The Best Trivia Quiz

Answer: Matt Busby

The great Matt Busby, who had previously managed Manchester United from 1945 to 1969 (the Munich air crash occurred during his tenure), came back for a second stint as interim manager in 1970, following the sacking of Wilf McGuinness. One of Manchester United's scouts, Bob Bishop, spotted the teenage Best in his home town of Belfast and is said to have sent Busby a telegram saying, "I think I've found you a genius." Best had previously been rejected by Glentoran for being too small and light, but United were willing to offer him a trial. However, he became homesick and went back to Belfast two days later.

Best returned to Manchester when he was 17, but had to play as an amateur as English clubs could not take on Northern Irish apprentices at the time. He got a job on the Manchester Ship Canal, which runs past Old Trafford, and which enabled him to train with United twice a week.

Answer: West Bromwich Albion

At 17, Best played his first game as a first-teamer for Manchester United at home to West Bromwich Albion on 14th September 1963. United won 1-0, with David Sadler scoring. The United line-up also included Bill Foulkes and Best's compatriot Harry Gregg, both of whom were survivors of the 1958 Munich air crash.

After this game, Best went back into the reserve side. (West Bromwich Albion's nickname is 'the Baggies'.)

Answer: Burnley

Manchester United played Burnley (nicknamed 'the Clarets') on 28th December 1963 at Old Trafford, with Best scoring in the 38th minute. United's other goals were scored by David Herd and Graham Moore, both of whom netted two each. After the Burnley game, Best became a regular in the United first team. United finished second at the end of the 1963-64 season.

Answer: Yes

Manchester United won the league in 1965, which qualified them for the European Cup (the competition that would later become the UEFA Champions League). They finished equal on points with rivals Leeds United, but won the title due a better goal average, although Leeds managed to gain some consolation. Best scored 14 goals for United that season and also netted the opening goal against Liverpool in the 1965 Charity Shield, which the two teams ended up sharing.

In United's European Cup campaign, they played Benfica in the quarter-finals, with Best scoring two goals for United in the second leg, which United won 5-1. Unfortunately, they were knocked out in the semi-finals by Partizan Belgrade.

Answer: Benfica

United got off to a bright start by drawing 3-3 in the 1967 Charity Shield with Tottenham Hotspur, with whom they shared the trophy. Best's goal tally saw him being voted European Footballer of the Year and the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year in 1968. He became the youngest player to win the latter award. One of his highlight games was United's 6-0 victory over Newcastle United, in which he scored a hat trick.

The European Cup Final was United's first, and they thumped two-time winners Benfica 4-1. The match was forced into extra time when the score remained 1-1 at the end of normal time, with United's only goalscorer being Bobby Charlton. Best, who had been fouled multiple times by Benfica's defence, scored in the 92nd minute and Brian Kidd in the 94th; with Charlton adding another in the 99th minute. Best also scored against Real Madrid, who had already won the trophy six times at that point, in the semi-final at Old Trafford.

Answer: No

The overall top scorer was Denis Law who, along with George Best and Bobby Charlton, is immortalised in statue form outside Old Trafford, where they are known as the United Trinity. Law's total goal tally, in both league and competition games, was 30 while Best scored 19 goals. Law scored a hat trick against Birmingham City in Round 5 of the FA Cup and at home to Sunderland in the league, and netted seven goals against Waterford United in Round 1 of the European Cup. Best did not score any hat tricks that season, though he did score two goals against Rapid Vienna in the European Cup quarter final, as well as Newcastle United, Queen's Park Rangers (twice!) and West Bromwich Albion in the league. Best said he felt he was 'carrying the team'. He was also sent off against Argentina's Estudiantes de la Plata in the Intercontinental Cup, after punching Jose Hugo Medina in retaliation for kicking and spitting at him.

1969 was also the year when Matt Busby retired for the first time, to be replaced by Wilf McGuinness, only for Guinness to be sacked in 1970 after 18 months at the club, following a 4-4 draw with Derby County. Busby returned for the final six months of the season.

Answer: Queen's Park Rangers

The early '70s were not a good time for Best or Manchester United. Although they finished eighth under O'Farrell in his first season, Best missed multiple training sessions, a habit which continued into the 1972-73 season. In December, he was suspended and placed on the transfer list for going out clubbing and missing training as a result. With United third from bottom in December 1972, O'Farrell was sacked and replaced by Tommy Docherty.

Although Docherty kept the struggling team up, despite their ageing squad and the division between the old-timers like Best and the new players, United had a poor season in 1973-74, and Docherty dropped Best following a 3-0 loss to Queen's Park Rangers, and Best's failure to turn up to training three days later. United were relegated that season.

Answer: Stoke City

In order, Best's post-Manchester United clubs were Jewish Guild (a South African team based in Johannesburg), Stockport County, Cork Celtic, Los Angeles Aztecs, Fulham, Los Angeles Aztecs again, Fort Lauderdale Strikers, Hibernian, San Jose Earthquakes, AFC Bournemouth, and Brisbane Lions. He played for Stockport in 1975, Fulham in the 1976-1977 season and AFC Bournemouth in the 1982-83 season, and did not spend more than a season at any of the above clubs. During his time at Jewish Guild, he only played in five matches and missed several training sessions. Although he attracted big crowds at some of these clubs due to his reputation, he was a shadow of the player he was at Manchester United, although he did have a brief resurgence at Fulham. He was also briefly sacked by Hibernian after going on a drinking bender with the France rugby team.

Best's testimonial, in which he scored twice, was held in August 1988 at Windsor Park in Belfast, with Pat Jennings, Ossie Ardiles, Liam Brady and Dutch international Johann Neeskens all making appearances.

Answer: 2005

Best was banned from driving in both 1984 and 2004 due to drunk-driving offences, and was imprisoned for the former. In 2000, Best was diagnosed with liver damage resulting years of alcoholism; it was so severe, his liver was only functioning at 20%. Best had a liver transplant on the NHS in 2002 and nearly died of haemorrhaging during the surgery, but continued to drink nevertheless and was heavily criticised for what many people saw as squandering a transplant.

In October 2005, he became ill as the result of a kidney infection caused by the immunosuppressants he was taking to prevent his body from rejecting the liver transplant. He was taken to hospital and various friends and relatives came to say their goodbyes; the 'News of the World' also printed a photo of Best in his hospital bed with severe jaundice, with the headline 'Don't die like me'. Best died of a lung infection and multi-organ failure on 25th November 2005. Footballers all over the world paid tribute, including Pelé, Eric Cantona and Diego Maradona, himself no stranger to addiction. Best was buried in his home country on 3rd December 2005, with Northern Ireland team mates Derek Dougan, Peter McParland, Gerry Armstrong and Harry Gregg, and Manchester United team mate Denis Law acting as pallbearers.

Answer: A Beanie Baby named George

'George Best' is the name of the debut album by The Wedding Present, an indie rock band from Leeds, featuring him on the cover; he gave them permission to name it after him, and also agreed to appear in promotional shots with the band. The Liverpool band Space also mentioned him in the song 'Charlie M' with the line 'I can see George Best trying to give the drink a rest/Now he's down the station failing a blood test' (singer Tommy Scott, a Liverpool fan, has cited Best as being one of his favourite footballers of all time).

Sarah Fabergé created a special Fabergé egg as a tribute to Best. It is red and gold, with football-shaped decorations on the outside, and has a gold and silver figure of Best inside it, with a tiny diamond football.

A statue of Best was unveiled near Windsor Park in Belfast on 22nd May 2019 (which would have been his 73rd birthday), to a mixed reception. Various comparisons have been made from Lionel Richie to the White Walkers from 'Game of Thrones'. (To my knowledge, there are no Beanie Babies named after the United legend, though there is an airport in Belfast named George Best Belfast City Airport.)