Playing alongside George Best and Bobby Charlton at Manchester United in the 1960s, Denis Law was the King of the Stretford End. an unstoppable firebrand, exciting and unpredictable going forward, a showman with one arm raised exultantly when he found the net, which he did so often - 236 goals in 399 appearances for the club. He scored the first, and created the other two, in United's 3-1 FA Cup Final victory over Leicester City in 1963, and his skill and infectious enthusiasm for winning helped the club to the league title in both 1964-65 and 1966-67. He was named European Footballer of the Year in 1964. In United’s European campaigns, he scored four hat-tricks, but missed the 1968 European Cupwinning final with an injured knee.
30 goals for Scotland
Born in Aberdeen in 1940, he’d turned professional at Huddersfield Town in 1957, only to be poached by Manchester City in 1960, for a then record fee of ?55,000. Another record fee, ? 100,000, took him to Torino the next year; but by 1962 he had joined United. On his international debut in 1958 aged 18. he was the youngest Scot to be capped since 1899, and his tally of 30 goals for Scotland (in 55 outings) was equalled only by Dalglish. The characteristic impish grin was broadly on display when he played in the Scottish side that beat England 3-2 at Wembley.
A passionate United man. Law found himself out of favour with managerTommy Docherty in the declining side of the early 1970s, and in 1973 went back to rivals Manchester City, on a free transfer There was to be no cockiness, pleasure or one-armed saluting when his bacl<heeled goal against United sent his old club down to the Second Division in 1974. He called it a day at the end of that season, going out of the game he loved while he was still at the top of his form.
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