Scoring At Half Time: Further Adventures On and Off the Pitch

by George Best

hardcover

Genres: Football, Biography, Sports, Nonfiction

340 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional football player, best known for his years with Manchester United. He was a winger whose game combined pace, acceleration, balance, two-footedness, goalscoring and the ability to beat defenders. In 1968, his annus mirabilis, he won the European Cup with Manchester United, and was named the European Footballer of the Year. When fit, he was an automatic choice for the Northern Ireland team, but he was unable to lead them to the World Cup qualification, despite being capped 37 times and scoring nine goals.

In 1999, he was voted 11th at the IFFHS European Player of the Century election, and 16th in the World Player of the Century election. Pelé named him as one of the 125 best living footballers in his 2004 FIFA 100 list and Best was named 19th, behind Gerd Müller, at the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll. In his native Northern Ireland the admiration for him is summed up by the local saying: "Maradona good; Pelé better; George Best."

He was one of the first celebrity footballers, but his extravagant lifestyle led to problems with alcoholism which curtailed his playing career and eventually led to his death in November 2005 at the age of 59. His cause of death was a kidney infection, a side-effect of the immuno-suppressive drugs he was required to take after a liver transplant. Best's lovable, cheeky image won him many fans, during his career and after, despite his public drunkenness on TV, his convictions for drunk driving and assaulting a policeman, allegations of domestic violence, and his inability to give up drinking even after the transplant. GQ named him as one of the 50 most stylish men of the past 50 years.

Reviews

[Oskar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very funny. Loved it!

[Tim Corke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tricky one this. It’s interesting to hear about Best’s crazy, celebrity life given his infamy but there’s a sadness rooted within the words. It’s as though he needed to get it all out, almost therapy, with plenty of reminisces about his old playing mates and drinking buddies, his celebrity and the misdemeanours that came along with it. Many of these old pals he points out are no longer with us.

It’s open and honest, it’s definitely not polished, but it’s endearing and helps to brush off some of the tabloid gloss that the Best reputation holds.

[Rav E · Rating 3 out of 5]

A customer lent this to me when he found out I was a football fan. Very kind! Good book - some funny stories - George is very honest in here. Quite sad that you know he passed only a couple years after releasing this. You kind of do have to feel sorry for him - but what a life

[Stephen John Clutterbuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Football v Hedonism... Hedonism won 2 nil.

[Charles James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed feeling on this one. The book starts talking about his new liver and how he has turned his life around. Sadly this was not to be .
The book purports to be a continuation of his earlier autobiography .However is is more a collection of after dinner stories that had been missed out of the earlier book .
That said entertaining stories , but very much a book reflecting a very different age of football .

[Dan the Man Lacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This autobiography is a great novel that explains the life of a footballer. A story about partying, football, travelling and of course, the ladies. This is a hilarious book that makes you howl with laughter. It was written in such a humorous and understandable way, I couldn't put it down. You'd think that the life of a footballer would be to train, eat healthy, get loads of sleep, play in the cup final(etc.) No fun in it at all. George Best proved everyone wrong with this book. With a surprise around every corner, I have to say that this is one of the best books I've ever read. This book is just like his goals, BEST.

[Mike]

highbrow... strictly highbrow reading

[Karrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

laugh out loud funny!

[Jamie Owens]

I bought this 2 weeks ago in a charity shop for £2. Not what i was expecting. It's basically a bunch of stories thrown together into a book but they're written as short chapters. The book is split into 6 sections. players,managers, media etc. It gave me quite a few laughs and some sad moments as well. Overall it is a good enough read if you wanna check it out I quite enjoyed it.