday.

0:47:52 > 0:47:55Other members of the team have been training daily,

0:47:55 > 0:47:57but there's been no sign of the talented

0:47:57 > 0:47:58but temperamental Irishman.

0:48:06 > 0:48:08The announcement of Best's suspension

0:48:08 > 0:48:11was made by United's general manager, Sir Matt Busby,

0:48:11 > 0:48:14at the club's ground at Old Trafford at lunchtime today.

0:48:14 > 0:48:16Friday morning, hadn't heard a thing.

0:48:16 > 0:48:18Saturday, Sunday and this morning.

0:48:18 > 0:48:19In fact you've no idea where he is, Sir Matt?

0:48:19 > 0:48:22I couldn't tell you whether he was in Manchester

0:48:22 > 0:48:24or whether he's in England, London, I couldn't tell you.

0:48:24 > 0:48:26I've had no contact. He's made no contact.

0:48:26 > 0:48:31And as I said to all the lads this morning, he knows where to find me.

0:48:31 > 0:48:32The door's there waiting for him.

0:48:32 > 0:48:34I'm not going looking for George Best.

0:48:35 > 0:48:38If Matt Busby hasn't been prepared to chase after George Best,

0:48:38 > 0:48:41there have been plenty of journalists who have,

0:48:41 > 0:48:45and after a search which has gone on in London and Manchester all day,

0:48:45 > 0:48:50it's at last been established that he's here at this flat in Islington,

0:48:50 > 0:48:55north London. It's the home of a 22-year-old actress, Sinead Cusack.

0:48:55 > 0:48:58And it's known that over the last few days,

0:48:58 > 0:49:01she's listened to a lot of George Best's complicated

0:49:01 > 0:49:04and apparently incomprehensible troubles,

0:49:04 > 0:49:07the troubles that have given rise to such strange conduct

0:49:07 > 0:49:09over the last few days.

0:49:10 > 0:49:13It turned into one of those mad sieges.

0:49:17 > 0:49:18It wasn't planned.

0:49:18 > 0:49:21I think he just said, "Where am I going to run to?"

0:49:21 > 0:49:24And that's where he went, but everybody followed him there.

0:49:24 > 0:49:27It was no mad, crazy love affair or anything.

0:49:28 > 0:49:31He got frustrated and angry with the team,

0:49:31 > 0:49:36and angry with himself for not being able to do what he could do best.

0:49:36 > 0:49:40But then, we're drinking now, we're seriously drinking now.

0:49:43 > 0:49:45First of all, he's got to find out who his friends are.

0:49:46 > 0:49:48Do you think he's made mistakes...?

0:49:48 > 0:49:50I think that he's got so many hangers-on, it's a joke.

0:49:52 > 0:49:55And I tell you what, when you've got genuine friends and when you're in

0:49:55 > 0:49:57trouble, you can go to them and they'll help you.

0:49:57 > 0:49:58And you need a lot of help in football.

0:49:58 > 0:50:00And at the moment, George Best needs help.

0:50:03 > 0:50:06I don't think he showed the same respect to football as he showed,

0:50:06 > 0:50:09maybe has shown, a couple of years ago.

0:50:09 > 0:50:12It's come to a point now with George, he's reached the apex,

0:50:12 > 0:50:14he's got to go either that way or that way.

0:50:14 > 0:50:17- Yes.- And I think he'll have to work very hard to go that way.

0:50:17 > 0:50:19Right, George, you have your say, son.

0:50:23 > 0:50:29Well, firstly, I've apologised to Mr Busby and the United club,

0:50:29 > 0:50:31for the way I behaved over the weekend,

0:50:31 > 0:50:34which was completely wrong, and I know it was.

0:50:34 > 0:50:36You're going to have to serve this suspension,

0:50:36 > 0:50:38and you say you're taking a couple of days off.

0:50:38 > 0:50:40Are you confident that when this time has passed, you'll be back,

0:50:40 > 0:50:42George Best that we knew before?

0:50:42 > 0:50:44Well, I'm going to try,

0:50:44 > 0:50:46try as hard as I can, to get back to where I was before.

0:50:52 > 0:50:55Probably the first big mistake you made was ever to leave

0:50:55 > 0:50:58Mrs Fullaway's house and have your rather expensive

0:50:58 > 0:51:00and spacious place...

0:51:01 > 0:51:04Do you think that's true, looking back?

0:51:04 > 0:51:06It wouldn't have been true if I hadn't, at the time,

0:51:06 > 0:51:07been public property.

0:51:09 > 0:51:12The first time I saw it, I thought, my God, what have you had built?

0:51:13 > 0:51:17It looked awful. But God, it's nice inside.

0:51:17 > 0:51:21It had everything that a young bloke would want, snooker room,

0:51:21 > 0:51:24every modern gadget you could wish to have.

0:51:24 > 0:51:27Bearing in mind, we'd only just had colour television a couple of years

0:51:27 > 0:51:30earlier, you know. So, anything that moved without you touching it

0:51:30 > 0:51:31was an amazing thing.

0:51:31 > 0:51:33The remote control in our house was my mother.

0:51:36 > 0:51:37Very nice for its time.

0:51:37 > 0:51:41It was wonderful, but for him there rattling about on his own,

0:51:41 > 0:51:42not really.

0:51:43 > 0:51:45He didn't like his own company.

0:51:46 > 0:51:47He didn't like to be on his own.

0:51:49 > 0:51:51How do you say, I think you're making a mistake?

0:51:52 > 0:51:56He wanted this house to have a quiet time and be by himself.

0:51:56 > 0:51:59But he did lots of things which really was the opposite

0:51:59 > 0:52:01to what he had been saying he really wanted.

0:52:01 > 0:52:05You know, he always told me that he didn't like people recognising him,

0:52:05 > 0:52:09and yet he had a Rolls-Royce with GB on it, you know, George Best!

0:52:09 > 0:52:12And he actually would take it to the football stadiums as well!

0:52:14 > 0:52:17He never really sat down and said, what do you think?

0:52:18 > 0:52:21What do you think we should do? Do you think we should...?

0:52:21 > 0:52:23How do you think we should play this?

0:52:23 > 0:52:25It was always... He always seemed to know,

0:52:25 > 0:52:27and always seemed to have that vision

0:52:27 > 0:52:28that he knew what he was doing.

0:52:28 > 0:52:32And very difficult to get him out of that frame of mind.

0:52:34 > 0:52:36That's when he really went off the rails.

0:52:37 > 0:52:39Got fed up, properly.

0:52:39 > 0:52:40"I'm going."

0:52:45 > 0:52:46He went off saying he was going to retire.

0:52:46 > 0:52:51I mean, God Almighty! He wouldn't be 25 in those days, George.

0:52:51 > 0:52:53I mean, he loved playing football. That's what astonished me.

0:52:53 > 0:52:57He loved playing football, he loved playing for United.

0:52:57 > 0:52:59And then it all of a sudden, stopped.

0:53:02 > 0:53:05We went to Marbella, and all the press were hounding him.

0:53:05 > 0:53:07Too dramatic a way to do it, really.

0:53:07 > 0:53:09He should have been a bit more subtle about it.

0:53:10 > 0:53:13It seemed as if someone had taken my enjoyment away from me,

0:53:13 > 0:53:15and taken away the only thing that I'd ever wanted to do.

0:53:16 > 0:53:18I got totally confused,

0:53:18 > 0:53:21because possibly everything had gone too smoothly,

0:53:21 > 0:53:23and I'd achieved everything before I was 22.

0:53:25 > 0:53:28I think I'd become used to being number one so much

0:53:28 > 0:53:31that it frightened me to think that I couldn't be number one.

0:53:34 > 0:53:37What sort of pressures do you feel that you've been under?

0:53:37 > 0:53:39I don't know, a lot of different reasons.

0:53:39 > 0:53:43I feel now like I can't play as I could before.

0:53:43 > 0:53:49So, I don't want to play a lower standard than I'm used to myself.

0:53:49 > 0:53:53And I don't think I can play to a high standard, so I decided to quit.

0:53:53 > 0:53:56Why not? Why can't you play at a high standard any more?

0:53:56 > 0:53:58Er... I don't know. Because I'm not physically fit

0:53:58 > 0:54:02and I don't think I'm mentally fit to play football.

0:54:02 > 0:54:04So I've decided to call it a day.

0:54:04 > 0:54:07What's caused it, basically? Strains, pressures, tensions?

0:54:08 > 0:54:14I suppose so. Over this last few years, they've got worse, and, er,

0:54:14 > 0:54:16maybe I just can't take it.

0:54:16 > 0:54:20I built the image in the first place, and it backfired on me.

0:54:20 > 0:54:22The whole thing's turned about.

0:54:22 > 0:54:25At the moment, how would you describe your mental state?

0:54:25 > 0:54:28Er, at the moment, I think I'm a complete wreck.

0:54:29 > 0:54:30In every way.

0:54:34 > 0:54:37He didn't know where to go.

0:54:37 > 0:54:39He was lost. He really was lost.

0:54:41 > 0:54:42A few of his friends were concerned

0:54:42 > 0:54:46that he might have done something terrible.

0:54:46 > 0:54:47We were concerned for him, yes.

0:55:18 > 0:55:20Have you absolutely nothing to say to us?

0:55:20 > 0:55:21Nothing at all?

0:55:21 > 0:55:24- No plans at all that you're going to tell us at this stage?- No.

0:55:31 > 0:55:34It was never the same for George, I don't think, after Matt.

0:55:34 > 0:55:36It was never the same for him.

0:55:36 > 0:55:39Frank O'Farrell came in, Tommy Docherty came in.

0:55:39 > 0:55:43Everybody tried everything to try and help him, but...

0:55:43 > 0:55:45it was never the same.

0:55:45 > 0:55:48It became impossible in the end.

0:55:48 > 0:55:50George was saying that they were all letting him down,

0:55:50 > 0:55:52but I mean, it was George.

0:55:54 > 0:55:57Sir Matt and Pat Crerand felt that George could do us a turn,

0:55:57 > 0:55:58which I did as well,

0:55:58 > 0:56:00because we weren't blessed with great players at the time.

0:56:00 > 0:56:02We brought him back, and it was a disaster, actually.

0:56:02 > 0:56:04He played about three or four matches, and...

0:56:05 > 0:56:07He'd just gone.

0:56:07 > 0:56:12Not being as fit as he should be, not training like he should be.

0:56:12 > 0:56:14That's always going to affect you.

0:56:14 > 0:56:17And the minute that affects you, forget it, it's gone.

0:56:17 > 0:56:20And that's what happened to George. It was gone, then.

0:56:20 > 0:56:22And you knew it was the end.

0:56:25 > 0:56:27I feel very sorry about the whole thing.

0:56:28 > 0:56:31Here is a player extraordinary.

0:56:32 > 0:56:37All the talents that one would wish they'd got from the gifts of God

0:56:37 > 0:56:39and everything else. And it's a very sad thing.

0:56:45 > 0:56:48I had 11 years at one of the greatest football clubs

0:56:48 > 0:56:52in the world, and achieved almost everything that was possible.

0:56:52 > 0:56:54We won the League twice, won the European Cup,

0:56:54 > 0:56:57I was Footballer of the Year in Europe and England.

0:56:57 > 0:57:00I was Manchester United's leading goal-scorer for six years.

0:57:02 > 0:57:05I did it all at the highest level for a long time.

0:57:05 > 0:57:07So you'd be an idiot not to be hurt.

0:57:09 > 0:57:14There was a finality about it for him.

0:57:14 > 0:57:19Although there would be a lot of other chapters after that,

0:57:19 > 0:57:26he wasn't entirely wrong in thinking that, in a very real sense,

0:57:26 > 0:57:28the curtain had come down.

0:57:30 > 0:57:36It was a curtain that he'd only be peeking through afterwards.

0:57:54 > 0:57:58TVS presents NASL Championship Soccer.

0:57:58 > 0:58:01Not long ago, a dogfight would attract a bigger crowd

0:58:01 > 0:58:03in this country than a soccer game.

0:58:03 > 0:58:05But something has happened.

0:58:05 > 0:58:07His name is Johan Cruyff...

0:58:07 > 0:58:09Franz Beckenbauer...

0:58:09 > 0:58:11A retired Brazilian football player named Pele...

0:58:11 > 0:58:14Almost anywhere you go in this country these days,

0:58:14 > 0:58:17you're likely to find boys AND girls kicking a soccer ball around.

0:58:17 > 0:58:19It is the fastest-growing sport in the country.

0:58:21 > 0:58:24It was a time that has never been repeated and will never,

0:58:24 > 0:58:27ever be repeated, with such a unique league

0:58:27 > 0:58:33that attracted the most phenomenal footballers from around the world.

0:58:33 > 0:58:37By the time George came here, Pele had already started with the Cosmos,

0:58:37 > 0:58:40and they were building a team that really was rivalling

0:58:40 > 0:58:42any superstar team in the world at the time.

0:58:42 > 0:58:46In Los Angeles, erm, George was the one they chose.

0:58:48 > 0:58:52I have a man with me who looks an awful lot like Elton John.

0:58:52 > 0:58:54And behind me, the LAPD motorcycle drill team.

0:58:56 > 0:58:57My spies tell me

0:58:57 > 0:59:00you had something to do with getting a fellow named George Best to come

0:59:00 > 0:59:02out of retirement and play for Los Angeles. True?

0:59:02 > 0:59:05Er, I don't think I can take hardly any credit for that,

0:59:05 > 0:59:07but I know George knew I was involved with,

0:59:07 > 0:59:08you know, with the club.

0:59:08 > 0:59:11And he came out here. I'm so glad.

0:59:11 > 0:59:14It was great for him, because George came out of retirement,

0:59:14 > 0:59:16came out here, got himself fit.

0:59:16 > 0:59:19I think it's improved him as a player, and it's incredible.

0:59:20 > 0:59:23I was still only 29 when I went.

0:59:23 > 0:59:27Players like Johann Cruyff was there, Beckenbauer, Pele, Eusebio,

0:59:27 > 0:59:30Gordon Banks. A tremendous amount of British players.

0:59:32 > 0:59:36I got the pleasure of playing against him, watching him,

0:59:36 > 0:59:39and then in the end playing with him.

0:59:39 > 0:59:43I mean he had obviously past his best but he was still better than

0:59:43 > 0:59:46everybody else, and to play in the same team as him, what a gift.

0:59:54 > 0:59:57When we first got there we rented a house.

0:59:57 > 1:00:00We were team-mates, roommates,

1:00:00 > 1:00:03there was a little bar just round the corner

1:00:03 > 1:00:06and the name of the bar was Fat Face Fenner's Falloon,

1:00:06 > 1:00:08and we used to hang out in there.

1:00:10 > 1:00:15I didn't go there to LA on that day

1:00:15 > 1:00:17expecting to sign George Best as a client.

1:00:17 > 1:00:19I just said to him, you're going to need some help,

1:00:19 > 1:00:22and I'm happy to do it if you want.

1:00:22 > 1:00:27And he said yes. So I became George's agent in 1976.

1:00:29 > 1:00:34From a commercial point of view, basically, you've touched gold.

1:00:36 > 1:00:37He was a lovely fella.

1:00:38 > 1:00:41And women just flocked around him like bees on honey.

1:00:43 > 1:00:46It was quite an unbelievable experience to see it.

1:00:46 > 1:00:50I mean, you see it with pop stars and you kind of expect it,

1:00:50 > 1:00:52but he was a pop star in his own right.

1:00:54 > 1:00:58And...along came this girl that was a little bit different.

1:01:01 > 1:01:05I'm working for Cher, living with her in Beverly Hills.

1:01:05 > 1:01:08We get a phone call to the house from a man

1:01:08 > 1:01:12called Henry Wynberg, I think it was, Elizabeth Taylor's boyfriend

1:01:12 > 1:01:15at the time, and says George would like you to come

1:01:15 > 1:01:17to his party in Hermosa Beach.

1:01:17 > 1:01:20So he picks me up, drives me down Hermosa Beach.

1:01:20 > 1:01:22There's no party.

1:01:22 > 1:01:25There's George in his flip-flops and his shorts and his T-shirt

1:01:25 > 1:01:27and there's me all dressed up!

1:01:29 > 1:01:33And he's sitting at the bar all by himself.

1:01:34 > 1:01:36So I thought, "Ah, sweet."

1:01:40 > 1:01:41She was a challenge.

1:01:42 > 1:01:45She didn't fall all over him and she didn't know who he was

1:01:45 > 1:01:47and she wasn't there because it was "George Best".

1:01:49 > 1:01:51With Ange, she wasn't in it for the money.

1:01:51 > 1:01:54There was none of that involved because he didn't have anything

1:01:54 > 1:01:56at the time.

1:01:57 > 1:02:00I said to him, why did you come here?

1:02:00 > 1:02:03He said, because I want to be on the beach in the sun.

1:02:04 > 1:02:06I said, you could have done that in Spain.

1:02:06 > 1:02:10He said no, because the English press would have found me.

1:02:10 > 1:02:11He had freedom.

1:02:12 > 1:02:15He goes in his flip-flops to play football

1:02:15 > 1:02:22and then he could finish and go down to his bar, play pool, have a drink.

1:02:23 > 1:02:24That was his happiest.

1:02:32 > 1:02:36He said to me, "Listen, what do you think about me getting married?"

1:02:36 > 1:02:39I said, "If you love her, why don't you do it?"

1:02:39 > 1:02:42I thought that would settle him down and he would stay on the,

1:02:42 > 1:02:44or closer to, the straight and narrow.

1:02:46 > 1:02:48I went to the hairdresser.

1:02:48 > 1:02:50First, I looked like a school ma'am,

1:02:50 > 1:02:52I had this long grey skirt.

1:02:52 > 1:02:54I mean, God Almighty.

1:02:56 > 1:02:58George said, "What do you look like?"

1:02:58 > 1:03:00I said, "Excuse me? Have you seen your jacket?"

1:03:00 > 1:03:02We both looked hideous.

1:03:02 > 1:03:06He didn't have rings, didn't have licence, had nothing.

1:03:08 > 1:03:09But that was George.

1:03:09 > 1:03:12And I understood that about him.

1:03:12 > 1:03:15I suppose that's where I then took over and said, "Now, come on,

1:03:15 > 1:03:18"we're going to do this properly, or we're going to try to anyway."

1:03:18 > 1:03:21I think Angie straightened him up and he got fit again

1:03:21 > 1:03:24and Bobby was there to help.

1:03:24 > 1:03:26But then they opened a bar.

1:03:34 > 1:03:37It takes a very strong person to invest in somewhere

1:03:37 > 1:03:39and then not go drink there.

1:03:39 > 1:03:43The difference was that his drinking was a little more than

1:03:43 > 1:03:45the average bar owner.

1:03:46 > 1:03:48Remember, football is a drinking culture.

1:03:50 > 1:03:55At that time he had no shortage of helpers, if you like.

1:03:55 > 1:03:59If 70,000 men had wanted to have one drink with George,

1:03:59 > 1:04:02they had one drink, George had 70,000.

1:04:03 > 1:04:06In those days it was just, it's just George being George,

1:04:06 > 1:04:08he's had a few, and that's it.

1:04:08 > 1:04:10Alcoholism is now termed as an illness.

1:04:10 > 1:04:13We didn't have that kind of knowledge in those days.

1:04:13 > 1:04:16If you had had a few too many, sleep it off

1:04:16 > 1:04:17and you'll be fine tomorrow.

1:04:20 > 1:04:24We didn't know the extent of...the problem.

1:04:32 > 1:04:35I cannot for the life of me,

1:04:35 > 1:04:37because in my mind,

1:04:37 > 1:04:41and, of course, a lot of people would say "It's a disease."

1:04:41 > 1:04:43It's not. It's a choice.

1:04:43 > 1:04:45You choose not to drink that day.

1:04:45 > 1:04:47A disease doesn't give you a choice.

1:04:49 > 1:04:50But alcoholics have a choice.

1:04:50 > 1:04:53He would never have admitted he had a problem.

1:04:54 > 1:04:55He didn't see it as a problem.

1:04:57 > 1:05:00I don't think there's anything wrong with any healthy sportsman having a

1:05:00 > 1:05:02drink. And going out when he feels like it,

1:05:02 > 1:05:05as long as he's training hard and doing what he's being paid for

1:05:05 > 1:05:07and doing it well.

1:05:08 > 1:05:12Most people I could understand would maybe go off the rails during bad

1:05:12 > 1:05:16times, but George had this habit of going off the rails during the good

1:05:16 > 1:05:20times. When things were really good and everything was going really well

1:05:20 > 1:05:22for him, then he had this self-destruct button.

1:05:24 > 1:05:28When things are going well you're tempted to think, well,

1:05:28 > 1:05:31everything is going to be OK, so I can afford to slip a little bit.

1:05:32 > 1:05:35But that little bit, with me, became a lot.

1:05:36 > 1:05:38He had so much going for him.

1:05:38 > 1:05:39When he was on a roll, he was great.

1:05:39 > 1:05:44Then all of a sudden, it became too much and he just let himself down.

1:05:50 > 1:05:53They didn't want the aggravation, if that's the right word.

1:05:55 > 1:05:56They wanted to trade him.

1:05:58 > 1:06:02Who would take the risk of managing him?

1:06:02 > 1:06:05The playing side of it wasn't the problem.

1:06:05 > 1:06:08It seemed that he would always be able to produce magic

1:06:08 > 1:06:12and I think the promise of magic is something very special.

1:06:13 > 1:06:17The promise of magic is what George Best always brought,

1:06:17 > 1:06:20whether it be the glittering Manchester United

1:06:20 > 1:06:24or the other 18 teams that he went to play for.

1:06:24 > 1:06:26Good lord, gipsies, we were gipsies.

1:06:28 > 1:06:32Yes, we were gipsies, but it was fine. I was happy.

1:06:32 > 1:06:33As long as I was hanging out with him,

1:06:33 > 1:06:36I couldn't have cared where we went or what we did.

1:06:36 > 1:06:38That's the Best. My goodness, he hit the post.

1:06:48 > 1:06:50Although people were let down at different times

1:06:50 > 1:06:53and the clubs were let down and chairmen were let down

1:06:53 > 1:06:56I think he brought a lot of happiness to the clubs

1:06:56 > 1:06:57and a lot of revenue.

1:06:58 > 1:07:01Now and again you would see a wee bit of the old stuff

1:07:01 > 1:07:04and sometimes quite a wee bit of it.

1:07:04 > 1:07:09But he looked like a bad impersonator of George Best.

1:07:12 > 1:07:14Then we went to, er...

1:07:17 > 1:07:18..Florida.

1:07:19 > 1:07:21We knew that there were issues.

1:07:21 > 1:07:24We spoke to George about them.

1:07:24 > 1:07:26He felt he needed a change of scenery.

1:07:26 > 1:07:31He insisted that he was really trying to stay sober

1:07:31 > 1:07:35and that we would not be disappointed in his play

1:07:35 > 1:07:37or his behaviour.

1:07:38 > 1:07:44So it was a gamble, but it was a risk that we felt was worth taking.

1:07:44 > 1:07:46Turning to Fort Lauderdale, George Best,

1:07:46 > 1:07:48of course this is one of the great stars of world soccer,

1:07:48 > 1:07:51a temperamental man, he is not always at his happiest,

1:07:51 > 1:07:53but he seems to have found a new home in Fort Lauderdale.

1:07:53 > 1:07:55He is playing marvellously well for them.

1:07:55 > 1:07:57George struggled with his fitness.

1:07:57 > 1:07:59There's no question about that.

1:07:59 > 1:08:04During the course of a match you might have long periods of time

1:08:04 > 1:08:09where he was invisible, but when you got the moments of brilliance

1:08:09 > 1:08:11out of him it was worth it.

1:08:14 > 1:08:16Kicked over the bar.

1:08:16 > 1:08:18He could turn the game on a dime.

1:08:18 > 1:08:22I recall the first match that we had after we acquired him.

1:08:22 > 1:08:26We won the game 5-3, and George had three of the goals.

1:08:34 > 1:08:39I think we were able to get about as much out of George as anyone could.

1:08:46 > 1:08:50It is 3-1 Fort Lauderdale. This is NASL Championship Soccer.

1:08:53 > 1:08:58The day that you were traded, was it a day of liberation for George Best?

1:08:58 > 1:09:00I just feel good, the fact that it's worked out.

1:09:00 > 1:09:03I don't think I could have written a better script.

1:09:03 > 1:09:06The only thing I can say is that I know I can play.

1:09:06 > 1:09:07I didn't have to convince myself.

1:09:08 > 1:09:13George at the time was doing his best to stay away from alcohol,

1:09:13 > 1:09:17and for the most part he was staying clean and sober.

1:09:17 > 1:09:22He truly was a really good guy.

1:09:22 > 1:09:24He was a good guy, that had demons.

1:09:29 > 1:09:31You keep thinking that you can fix it

1:09:31 > 1:09:35and that all he needs is a nice home-cooked meal,

1:09:35 > 1:09:36a nice house and to settle down.

1:09:36 > 1:09:39But it never quite works like that when there's alcohol involved.

1:09:41 > 1:09:42That was just in his blood.

1:09:42 > 1:09:44God love her, his mother was an alcoholic,

1:09:44 > 1:09:46so it was just in his blood.

1:09:53 > 1:09:56She, for whatever her own particular reasons was,

1:09:56 > 1:09:59she got involved with drinking too much.

1:10:00 > 1:10:02It was my fault. I should have been there.

1:10:02 > 1:10:04I should have called. I should have written.

1:10:04 > 1:10:07That was a guilt thing I carried for quite a while.

1:10:07 > 1:10:10Whether it is related to me, or not, I'll never know.

1:10:12 > 1:10:15It was another reason to have a few more drinks.

1:10:16 > 1:10:22George, in the end, wore out his welcome here in Fort Lauderdale.

1:10:23 > 1:10:27He could have stayed and played and been a manager

1:10:27 > 1:10:29and done everything David Beckham is doing.

1:10:30 > 1:10:33They threw him out because he got drunk.

1:10:33 > 1:10:35He didn't show up for games.

1:10:35 > 1:10:37They couldn't have that.

1:10:37 > 1:10:39They didn't know how to deal with that.

1:10:41 > 1:10:43We weren't quite sure what to do with him

1:10:43 > 1:10:46and San Jose said they would take him. We let him go there.

1:10:46 > 1:10:49I don't think there were any other takers at the time.

1:10:51 > 1:10:55Each time he got thrown out he got less and less of a choice.

1:10:55 > 1:10:56"Dude, you want to make some money?

1:10:56 > 1:10:58"You are going to play here. Nobody else wants you."

1:11:02 > 1:11:05The time I got to San Jose, all the top players started to leave

1:11:05 > 1:11:08the States, the crowds were down, the best players were leaving.

1:11:08 > 1:11:12All the reasons I had gone there for the buzz were disappearing.

1:11:12 > 1:11:16I started really, that was the serious down, in San Jose.

1:11:16 > 1:11:19I was begging, stealing, borrowing, just to have a drink.

1:11:19 > 1:11:22It's that knock-on effect of depression and booze.

1:11:24 > 1:11:26You feel self-destructive.

1:11:26 > 1:11:31Two weeks before going on a bender, he would sleep late,

1:11:31 > 1:11:35he would start to eat a lot of sugary foods

1:11:35 > 1:11:36and he would stop shaving.

1:11:38 > 1:11:43And that would kind of be the build-up to...gone.

1:11:45 > 1:11:51What caused that was this...black taking over his brain.

1:11:51 > 1:11:53I'm sure he was depressed at times.

1:11:53 > 1:11:55I'm sure he suffered from depression.

1:11:56 > 1:11:59When he let people down, he suffered.

1:11:59 > 1:12:02When he was sober and things like that he realised what he had done,

1:12:02 > 1:12:06I think he found it difficult to accept his actions.

1:12:06 > 1:12:10He would think of the people he'd let down, the things he'd done...

1:12:11 > 1:12:15..and he couldn't deal with that. And I think, to get away from it...

1:12:16 > 1:12:20..from the depression that that caused him, that guilt,

1:12:20 > 1:12:21he started drinking again.

1:12:23 > 1:12:26It controlled me totally.

1:12:26 > 1:12:29When I was going out I didn't give a toss about anything,

1:12:29 > 1:12:30whether it was family or friends.

1:12:30 > 1:12:34The worst problem was that I didn't care about myself.

1:12:34 > 1:12:35You know, I couldn't care less.

1:12:35 > 1:12:38I wasn't bothered whether I woke up in the morning or not.

1:12:38 > 1:12:39Sometimes I wished I didn't.

1:12:41 > 1:12:45What really struck home was, I found out I was pregnant.

1:12:46 > 1:12:48So I went looking for him.

1:12:48 > 1:12:52And I found him at some obscure bar on the beach, all by himself

1:12:52 > 1:12:55with his drink in front of him, hunched over

1:12:55 > 1:12:58with his face almost in his drink, so I knew he was pretty far gone.

1:12:58 > 1:13:00And I sat down next to him and he looked at me.

1:13:02 > 1:13:05"What are you doing here?" And I said, "I have some news for you.

1:13:05 > 1:13:07"You're going to be a dad."

1:13:08 > 1:13:09No reaction whatsoever.

1:13:09 > 1:13:13He just said to me, "Let me finish this bender and I'll come home."

1:13:19 > 1:13:23San Jose was so good because they actually made the effort

1:13:23 > 1:13:26to put him into rehab and to deal with him.

1:13:26 > 1:13:28Take one.

1:13:30 > 1:13:33When things are going badly, it's always a reason or an excuse

1:13:33 > 1:13:36you can say, well, it's a bad day today, it's raining

1:13:36 > 1:13:39or I've just lost money on the horses, or the business is bad.

1:13:39 > 1:13:42You can always find excuses or reasons for having a drink.

1:13:42 > 1:13:45But I was running out of excuses and reasons,

1:13:45 > 1:13:47and things were going so well.

1:13:47 > 1:13:50The baby had arrived and our home was settled

1:13:50 > 1:13:53and I had signed a good contract, but I was still getting drunk

1:13:53 > 1:13:56and still going on binges for four, five, six days, sometimes a week,

1:13:56 > 1:13:58where Angela wouldn't know where I was.

1:13:58 > 1:14:02And I think the thing was that I had look at myself and say,

1:14:02 > 1:14:05"You're a mess here, you know, you're going to blow everything,

1:14:05 > 1:14:07"you're a disaster area."

1:14:07 > 1:14:10That's the hardest part, to stand and look at yourself and say to

1:14:10 > 1:14:13yourself, "You're no good. You know, you've got to get better."

1:14:13 > 1:14:15So, I know it's difficult to say what lies ahead in the future,

1:14:15 > 1:14:16but if you could choose,

1:14:16 > 1:14:19what would you choose for the next couple of years?

1:14:19 > 1:14:2350-50. Six months in America, six months in England.

1:14:23 > 1:14:26- And another baby.- Oh, you have it!

1:14:26 > 1:14:28I wish I could, I'd have more than one!

1:14:28 > 1:14:29Make a fortune as well.

1:14:33 > 1:14:35It was a fabulous time.

1:14:35 > 1:14:42For me, to be a young woman, with my man that I was smitten with,

1:14:42 > 1:14:44in the sunshine, in a beautiful place.

1:14:46 > 1:14:49And it was magically, perfectly beautiful.

1:14:58 > 1:15:02It was San Jose Earthquakes at Spartan Stadium.

1:15:02 > 1:15:05We had just scored a goal that should have been ruled offside.

1:15:06 > 1:15:11George got into a real heated dispute with the referee.

1:15:11 > 1:15:13Now Best is furious with Ian Foot.

1:15:13 > 1:15:16He's going to get a card now.

1:15:16 > 1:15:18- Best gets a yellow card. - Best will get a card.

1:15:18 > 1:15:22Like T Rex with haemorrhoids, Bestie was going nuts.

1:15:23 > 1:15:27The goal stood, so San Jose gets the ball to kick off.

1:15:27 > 1:15:29So concerned with the officiating

1:15:29 > 1:15:31that their minds are really not on the soccer game

1:15:31 > 1:15:33and then things start going against them

1:15:33 > 1:15:35and the next thing you know, there's a goal.

1:15:38 > 1:15:41I could hear him. I was lining up just on the other side of the circle

1:15:41 > 1:15:45and, "Give me... Just give me the...ball!"

1:15:46 > 1:15:51He started on this slalom, like Alberto Tomba going downhill.

1:15:51 > 1:15:55Slating through the players. I'd never seen balance like this.

1:15:55 > 1:15:58I think one or two of the players had two bites at him.

1:15:58 > 1:15:59Manoeuvring unbelievably.

1:15:59 > 1:16:03Best still has it. I don't believe this.

1:16:06 > 1:16:08That's the greatest soccer goal I've ever seen!

1:16:11 > 1:16:15It was anger, it was inspirational,

1:16:15 > 1:16:18it was a demonstration of everything George had compacted

1:16:18 > 1:16:23throughout his career into that playback, instantly, over time.

1:16:23 > 1:16:26That is the greatest soccer goal I've ever seen.

1:16:26 > 1:16:28Oh, man!

1:16:29 > 1:16:31Outstanding!

1:16:31 > 1:16:34It was still there, but sometimes it needed a big red-hot poker

1:16:34 > 1:16:37pushed into very sensitive place

1:16:37 > 1:16:40for George to call on it, to summon it up.

1:16:40 > 1:16:42Talk about an individual effort!

1:16:42 > 1:16:46This was a virtuoso performance by Best.

1:16:46 > 1:16:50They'll give him the goal and they'll give him three assists!

1:16:50 > 1:16:52These weren't Maldinis, I'll give you that,

1:16:52 > 1:16:54that were defending against him,

1:16:54 > 1:16:57but you go through seven or eight players,

1:16:57 > 1:16:59you ask anybody that's played the game,

1:16:59 > 1:17:03that's an elevation of skill that is just staggering,

1:17:03 > 1:17:05jaw-dropping genius.

1:17:07 > 1:17:10That was really flying. I've never seen one close to that.

1:17:10 > 1:17:13George Best. He did it all by himself.

1:17:13 > 1:17:15A soccer genius.

1:17:15 > 1:17:18We hope you've enjoyed all the action that led to the Budweiser

1:17:18 > 1:17:22Goal of the Year. To soccer fans everywhere, this Bud's for you.

1:17:25 > 1:17:28I think it was a special banquet that was put together

1:17:28 > 1:17:31and George's goal had been given the Budweiser Goal of the Year.

1:17:32 > 1:17:35It was a nice night. It was really my night.

1:17:35 > 1:17:37And I hadn't had a drink for 11 months.

1:17:37 > 1:17:41And I left the presentation with my trophy and put it in the car

1:17:41 > 1:17:44and I went and got drunk in a bar.

1:17:44 > 1:17:46Then went for 22 days on a binge.

1:17:59 > 1:18:04Oh, there were so many sad bits, but I realised it was over...

1:18:06 > 1:18:12I always wanted to look after him, but enough is enough.

1:18:12 > 1:18:14I can't look after both babies.

1:18:14 > 1:18:16The big one's got to go.

1:18:18 > 1:18:22After that, George drank every single day for 30 years.

1:18:23 > 1:18:24That's all I know.

1:18:33 > 1:18:35I think George was looking for a high.

1:18:36 > 1:18:39Playing football in front of all of those

1:18:39 > 1:18:41thousands and thousands of people.

1:18:41 > 1:18:44And I think when that stops, there's kind of like a void in your life.

1:18:51 > 1:18:53In the end he didn't want to stop drinking.

1:18:55 > 1:18:56Or couldn't.

1:19:09 > 1:19:12At one o'clock today, my father has passed away.

1:19:13 > 1:19:18Not only have I lost my dad, but we've all lost a wonderful man.

1:19:18 > 1:19:20And I'd just like to take the time to thank all the well-wishers

1:19:20 > 1:19:23and the fans, and the letters, and the flowers, and the e-mails.

1:19:23 > 1:19:26It all means so much to all of us.

1:19:26 > 1:19:28And that's all I have to say.

1:19:28 > 1:19:29Thank you very much.

1:19:35 > 1:19:37The Belfast boy who came to Manchester United

1:19:37 > 1:19:41with magic in his feet and a self-destruct button in his soul

1:19:41 > 1:19:44died just before one o'clock this afternoon.

1:19:44 > 1:19:47His was a life of bright talent, darkened by drink.

1:19:49 > 1:19:51I never went to see him in hospital.

1:19:53 > 1:19:55I didn't really want to do that anyway.

1:19:55 > 1:19:57I didn't want to see George as he was, you know.

1:19:57 > 1:20:02I wanted to remember him as a person that I played against

1:20:02 > 1:20:05and also had as a great friend. Simple as that.

1:20:05 > 1:20:08I couldn't go and see him in hospital. I couldn't do it.

1:20:09 > 1:20:12Remembering George for what he was, and all that sort of thing.

1:20:14 > 1:20:17And you knew that he was a goner. We knew that he was going to die.

1:20:17 > 1:20:20That was a certainty, that he was...

1:20:20 > 1:20:21Ach, it was just sad.

1:20:22 > 1:20:23Sad.

1:20:25 > 1:20:27I always feel as though we let him down.

1:20:27 > 1:20:29He needed someone to say to him,

1:20:29 > 1:20:33"George, this is what we'll do, this is what we should do.

1:20:33 > 1:20:37"Let's get a plan and let's follow it through. Let's do this."

1:20:38 > 1:20:44And there was nobody really...that he respected enough,

1:20:44 > 1:20:45with the right plan.

1:20:47 > 1:20:50It's impossible, of course, to tell the George Best story

1:20:50 > 1:20:53only in terms of his spectacular talent on the field.

1:20:53 > 1:20:56Off it, his was a life besieged by alcoholism.

1:20:56 > 1:21:00Drink brought him trouble with managers and with the law.

1:21:00 > 1:21:04He even served two months in prison in 1984 for drink-driving.

1:21:06 > 1:21:07But he couldn't stop.

1:21:11 > 1:21:13I married George when I was 23.

1:21:15 > 1:21:17He had a vulnerable side

1:21:17 > 1:21:18and it was almost as though you just

1:21:18 > 1:21:20felt like looking after him,

1:21:20 > 1:21:22like looking after a little child.

1:21:23 > 1:21:27George, sober, was the most fantastic husband you could ask for.

1:21:28 > 1:21:30But, unfortunately, when he was drinking

1:21:30 > 1:21:33it was like two totally different people.

1:21:33 > 1:21:38And the sober George wouldn't have particularly liked the drunk George.

1:21:39 > 1:21:41It was a demon.

1:21:41 > 1:21:43You know, that's why they call it the demon drink.

1:21:43 > 1:21:46Terry, I like screwing, all right?

1:21:47 > 1:21:49All right!

1:21:49 > 1:21:53So, what do you do with your time these days?

1:21:53 > 1:21:54- Screw.- I see.

1:21:54 > 1:21:55Ladies and gentlemen, George Best.

1:21:57 > 1:22:01George swears blind that they spiked his drink, but he would do.

1:22:01 > 1:22:05It shows him in the light, that the people who don't like him

1:22:05 > 1:22:07would like to see him.

1:22:09 > 1:22:12A drunken womaniser, and that's all he came over us.

1:22:12 > 1:22:15And that isn't the sharp, smart Bestie that I know.

1:22:16 > 1:22:19Fortunately that night, he was a happy drunk,

1:22:19 > 1:22:21but he wasn't always a happy drunk.

1:22:21 > 1:22:27George could be particularly violent with drink inside of him.

1:22:28 > 1:22:31It could get pretty bad at times.

1:22:31 > 1:22:34He could become quite aggressive.

1:22:34 > 1:22:36It was...

1:22:36 > 1:22:37It was not nice to witness.

1:22:39 > 1:22:42A couple of times, you know, we did have a few fights.

1:22:42 > 1:22:45And I did end up in hospital a couple of times.

1:22:45 > 1:22:47She picked me up at the airport and she had a black eye.

1:22:50 > 1:22:52I said, "Babes, what is that?"

1:22:52 > 1:22:55They'd both been drunk, had a fight and he punched her.

1:22:55 > 1:23:02And I said, I tried to warn her, I said, "Alex, what are you doing?"

1:23:02 > 1:23:05But, you know, when you're in love, you're in love.

1:23:09 > 1:23:12It was only really when George became sick with his liver disease

1:23:12 > 1:23:16and we moved to Northern Ireland that I had a proper husband.

1:23:17 > 1:23:18We did everything together.

1:23:18 > 1:23:22We decorated the house together. We went shopping together.

1:23:22 > 1:23:23It was absolutely fantastic.

1:23:29 > 1:23:32Deep down, when I knew that he was going to get a liver transplant,

1:23:32 > 1:23:35there was kind of like a little inkling, thinking,

1:23:35 > 1:23:39I really do hope that this is, you know, for ever,

1:23:39 > 1:23:42that he doesn't ever, ever drink again.

1:23:44 > 1:23:48He had his new liver, he's got a beautiful wife,

1:23:48 > 1:23:53he's got his whole life to live for now, because he's been saved.

1:23:55 > 1:23:57And yet he goes back to the alcohol.

1:23:59 > 1:24:04We went to Switzerland with some kids that had transplants.

1:24:04 > 1:24:06And there was this lady there,

1:24:06 > 1:24:08she had had a glass of wine in her hand,

1:24:08 > 1:24:10and George looked and he went, well,

1:24:10 > 1:24:13"She's drinking wine, but she's had a transplant."

1:24:14 > 1:24:17Even after the terrible warning from the doctors

1:24:17 > 1:24:20that one more drink could kill him, the press tracked him down

1:24:20 > 1:24:23to a Surrey Pub, and he fell off the wagon.

1:24:23 > 1:24:26It's one of the saddest things George ever told me.

1:24:26 > 1:24:28After he hadn't drank, I think it was about three years,

1:24:28 > 1:24:31and he had started again and we were sitting down

1:24:31 > 1:24:32and I said, "What happened, George?"

1:24:32 > 1:24:34He said, "Do you know what?"

1:24:34 > 1:24:36He said, "There's not one day in the last three years

1:24:36 > 1:24:38"that I hadn't thought about drinking,"

1:24:38 > 1:24:41which I found really sad, because I thought he was doing so well.

1:24:43 > 1:24:46It was kind of like watching a soap opera untangle

1:24:46 > 1:24:47right in front of you.

1:24:47 > 1:24:50And people find that interesting.

1:24:50 > 1:24:52And the more pressure it was putting on George,

1:24:52 > 1:24:54the more he drank and the worse it got.

1:24:55 > 1:24:57Yeah, it was a tough one.

1:25:03 > 1:25:06There was no doubt that there were times when he had done things wrong

1:25:06 > 1:25:09and all the rest of it, and we cashed in on it.

1:25:10 > 1:25:12We made a lot of money out of the newspapers,

1:25:12 > 1:25:14because they wanted to use him anyway

1:25:14 > 1:25:18and I was firmly of the opinion that if they were going to use him,

1:25:18 > 1:25:19they were going to pay us.

1:25:30 > 1:25:33I actually took the picture which,

1:25:33 > 1:25:38I certainly regret doing it now, you know, it was done for a reason.

1:25:38 > 1:25:41We had a contract with the News of the World to do a story

1:25:41 > 1:25:46with them, when we came home, so it was money, really,

1:25:46 > 1:25:52and George was quite happy to show the world what drink had done.

1:25:53 > 1:25:55I never ever believed

1:25:55 > 1:25:57that that would be the last picture taken of George.

1:26:04 > 1:26:07It was tremendous to see the respect of the people of Northern Ireland.

1:26:07 > 1:26:10It must have been something between a quarter of a million,

1:26:10 > 1:26:14half a million people, out on the road. And George would have loved that.

1:26:14 > 1:26:18He would have envisaged that as a proper send-off.

1:26:19 > 1:26:21They named an airport after him.

1:26:23 > 1:26:26Staggering, really, for a footballer.

1:26:26 > 1:26:29Everybody in Northern Ireland was so proud of George at the end

1:26:29 > 1:26:31of the day. And that was one of the saddest things,

1:26:31 > 1:26:36because nobody thought George would go in the direction that he went in.

1:26:36 > 1:26:38And he was just so well liked.

1:26:40 > 1:26:43Sad, isn't it, when somebody kind of...

1:26:48 > 1:26:50..sabotages themselves really.

1:26:51 > 1:26:53But not wilfully, obviously.

1:26:53 > 1:26:58I mean, I think he was a victim of his excess.

1:27:04 > 1:27:07Everybody had wanted him to do better.

1:27:07 > 1:27:10Everybody had tried to help him.

1:27:11 > 1:27:16But he wanted to do it his way and he wanted to live it on his terms

1:27:16 > 1:27:19and burn the candle all too quickly.

1:27:22 > 1:27:27He came up with the expression, "Just remember me for my football."

1:27:27 > 1:27:30Because he had to find a reason to deflect away from

1:27:30 > 1:27:33who and what he had become.

1:27:34 > 1:27:36What would you want people to think of you?

1:27:38 > 1:27:41Well, I know what they will think.

1:27:41 > 1:27:44They'll forget all the rubbish when I'm gone

1:27:44 > 1:27:47and they'll remember the football.

1:27:47 > 1:27:49It's as simple as that.

1:27:49 > 1:27:51You know, I don't give a toss about everything else.

1:27:51 > 1:27:53As long as they remember the football.

1:27:53 > 1:27:55And if only one person thinks I was the best player in the world,

1:27:55 > 1:27:58that will do for me, because that's what it was all about

1:27:58 > 1:27:59as far as I'm concerned.

1:27:59 > 1:28:01Oh, that's a forlorn hope.

1:28:01 > 1:28:05I mean, none of us is entitled to ask for that.

1:28:06 > 1:28:10To think people can look upon it as a career perfectly executed

1:28:10 > 1:28:13would be madness.

1:28:13 > 1:28:18You've just got to hope that the glorious stuff in George's career

1:28:18 > 1:28:24far outweighs and outshines the rubbish and, to me, it does.

1:28:24 > 1:28:26And George Best going through here!

1:28:28 > 1:28:29Yes, it must be for George Best!

1:28:31 > 1:28:32Georgie Best has done it!

1:28:36 > 1:28:38I remember once in the hospital in America,

1:28:38 > 1:28:40there was an Irish guy had become a counsellor,

1:28:40 > 1:28:43and had been dry for something like 20-odd years.

1:28:43 > 1:28:46And he said, the way I looked at it was like you have got a choice

1:28:46 > 1:28:48of switching the light off or on.

1:28:48 > 1:28:50He said it sounds oversimplified, but that's it.

1:28:50 > 1:28:53And one day he said, you'd better decide whether you want the light

1:28:53 > 1:28:55to keep shining or you want to switch it off.