The Belfast Boy, 20 years gone: Fans mark anniversary of death of superstar George Best at age of 59
Fans across Northern Ireland have marked the poignant anniversary of 20 years since George Best passed away.
November 25, 2005 saw the death of the football superstar at the age of 59, one of the geniuses of the game falling victim to an infection caused by the side effects of drugs meant to prevent his body from rejecting a liver transplant he’d needed after years of well-publicised alcohol abuse.
Fans made a pilgrimage to his grave in Belfast’s Roselawn Cemetery today, joined by his sister Barbara McNarry to honour his memory by bringing flowers and flags in tribute to the late icon.
Aficionados even jetted in to spend the week staying in his childhood home in east Belfast’s Cregagh estate.
Run by the charity East Side Partnership and redressed with vintage furniture and wallpaper plus family photos matching its look in the 1960s, around the time a young George was discovered by a Manchester United scout while playing for a local boys’ team, the Burren Way house regularly sees spikes of interest in November, as fans mark the anniversary of his passing.
But as Julie McLaughlin, East Side’s tourism manager, told the News Letter, today has been even more full of emotion than usual.
“It has been a very poignant occasion,” she said. “It’s hard to believe 20 years have gone since one of the greatest footballers left us.
“We feel truly honoured to have custodianship of the house and its history.
“We do have people staying in it as accommodation at the minute, though tours run later this week and regularly until March. The people staying are George Best fans, they booked it about a year ago and wanted to be over here for the anniversary.
“Mainly the interest in staying comes from big footballing nations; England and South America, for the most part, though we get some from Australia as well.”
Assistant manager of the Northern Ireland team, Jimmy Nicholl, first saw Best play as a star-struck 11-year-old, and went on to follow in his footsteps with a successful run at Manchester United.
In an interview with the Irish Football Association, he recalled his time sharing the field with George in the 1970s as they both played for Northern Ireland’s international side – remembering as one of the lads, no airs and graces despite years as the most glittering star in the game.
“When George met up with the group he would just pull a seat up and then sit and listen to the stories being told,” he said. “We wanted George to talk to us about his life, however he just loved sitting and listening to the rest of us.
Playing a World Cup qualifier against the Netherlands in 1976, Best and Nicholls faced a fearsome team, including Johan Cruyff. Recognising Cruyff’s already famous skills, George was determined to get one over on the Dutchman.
Said Jimmy: “George told us he was going to nutmeg Cruyff and he did just that. George was brilliant in the middle of the park, just spreading the ball about. He was outstanding.
“Unfortunately we didn’t qualify [for the World Cup] which was a shame for George, because they always said he was the best player never to have played at a World Cup.”