THREE KINGS: The statue outside Old Trafford celebrates
Red Devils legends Best, Law and Charlton, all pictured on left.
The world-famous Manchester United trio remained firm lifetime friends off the pitch.
18 Jan 2025
The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
BY JAMIE DURENT
I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYBODY QUICKER
OVER FIVE TO 10 YARDS OR SEEN ANYONE
GET UP IN THE AIR AS WELL AS HE DID
– former Old Trafford team-mate George Best
The Holy Trinity. The three players that were at the centre of putting Manchester United on the global footballing map. Denis Law, Bobby Charlton and George Best are depicted in a statue outside Old Trafford, arm in arm as they were in their heyday.
In the Swinging Sixties, there was nothing groovier on the pitch than the Red Devils’ front three. Best had his model good looks and roguish charm allied to a mercurial on-field ability. Debonair Law excited the crowds with his dynamism in the penalty box. And Charlton’s trademark thunderbolt strikes helped even his comb-over look cool.
If Pele was football’s answer to Elvis Presley, then Law, Best and Charlton were The Beatles.
Their feats on the pitch were quite staggering.
A total of 665 goals plundered between them during their time at United helped deliver two league titles, an FA Cup and famously the 1968 European Cup.
Charlton was part of the Busby Babes, a prodigiously talented group of graduates from the club’s youth system, and made his first-team debut for United in 1956. With the arrival of Law in 1962 from
Torino, it was another key part in the rebuilding jigsaw at Old Trafford
following the 1958 Munich air disaster that had devastated the Red
Devils’ squad.
Success was achieved in Law’s first season with the club, beating
Leicester City in the FA Cup final with the Aberdonian netting the
opener in a 3-1 triumph.
As Law told the Manchester United website in 2018, “that was the beginning of the revival of Manchester United”.
He scored six in six games throughout the competition, adding to his 23 goals in the First Division.
“They are rebuilding the team. They lost half the team in the Munich air
disaster in ’58. They were in the process of building a new team and I
was in at the beginning,” Law said.
“Bobby Charlton was their most famous player and was always going to be their most famous player anyway.
“Bobby would be outside the box, 30 yards away – I couldn’t even reach
the goal from there – and as he prepared to shoot, I had the thought if
the goalkeeper saves it, he might not hold it. As soon as I saw it, I
would be in.
“Then George Best came on the scene and, all of a sudden, we had a bit of a team.”
Best was the last of the trio to make his Old Trafford bow in 1963
at the age of 17, picked up by chief scout Joe Armstrong after a
successful trial. He had moved over from Belfast two years earlier.
“From the first time I saw George I knew he was brilliant,” said
Law in an interview in 2012. “You could tell he was very special and
that if he stayed on the right track he would light up the game.
“I loved playing with George. He was, without doubt, the most
gifted footballer I ever played with or against. Players like that do
not come along very often.”
They were integral to Busby’s team, a fearsome triumvirate that
weaved, thundered and plundered their way to superstardom in the famous
red shirt.
Their crowning moment came in 1968, when Benfica were defeated 4-1
at Wembley in the final of the European Cup. Charlton scored twice,
with Best and Brian Kidd – who replaced an injured Law – delivering the
famous trophy for the first time.
But in that side there were unsung heroes aplenty. Bill Foulkes,
goalkeeper Harry Gregg, Shay Brennan, Nobby Stiles – a true team effort
that Law was always happy to recognise.
“Nobby Stiles for one, Paddy Crerand for another. Bill Foulkes at
that particular time. It would be very difficult to leave out a player
because you’ve all got to play together,” Law later said.
***
Bittersweet memories of triumph in Europe
Denis Law could only sit on and watch as Manchester United enjoyed one of the greatest nights in their history.
Knee surgery deprived Law of a place in the 1968 European Cup final, where Sir Matt Busby’s side conquered the continent and brought the trophy to Manchester with a 4-1 win over Benfica.
Aberdonian Law sat up in his hospital bed, flanked by friends, as United became the first English side to win the competition.
“Missing the European Cup final was the biggest disappointment of my career,” Law said in 2012.
“Not only was it such a huge final, it was also at Wembley. A few of my friends came to visit me and we watched the game together in my room and drank a case of beer.
“It was a great night for the club, especially Sir Matt. He had been the first boss to take an English club into European competition.
“Other clubs had been reluctant but Sir Matt knew Europe was the way forward. Then a decade after the Munich air crash he held aloft the European Cup.”
A year on, he felt robbed of his own opportunity to create some European memories following a dubiously disallowed goal in the second leg of the semi-final against eventual winners Milan.
“The ball definitely crossed the line and television replays subsequently showed that. Unfortunately, that wrong decision cost us dearly,” Law said. “Had that goal been given we would have gone on to beat Milan, even if it had gone to a replay. I am sure of that.”
Milan went on to beat Ajax in the final.
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