It's not only Northern Ireland which emptied its heart and showered unbridled love for its prodigal son George Best, the pop star in boots.
MANCHESTER: Maradona good, Pele better; George Best.
Slight exaggeration in the popular saying notwithstanding, it's not only Northern Ireland which emptied its heart and showered unbridled love for its prodigal son George Best, the pop star in boots.
Two years since Best succumbed to alcoholism in a London hospital, every blade of the grass at Old Trafford's immaculately manicured turf is still seeped in memory of one
of the greatest footballers who trod on them.
And, rather intriguingly, David Beckham, plying his trade these days in a country hooked on to basketball and baseball, doesn't enjoy similar status.
Rather, contemporary sport world's most photographed prima donna remains conspicuous by his absence at Old Trafford, which seems to have simply disowned him.
In contrast, the Best aura simply does not fade. In fact, it grows as Manchester finds it a way to atone for the iconic winger's unceremonious farewell some three decades back.
It was Man U scout Bob Bishop, who discovered the slight 15-year-old, who had been rejected by his local club. "I think I've found you a genius," read the telegram to their legendary manager Matt Busby. The rest, as people say, is history.
Despite his vices, the enigma, lives on. Manchester relives the old time as an omnipresent Best peeps out from posters, souvenir pins, mufflers, scarves, coffee mugs,
murals, thermos, water bottle and every knick-knack.
Josh, who sells souvenirs outside Old Trafford, has an explanation on what makes Best an enduring legend while Beckham is United's forgotten past.
"Best was a winger but his goal-scoring ability was just awesome. He was every inch a Man U man. He was as much substance, as much show. And his self-destruction streak only added to the aura. Manchester still regrets sacking him, which was anyway the right thing to do. By then, they had seen the best of Best.
"In contrast, Beckham looked more show. I mean he did well but somehow, he is not the quintessential Man U guy. Despite his skills and everything, he was too clever to drop anchor and stay put in Man U," he explained.
Even at the Man U mega store at Old Trafford, Beckham is as visible as a cigarette in a health club. It seems almost a conscious effort by the club to erase every mark of Beckham left.
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