Tento severoirský fotbalista byl legendou Manchesteru United, proslulý svou rychlostí, rovnováhou a schopností obejít obránce. Jeho herní styl kombinoval akceleraci a dvounohost s gólovými schopnostmi. Stal se symbolem éry, kdy fotbal začal přitahovat masovou pozornost, ale jeho extravagantní životní styl a boj s alkoholismem zkrátily jeho kariéru a ovlivnily jeho zdraví. Jeho odkaz přetrvává díky mimořádnému talentu, který z něj učinil jednu z nejvíce obdivovaných postav fotbalové historie, ztělesňující jak genialitu na hřišti, tak tragédii mimo něj.
The narrative captures the essence of a bygone era in British soccer, highlighting the contrast between the gritty realities of training, nutrition, and the raw atmosphere of the game with the modern media spectacle. It features anecdotes about legendary players, intense matches, and the camaraderie among fans, all set against a backdrop of simpler times. The author, a celebrated figure in the sport, reflects on the authenticity and passion that defined football before it transformed into a commercialized phenomenon.
George Best was blessed with an extraordinary gift; he brought beauty and grace to soccer never before seen. But he was unable to cope with the success and fame his genius brought and his life story is littered with tales of women, sex and, of course, drink. George Best here tells his own dramatic and inspiring story.
Hard Tackles and Dirty Baths harks back to a golden era of football from the 60s to the early 70s before money and marketing took away its honest charm. Informed by George's own experiences and those of his fellow professionals, the book is a complete history of this most dynamic and heroic period - from the abolition of the maximum wage and the humble beginnings of the likes of George as boot-room apprentices to the star-studded era of sideburns, collar-length hair and universal adulation. The book follows the drama and intrigue of each successive season (1963 to 1973) in league, cup and abroad, pondering the key themes from each year to offer an intimate pitch-level view of football's greatest generation. It was an era of classic teams: the Chelsea of Hudson, Osgood and Chopper Harris; the Spurs of Jimmy Greaves; the Leeds of Lorimer and Bremner; the Arsenal of Charlie George and Frank McClintock; the Celtic of Jimmy Johnston; and of course the defining Man United of Best, Law and Charlton. And the great managers of those teams: Matt Busby; Bill Nicholson; Ron Greenwood; Don Revle. Matt's eventual triumph in Europe, and of Bobby Moore raising the Jules Rimet at Wembley. A sponsor-free, happy time of poor training facilities, muddy pitches, packed terraces, scary centre-backs, blinding skills, legends in the making, and your hard days graft rewarded with a bottle of brown ale in the after-match bath.
