Raees
Pythagoras in Boots
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It was the great mans 81st Birthday today and I have been putting together this piece using the help of @Joga Bonito who did the hard yards on this a few years back. Hope you enjoy and if you are younger, please take the time out to watch him play as he is genuinely one of the most exciting United players of all time, more so than a Rooney for me... there is a reason why he held his own against the likes of Best and Charlton who are widely recognised as GOAT footballers. Anyway some excerpts below...
EARLY YEARS
Crippled by strabismus, an inherited condition in which the eyes did not properly align with each other when looking at an object - the young Law was nicknamed 'Cockeye' and had to wear a pair of thick NHS glasses to help with his vision. Ignoring the merciless taunts of his peers as a pupil at Kittybrewster Primary School, Law began to shine at football and defied the odds to be selected as part of the Aberdeen school select side. Playing with one eye closed in order to see better, Law duly helped the city team to victory in the Scottish primary tournament and combined his school commitments with juvenile league games for Aberdeen Lads’ Club.
As he entered his teenage years, Law absorbed as much football knowledge as he could by becoming an ardent match-going supporter of Aberdeen - watching them whenever he had enough money to do so and resorting to watching local non-league teams when he did not. His fervent passion for football led to him controversially turning down a place at Aberdeen Grammar School where he would have been expected to take up rugby. Instead, he attended the rather more humble Powis Academy, where he continued to show great promise with the ball at his feet - eventually earning a spot with Scotland Schoolboys.
HUDDERSFIELD
Huddersfield's unexpected relegation to what was then the Second Division proved to be a blessing in disguise for Law as it enabled him to get more game time under the newly appointed manager, a certain Bill Shankly. Shankly had managed Law in the reserves and had no qualms handing his fellow Scot a debut aged only sixteen, in a 2–1 win over Notts County. Shankly was a father figure away from home for the young Law and took it upon himself to personally manage Law's physical development. He would pay out of his own pocket for Law to gorge on food at a cafe across the road from the ground and restricted Denis from overtraining so as to build the young man's slender physique.
In his first season, Law scored 3 goals in 18 appearances and followed it up with 6 goals in 20 appearances the next campaign. News of his precocious ability spread and at the age of 18 he was called up by the national set up by none other than Matt Busby who was filling in as a caretaker during the 1958 British Home Championships. Law as he tended to do on his debut, confirmed his precocious reputation and scored Scotland's second goal in a 3–0 win at Ninian Park.
Having shone on the international stage, elite clubs across the country began to fight ferociously for the young Scots services. Busby who had witnessed his talent first hand, was one of these interested parties and on behalf of Manchester United, offered Huddersfield £10,000, a substantial amount of money for a teenage footballer at that time but Huddersfield wisely turned the offer down. Shankly who by 1959 had been offered the chance to take the ropes at Liverpool was also keen to take the prodigy with him but Liverpool were unable to afford him at that time.
TORINO
Anticipation for Law's arrival was pulpable. When he touched down in Turin, Law was greeted by thousands of fans who were eager for the Scot to lead Torino to heights not seen since the 1949 Superliga disaster. The excitement was mutual, Law was left mouth agape when he discovered that pre-season training was to be based in a luxury hotel high up in the Alps. He was even more impressed with the training regime, which consisted of high calibre technical and tactical work in stark contrast to the arduous and monotonous physical conditioning that was par for the course in England.
Law soon began to realise however that whilst the Italian game was superior technically, tactically and financially (players were not under the same draconian wage restrictions as seen in the British game), the dark arts were readily employed by Italian clubs in an unrelenting merciless game of one-upmanship. It ran counter to his own philosophy and also that of the British game in general which prided itself on its unerring commitment to fair play. A poignant example of this culture shock was when Internazionale, sought to prevent him from becoming a Torino player by falsely claiming he had signed a pre-contract agreement with them. The matter was eventually sorted but it was a red flag as to the underhanded measures opponents were willing to use to unsettle the Scot.
Once the season got going, Law was flying as he bagged four goals in his first six games, including playing a starring role in the win against reigning champions and cross city rivals Juventus who boasted the likes of Omar Sivori, With these early performances, Law had cemented his rising status as a cult figure and was christened the heir apparent to Valentino Mazzola. Such lofty expectations fuelled excessive attention from the media and led to Law becoming a marked man, with cynical hard-nosed Italian defenders all too happy to bring the dazzling young Scot back to earth. He was running out of breathing space on and off the pitch.
MANCHESTER UNITED
Law underwent surgery on his knee on the Saturday preceding the Europan Cup final, and remained in hospital for the match. To fill the void, United deployed Best as a false 9 of sorts and it worked very well. Georgie Boy had been having a break out season, and everything he touched turned to gold and it would prove to be the case in the final. Best and Charlton led United to the promised land - The European Cup. Whilst Law was clearly proud of the side's achievements, to be reduced to a onlooker for what was the greatest night in United's history proved to be a bitter pill to swallow.
Last chance saloon
In 1968–69, Law began to overcome the injury woes of the previous seasons and managed to bag 30 goals in 45 appearances. Whilst he was playing with a point to prove, United were suffering a hangover from their European Cup success. Many of Law's colleagues had reached the end of the road in terms of their desire levels - there was nothing further for them to achieve, United would finish 11th in the league and it proved to be the death knell for the Busby era.
On the European stage, United also fell short albeit they had a respectable run to the semi finals. What stood out in this campaign was Law's insatiable appetite for goals - it felt like he wanted to win the European Cup off his own back and remind everyone that he was the founding member of the Holy Trinity. He scored seven times in the 10–2 aggregate first round victory over Waterford United, but as the quality of opponents improved, the goals dried up. It was not for the want of trying however.
In the semi final, United played a strong AC Milan featuring the likes of Schnellinger, Hamrin and Rivera. United lost the first leg in the San Siro 2–0 after a listless display in which they simply did not have a sniff. In the second leg, United tried to go for the jugular but Milan's defence was brilliantly organised and Law was man-marked heavily, suffering a bloody nose for his troubles. United kept mishitting ground passes or firing long balls into Law in desperation but he understandably was fighting a losing battle. United did manage to grab a goal via Bobby Charlton but Milan held on and Law's final chance of winning the biggest trophy in club football on his terms was gone.
LINK TO FULL PIECETACTICAL ANALYSIS
One of the great myths associated with Denis Law is that he was the consummate poacher and a 'fox in the box'.. and that Ruud van Nistelrooy was his nearest competitor for the best number 9 in Manchester United's history. Much of that perception exists because of his record breaking exploits of 46 goals in a single season. The truth was that Law was not your typical Centre-Forward if he can be classed as a Centre-Forward at all. He was a total footballer, before the term had been invented and would have been more at home in the Magic Magyars or Dutch side of the seventies. He spoke of Di Stefano as an inspiration, and you can see that in the match footage, he loves to cover every blade of grass, help win the ball, and get on the ball to playmake and drive from deep through enemy lines.
