Home Sports Denis Law had glory, glamour and goals but with a streak of humility – he embodied what the club should stand for, writes IAN LADYMAN

Denis Law had glory, glamour and goals but with a streak of humility – he embodied what the club should stand for, writes IAN LADYMAN

0 comments
Denis Law has died at the age of 84, his family and Man United confirmed on Friday.

He still came to Old Trafford whenever he could in his later years. With the collars of his raincoat pulled up to his ears. Almost like he didn’t want anyone to know it was him.

But you could always tell it was Denis. The hair was still distinctive for its light color. The shine in the eyes is still strong. Yes, you always knew when Denis was in the building. A footballer and a man who instinctively drew people to him as easily as he once left his opponents in his wake.

Denis Law, who died on Friday aged 84, was a most natural footballer, a goalscorer who worked desperately hard at what, those who knew him testified, was always terribly easy. He was a model of sporting glory, a movie star footballer dressed in the red of Manchester United.

Of course, there were other clubs too. Manchester City (quite famous) and also Torino and Huddersfield, where he started. Born in Aberdeen, he also played 55 times for his beloved Scotland and never lost a single move of that beautiful, playful national tone.

But it is United that he will always be associated with. He spent 11 years at Old Trafford between 1962 and 1973 and played 404 times, averaging more than one goal in every two appearances.

He won the Ballon d’Or in 1964 and his 46 goals for United that season remain a club record. In 1968 he won the European Cup and his tally of 237 goals for United is surpassed only by Sir Bobby Charlton and Wayne Rooney.

Denis Law has died at the age of 84, his family and Man United confirmed on Friday.

Law would also score 30 goals for Scotland (a joint national record) in just 55 appearances.

Law would also score 30 goals for Scotland (a joint national record) in just 55 appearances.

1737187959 382 Denis Law had glory glamour and goals but with a

He won the Ballon d’Or in 1964 and to date is the only Scot to have achieved it.

If the game felt simpler when he played it, then Law was the perfect salesman for that moment. Urbane and effortlessly charming, comfortable in his own skin and, most important of all, effortlessly effective with the ball at his feet.

There was rarely anything elaborate about the things he did on a football field. He had economy of movement and the ability to score goals with simplicity. The same goes for its celebration. He usually raised one arm and, if he was really excited, maybe two.

It was never lost on Law that one of his most unorthodox goals was the one he never actually wanted to score and even after time dulled the memory, he never got the slightest bit of pleasure from it.

His backheel in City blue against United on the final day of the 1974 season earned him the goal that people like to say dropped his former club from the top division. The truth is that it wasn’t like that. Other results that day would have relegated United anyway.

However, questions about it followed Law forever. He never seemed to do an interview without the topic being brought up, and when he did, he always balked a little, made a joke, or pretended he couldn’t remember it. It was his way of leaving the topic behind. For him it was just one goal, just one of many he has scored since making his debut for Huddersfield as a 16-year-old with an eye condition on Christmas Eve 1956.

Law was not a tall, thin, delicate man to look at. Upon joining Huddersfield, some thought he was too thin. “A weirdo, weak and puny,” said his first manager Andy Beattie.

But then some people also said the same thing about George Best, and there they are now together with Charlton, cast forever in bronze on the Old Trafford concourse.

A statue of the Holy Trinity of United. A hat-trick of sporting genius. A reminder, even in these dark days of Glazer debt and sporting uncertainty, of what it should be like forever to be a Manchester United footballer.

His goal sealed a 1-0 victory over his former team on April 27, 1974, the day Man United were relegated.

His goal sealed a 1-0 victory over his former team on April 27, 1974, the day Man United were relegated.

Law's finish gave City a 1-0 victory over United, but results elsewhere had not been favourable.

Law’s finish gave City a 1-0 victory over United, but results elsewhere had not been favourable.

1737187960 725 Denis Law had glory glamour and goals but with a

Like George Best, Law was not a tall man, he was slim in stature and delicate to look at.

Mikel Arteta reveals the extent of Bukayo Sakas injury ahead

Sir Matt Busby wanted Law at United almost immediately, but Huddersfield did not want to sell. Later Bill Shankly wanted him at Liverpool. But when he left he went to City, almost four years later, for a British record fee of £50,000.

An ambition and a determination to improve that had already taken him from the homes of Aberdeen (Law was one of seven children) to the highest level of English football when he was barely 20 years old would take him to Italy. He stayed in Turin for only one unhappy season and then returned to Manchester and a union with United that perhaps was overdue.

By then, many things had changed for Law, but some things remained invariably the same and he returned to live with the same landlady who had put him up when he played for City.

Law’s years at Old Trafford earned him all his top honours. This turned out to be his moment. Joining a club still recovering after the Munich disaster four years earlier, Law won two First Division titles, an FA Cup and, of course, that European Cup as Busby’s reborn United completed their circle of farewell at Wembley against Benfica. Unfortunately a knee injury kept him out of the final.

Busby’s United team did not lack glamour. The best was his show business, Charlton his heartbeat, his unbridled soul and his melancholic link with a tragic past. Law was as effective as any of the players, able to step forward on either foot and possess a shoulder drop that defenders would anticipate but still surrender to his skill. The law was like smoke, like a wisp. Impossible to hold, catch or restrain.

His teammates loved him not only for his goals but also for his bravery and deference. A simple man, simply blessed with extraordinary abilities.

His second spell at City was notable only for that goal and retired aged 34 when it became clear that first-team football at Maine Road would be rare.

Unsurprisingly to those who recognized his ability to talk and disarm people, Law demonstrated a natural ability in front of a television camera and was a regular analyst for Granada, ITV’s north-west regional arm. It turned out, after years of playing football so well, he could talk about it too.

Man United's famous Holy Trinity of Sir Bobby Charlton, Law and George Best at Old Trafford

Man United’s famous Holy Trinity of Sir Bobby Charlton, Law and George Best at Old Trafford

Law was awarded a CBE in the 2016 New Year Honors for services to football and charity

Law was awarded a CBE in the 2016 New Year Honors for services to football and charity

1737187961 403 Denis Law had glory glamour and goals but with a

The Scot is United’s third all-time top scorer behind Wayne Rooney and Charlton

Based on the outskirts of Manchester, Law never left. His daughter Diana, one of five children, worked for many years as United’s press officer and remains one of Sir Alex Ferguson’s trusted confidants. Ferguson to this day calls Law Sr. ‘My hero.’

Having revealed that he had prostate cancer in 2003, Law underwent surgery and recovered to become a committed awareness-raiser. When Best succumbed to the rigors of addiction in 2005, Law was at his bedside and later carried his coffin.

More recently, it was revealed that by the time he turned 80, Law was suffering from Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia.

Thinking of Law as diminished was painful simply because it was at odds with the vitality we remember. Law was not only a magnificent footballer, but also a magnetic and unbreakable link to what Manchester United should always be.

Glory, glamor and goals but with a streak of honesty and humility in between. Don’t think of United as it has become. Think of them as what they once were. Denis Law embodies all of that. Today, now that all three have passed away, we are more grateful than ever for that beautiful statue. In the coming days and weeks, it will be quite a spectacle.

You may also like