He considered his international career as being "recreational football", with the expectations placed on a smaller nation in Northern Ireland being much less than with his club. A combination of the team's performance and his lack of fitness in 1982 meant that he never played in the finals of a major tournament. In international football, Best was capped 37 times for Northern Ireland between 19. ![]() He was also an inaugural inductee into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002. His style of play on the field captured the public's imagination, and in 1999 he was on the six-man short-list for the BBC's Sports Personality of the Century. He won two League titles and the European Cup with the club. After making his debut aged 17, he scored 179 goals from 470 appearances over 11 years and was the club's top goalscorer in the league for five consecutive seasons. Best received plaudits for his playing style, which combined pace, skill, balance, feints, two-footedness, goalscoring and the ability to get past defenders.īorn in Belfast, Best began his club career in England with Manchester United, with the scout who had spotted his talent at the age of 15 sending a telegram to manager Matt Busby which read: "I think I've found you a genius". He was named European Footballer of the Year in 1968 and came fifth in the FIFA Player of the Century vote. A highly skilful dribbler, Best is regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. ![]() ![]() George Best ( – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United. *Club domestic league appearances and goals
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