George Best, was born in Belfast Northern Ireland on May 22nd 1946. He went on to become Ireland's best known footballers, who played professional football as a winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United.

Best is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, a highly skilled winger, considered by several pundits to be one of the greatest dribblers in the history of sport. When George was still at primary school he was recommended to Manchester United by a local Belfast football scout who remarked that the young footballer was a 'genius'. He joined the club at the age of 15, and made his debut in 1963. In 1968 he was named European Footballer of the Year and helped United become the first English club to win the European Cup. 

In this archival documentary, we hear interviews with George Best, Eamon Dunphy and other sporting legends. Often described as the 'fifth Beatle', this handsome young man with long hair was reminiscent of the "mop tops" of England’s preeminent rock and rollers, the Beatles. Like them, Best was a colossal celebrity. His fame transcended the football world. Best was the first of many footballers to become a regular subject of the British tabloids but it also helped foster a drinking problem that would prove to be his undoing.

After a bitter departure from United in 1974, he played for numerous lesser teams in Britain, Spain, Australia, and the United States until 1983. His drinking continued to affect his play, however, and he became as well known for his squandered talent as for his undeniable brilliance. Best underwent a liver transplant in 2002 but ultimately was unable to overcome his alcoholism, and he died from a series of transplant-related infections that his compromised immune system could not combat.

Presented by Ed Mulhall

Produced by Colm Keane

First Broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 - 05 Nov 1984

An Irish radio documentary from RTÉ Radio 1, Ireland - Documentary on One - the home of Irish radio documentaries