It is 10 years to the day since the loss of a Northern Irish footballing legend.
George Best, who died at just 59 on 25 November, 2005, was an undisputed great.
Yet while his story, one of limitless skill, the best and worst excesses of celebrity and an ultimately fatal addiction to alcohol, still entrances, Best somehow failed to shine on the international stage.
At Manchester United the honours flowed - two league titles, the club's first ever European Cup, a Ballon d'Or and a highlights reel to match the best in history - but it was a curiosity that Best managed only 37 appearances and nine goals for Northern Ireland.
But his successors in the green shirt, after a 30 year absence, will do just that next summer after qualifying for Euro 2016.
Complications relating to a liver transplant denied Best the chance to share in the celebrations but Gerry Armstrong, a former team-mate, long-time friend and finally Best's pall-bearer, has no doubt what that would have meant to his colleague.
"I know how proud George would have been"
"I can't believe it's 10 years since that awful day but it's amazing that it comes as Northern Ireland have just qualified for the European Championship," said Armstrong.
"I know how proud George would have been about that, he would have loved it. I just know he is somewhere up there looking down on us and smiling.
"He was so proud to come from Northern Ireland and to wear that green shirt. He loved to see the country do well.
"And it worked both ways; nobody here will ever forget George Best or what he achieved. He was our greatest ever player, no doubt about that, and although we miss him we have some fantastic memories that we'll never forget."
Tonight Old Trafford will stand and salute one of Manchester United’s greatest players with a new banner unfurled in his honour at the Stretford End before the Champions League game against PSV Eindhoven.
In 'Remembering George Best - 10 Years later', RTÉ Sport's Barry O’Neill reflects on the career of the Belfast legend and a unique link with the League of Ireland.
