AFPNorthern Ireland bids tearful farewell to hero George Best
Belfast: Tens of thousands of mourners packed the rain-soaked streets of Belfast to say an emotional farewell to Northern Ireland's favourite son George Best on Saturday.
In what came close to a state funeral, Best's cortege drove from the family's humble home to the splendour of Stormont, the Northern Irish parliament, with the people of the province giving the soccer legend one last standing ovation as the hearse passed by.
Tears were shed along the route as fans from the working-class Protestant Cregagh estate and beyond said a final goodbye to their home-grown hero, the Belfast Boy who dazzled the world.
Flowers and football scarves were thrown onto the hearse before old teammates and his family carried the coffin into the palatial Parliament Buildings to the tune of a piper's lament as driving rain fell.
Three hundred guests squeezed into the Great Hall with the emotional service being broadcast to an expected 30,000 people allowed in the Stormont grounds.
Master of ceremonies Eamonn Holmes underlined Best's importance to Northern Ireland and the nature of the man who hit the highs of international stardom to the lows of wanton -- and equally public -- alcoholism.
Belfast-born broadcaster Holmes called Best "probably the greatest footballer who ever lived". "In Ulster folklore we have many heroes, many legends. George Best will pass into that folklore as mercurial, as magical, as someone who made his dreams, and as someone who made our dreams come true.
"George would always recognise that however much a genius he may have been, he was also flawed. Maybe that imperfection made us love him more. In a country that often cannot rise above religion or politics, George Best did more than most to bring us together as a people. To make us recognise that maybe there is more that unites us than divides us”.
"We want to show the world how delighted we are that he came from a country of just 1.5 million people and became the best footballer the world has ever seen."
Former teammates, ex-wives, dignitaries and friends filled the cream-marbled hall. Fighting back the tears, Best's son Calum, 24, read Mary Frye's poem "Do not stand at my grave and weep."
Old United colleague Denis Law brought smiles as he reminisced on his pal Bestie's character and his battle against the illness that claimed his life.
Best died aged 59 on November 25 from multiple organ failure, after suffering a series of health problems in a London hospital. The Best family earlier held a private ceremony at their home on the east Belfast estate where Best honed his skills against the terraced house walls.
The funeral cortege left shortly after 10:00 am (1000 GMT) from Cregagh, whose Loyalist paramilitary murals had been painted over and flags taken down for the occasion.
Mourners lined the length of the three-mile (five-kilometre) route to Stormont, which was selected as the site of a funeral for the first time because of the huge crowds expected.
"George was a Belfast boy," said Dawn Purvis, 39, secretary of a small Protestant political party, as she watched through the umbrellas while the cortege slowly left Cregagh.
"We all had an affinity for him. He had charisma, talent, but a great weakness too," she told AFP. "In a way, he was a tragic hero."
Considered the first "pop-star" footballer, Best brought Northern Ireland a dash of glamour and sporting wizardry as it descended towards sectarian bloodshed.
Best is considered as being among football's finest ever players. "Maradona good; Pele better; George Best" read a soaked flag at the end of Best's old street.
Best's alcoholism brought on a string of health problems which led to a liver transplant in 2002. He was back on the bottle within a year, however, despite having been told another drink could kill him.
Best made his professional debut for Manchester United in 1963, aged 17, going on to help the club become the first English side to lift the European Cup in 1968.
In the same year he was voted European Player of the Year. Dubbed "El Beatle", his playboy lifestyle involved an unquenchable thirst for alcohol and beautiful women.
He won 37 Northern Ireland caps before heavy boozing took its toll and he unexpectedly quit United for good at the early age of 28.
Best will be buried next to his mother, Ann, in the Roselawn cemetery in the Castlereagh hills overlooking east Belfast and the fields where he first shone as a footballer.
Belfast bids farewell to soccer hero George Best
ReutersTens of thousands turned out in Belfast on Saturday to bid farewell to George Best, Northern Ireland''s local lad turned soccer legend who died last week after losing his battle with alcoholism. Best, who was mentioned in the same breath as soccer greats Pele and Diego Maradona, died of multiple organ failure on Nov. 25 after years of heavy drinking. Shortly after 1015 GMT a black hearse carrying Best''s body began the three-mile journey from his family''s modest Belfast home to the province''s lavish parliament buildings. Thousands lining the route in pouring rain applauded the slow-moving funeral cortege, as Best''s native town gave the former Manchester United winger the type of send-off normally reserved for royalty. Some of soccer''s greatest names, including Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, were due to attend a ceremony that will be relayed to the multitudes gathered at Stormont, home to Northern Ireland''s parliament buildings. People had queued outside Stormont for hours before the ceremony was due to begin to secure their place among the 30,000 mourners allowed into the 164-acre estate that overlooks Belfast. Stormont''s entrance gates were festooned with football shirts in the green and white of the Northern Ireland national team or the red of Manchester United. ;It''s raining but we are wet with tears, George the Best,; a fan had written on one shirt. Along the road to Stormont all advertising on bus stop shelters had been replaced by images of Best or his number 7 Manchester United shirt. ;He''ll never be forgotten in Northern Ireland,; said Jean Paul, 49, a retired Scotsman. ;Over the years of the Troubles he gave a kind of joy to the community.; UNIVERSAL APPEAL The route between his family home in the narrow streets of Cregagh council estate, east of the city, and Stormont''s white-pillared grandeur symbolises Best''s own life story which took him from humble roots to global celebrity. He won the European Cup with United in 1968 and was voted European Footballer of the Year. Best combined mercurial talent with pop star looks, a combination that vaulted him to the pinnacle of celebrity in London''s Swinging Sixties. But his love of champagne and playboy lifestyle slid into alcoholism. Best was unable to shake the disease and in the end it killed him. The expected turnout and the tributes that have flooded in since the death of Best, a Protestant, show his immense popularity -- one that crossed Northern Ireland''s sectarian divide. The Best family home had been turned into a makeshift shrine. Flowers, football shirts and scarves covered every inch of the garden and footpath outside. Following the Stormont service, Best will be buried beside his mother Ann in the family plot in Roselawn cemetery. The family have asked the public and media to stay away from the cemetery.
Belfast bidding bittersweet farewell to its boozy soccer genius, George BestFamily, friends and more than 100,000 fans said a bittersweet goodbye Saturday to George Best, the mercurial Manchester United star who died
after a long battle with alcohol.
Best, 59, received a state style funeral inside Stormont Parliamentary Building, Northern Ireland's most impressive public space on a hill overlooking the city, in the biggest
display of public mourning ever experienced in this British
territory of 1.7 million.
Mourners, many too young to have seen Best in his 1960s
heyday, lined the five kilometer (three mile) route from
his family home in Protestant east Belfast. They applauded
and tossed bouquets and soccer scarves into the path of the
slow moving hearse, which bore floral wreaths reading
«Legend,» «George» and «Dad.» Police saluted the
passing casket.
Former Manchester United teammates and ex Northern Ireland
players carried the coffin up Stormont's steps for a
service televised live throughout Britain and Ireland. It
featured ballads from Northern Ireland vocalists Brian
Kennedy and Peter Corry, tearful poems from son Calum and
tributes from closest friend Bobby McAlinden and former
teammate Denis Law.
Two London doctors who battled to keep him alive after a
2002 liver transplant also spoke.
Law, who combined up front with Best and Bobby Charlton on
the Manchester United team that won the Champions Cup _ the
year Best was crowned European Footballer of the Year _
recalled how his friendship with Best blossomed once they
both reached their 30s and frequently took trips together.
Law, 65, candidly recalled Best's lovably feckless failure
to keep appointments or to show up sober.
«I can't count the number of times he let me down. He
didn't turn up, or he did turn up _ and wasn't on this
planet,» Law said from a podium overlooking the casket,
which was draped in a green Northern Ireland soccer flag.
But Law said Best's legendary charm would win him over
even at the moment of disappointment. After one night on a
trip to Portugal, Law said he found Best in the hotel bar
the next morning.
«There he was sitting in the bar, with a cheeky smile on
his face, glass in hand. Before I could say anything, he'd
said: 'Hey little man, I've just ordered you a nice pot of
tea',» Law recounted.
At the request of the Best family, 10 fans were picked at
random from the crowd outside to join approximately 300
family members, friends and dignitaries packed to capacity
in the Grand Hall of Stormont.
England manager Sven Goran Eriksson, Manchester United
boss Alex Ferguson, Northern Ireland coach Lawrie Sanchez
and Man United player Ole Gunnar Solkskjaer were among
those in attendance.
Also there were Ireland's former world featherweight
boxing champion, Barry McGuigan, and Belfast snooker ace
Alex Higgins. As were rival political leaders _ often
sitting side by side _ from the British Protestant and
Irish Catholic factions of this long divided community.
«Whatever our politics, whatever our religion, George
Best has helped us find our common humanity,» said Peter
Hain, the British secretary of state for Northern Ireland.
Hain recalled marveling at Best's seemingly effortless
grace as he tore through the defense of his team, Chelsea,
in the 1960s. «Even though I was a (Chelsea) fan, a
fanatic, you actually wanted to see him do it _ you clapped
him as he destroyed your team,» he said.
Those outside on a typically chilly and wet Belfast
winter's day followed the ceremony on three giant TV
screens. Many mourners had traveled overnight from England
and the Republic of Ireland.
Since I was a knee high little boy, I watched his life, said Stanley Neill, 45, a railway operator. Neill arrived about 9 p.m.
