Denis Law, the legendary Manchester United striker and the only Scottish footballer to win the Ballon d’Or passed away at the age of 84, it was confirmed on Friday.
“It is with a heavy heart that we tell you our father Denis Law has sadly passed away. He fought a tough battle but finally he is now at peace,” read a statement from his family, released via United.
“We would like to thank everyone who contributed to his wellbeing and care, past and much more recently. We know how much people supported and loved him and that love was always appreciated and made the difference.”
The last of United’s ‘Holy Trinity’
Law’s death marks the passing of the final member of United’s legendary “Holy Trinity,” which the Scot formed along with the late Sir Bobby Charlton and George Best.
The three stand immortalized in a statue outside United’s Old Trafford stadium.
Law scored 237 goals for United in 404 appearances in all competitions, a record topped only by Charlton and Wayne Rooney.
Law’s goalscoring exploits earned him the title “King of the Stretford End” among United’s most hardcore supporters who stood on Old Trafford’s west stand, the so-called Stretford End, where a statue of Law also stands.
However, Law’s most infamous goal arguably came against United during one of two spells with local rivals Manchester City.
On the final day of the 1973-74 season, during a derby at Old Trafford, Law flicked the ball into the net. Thinking the goal may just have relegated his struggling former club, Law didn’t celebrate. United did go down, but results elsewhere that day meant that Law’s goal didn’t actually make any difference.
Scotland’s joint-record goalscorer
Internationally, “The Lawman,” as he was also known to many fans, represented Scotland 55 times, scoring 30 goals, a record matched only by Kenny Dalglish, although the Liverpool player played almost twice as many games.
His most famous Scotland goal came against arch-rivals England in a 3-2 win at Wembley in 1967 – England’s first defeat since winning the 1966 World Cup nine months earlier. Law, a proud Scot, had refused to even watch the final against West Germany on television.
One year later, Law could have featured in another big game at Wembley as Manchester United reached the European Cup final for the first time. But he missed the game with a persistent knee injury, leaving his fellow “Holy Trinity” members Charlton and Best to score the goals in a 4-1 win over Portuguese side Benfica.
The victory saw United, coached by the legendary Sir Matt Busby, become the first English club to win the European Cup – just ten years on from the Munich Air Disaster in which eight United players had been killed.
When he joined United in 1962, Law became a key part of Busby’s spectacular rebuild, helping the team win the FA Cup in 1963 followed by two league titles in three seasons.
George’s Best friend
After his playing career, Law worked as a TV pundit and presenter and made headlines when he spent some of his friend Best’s last hours next to the Irishman’s hospital bed before his alcohol-related death in 2005.
After recovering from prostate cancer, Law was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in 2016 for services to football and charity.
In 2021 he was diagnosed with dementia.
mf/rc (AFP, AP)
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