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Name:
Denis Law,
Born:
24th February 1940, Position: Forward
(Huddersfield,
Manchester City, Torino, Manchester United, Manchester City and
Scotland.) |
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Major
Honours:
League Championship 1965 and 1967, FA Cup 1963 and
European Footballer of the Year 1964.
Relevant
Career Statistics:
55
caps for Scotland; 458 overall league appearances and 217 goals
(309 appearances and 171 goals for Manchester United).
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Admitted
to the Hall of Fame: 1st May 2002 with 26% of the votes.
Typical
comment listed by voter during poll:
"Football's
first and best entertainer."
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Roy
of the Rovers References:
Roy of the Rovers "Talk In" feature on Denis being made European
Player of the year for 1965 - 27th April 1985 edition.
In a full page feature,
Denis and Roy Race both choose their greatest ever English and
Scottish teams - Roy of the Rovers comic - 26th May 1990 edition.
Denis speaks to Roy Race
about Manchester United stars - ""Past and Present" in the
14th September 1991 edition over a two page feature.
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Internet
Links: There are no web sites solely dedicated to Denis
Law but the following are some excellent profiles on the 'King'
found on the 'net!
One
third of the holy trinity - An article which
appeared in 4-4-2 magazine about why Denis never went into
management
Denis
Law - United Legend. - A profile on Denis from the
manutdzone.com website.
Denis
Law Profiled - A profile on the 'King' by the soccer-europe.com
website
FIFA
World Cup Profile - A world Cup profile of Denis
Great
Britain XI - The World XI website gives Denis a place in
an all-time great Britain XI |
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Books: The
Lawman straight from the hip with Denis Law and Bernard
Bale. Denis' autobiography is not just a football story, it is the
unique tale of a unique world star.
Videos: Soccer
Legends - Law, Best and Charlton, all action video in Man
Utd's glory years. in-depth interviews.
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Aberdeen born Denis "The
King" Law will be forever associated with the City of Manchester,
after three spells with its two teams. Yet he was not only one of his
Country's International greats, recalled to the squad in his mid-thirties,
but also one of the first people to enjoy a spell in Italy and his rare
talents twice attracted British record transfer fees.
A first team player at 16 with
Huddersfield, the Scot arrived at Old Trafford via Manchester City and
Torino. Matt Busby invested £115,000 in his goalscoring knack and 23
goals in 38 games and a Cup Final strike in the win over Leicester was
quite a return in his first season. Little wonder he was the highest paid
footballer in Britain and European Footballer of the year in 1964.
The King was an Old Trafford
fixture for the glory years, though he missed the European Cup Final
through injury. His place in a forward line with Charlton, Herd and Best
made him one of the 1960's legends, his goals leading United to league
titles in 1965 and 1967; the former season saw him set a Fairs (now UEFA)
Cup record of nine goals with a team that didn't even get to the final.
A much loved figure at Old
Trafford, Law's trademark one-armed goal salute became as much a part of
United legend as his flapping shirt and trademark 'salmon' leap: not for
nothing was he nicknamed the 'King'. His first five seasons with United
saw him harvest 160 goals from 222 matches in all competitions - a
phenomenal strike rate in anyone's language.
The King's last season in
League football was at Manchester City, after Tommy Docherty the United
manager at the time turned to younger talents. His back heeled goal
consigned his former team mates to a spell in Division Two - their first
for 36 years. "I have so seldom been so depressed as I was that
weekend." he later revealed. His anticipation, predatory instinct and
spring heeled jumping made Law an exciting figure to watch, even though
his personality could be volatile. Injury caused increasing problems,
especially in his knee, but his whole heartedness wouldn't let him shirk
on work rate and many goals came chasing lost causes.
The King is a worthy member of the Roy of the
Rovers Hall of Fame.
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