Dennis Law is pictured above playing for Manchester United at Leicester City in their
2-0 defeat at Filbert Street.
Denis Law joined Manchester United in August 1962 at the age of 22. He
was brought to Old Trafford by Sir Matt Busby, the man who had given him
his Scotland debut nearly four years earlier. United paid a then
British record transfer fee of £115, 000 for his services from Torino,
the third occasion on which he had held that accolade, having become the
first £100, 000 player in 1961 when joining the Italians from
Manchester City. A slim man of average height, Law was renowned for his
nose for goal and soon showed this great ability to the Old Trafford
faithful. He made his debut in the opening fixture of the 1962/63 season
against West Bromwich Albion when he scored United's first goal in a
2-2 draw. He also scored the opener in a 3-1 FA Cup Final victory over
Leicester City later that year, a suprising result given United's
struggles in the league that season (they finished 19th whilst Leicester
were 4th).
That terrific first campaign at Old Trafford had quickly
established Denis as a crowd favourite and the following season would
see Law further endear himself to the United fans with the remarkable
return of 46 goals from only 42 appearances in all competitions. His
goalscoring exploits saw United improve dramatically in the league
compared to the previous season and they managed a runners-up spot, four
points behind champions Liverpool. His performances the following
season took United to the 1st Division Championship and in the process
earned the Scotsman the 1964 European Footballer of the Year vote.
Though they lost the final game of the season to Aston Villa, United
finished level on points with Leeds United and won the league by goal
difference. His contribution of 30 goals in 37 games helping to tip the
balance in United's favour. 1965/66 proved to be a year of near misses
for United with semi-final defeats in both FA and European Cups and 4th
place in the League. A further League title followed in 1966/67, as
United remained unbeaten throughout the second half of the campaign. In
his first five full seasons as a Manchester United player Denis' strike
rate was phenomenal, scoring an incredible 160 goals in only 222 games. (Steve Drabble)
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1967 - 1973.
By 1967, the names of Best, Law and Charlton were synonymous with the
success sweeping through Old Trafford. Though they finished runners-up
in the League campaign that season, Denis helped United to the1968
European Cup Final. However, a knee injury kept him out of the final,
which he was forced to watch in hospital on TV as a result. The day
after a 4-1 victory against Benfica Matt Busby took the trophy to Law's
bedside as a tribute to the man who had contributed so much. He scored
seven goals in the two-leg tie against Waterford, which began United's
European Cup defence in style the following season. However, defeat in
the semi-final against AC Milan signalled the end of their hopes of
retaining the trophy.
European distractions caused United to finish 11th
in the League and the legendary Busby retired as Manager at the end of
the season. No further honours came his way over the final four seasons
of Law's United career as the club struggled to overcome the departure
of Busby. Despite the teams failure, Law's wily skills continued to
entertain Old Trafford throughout his career and, at a time of true
legends at the Theatre of Dreams, Denis Law was simply known as 'The
King'. With a remarkable total of 236 goals in 409 appearances, he is
United's second all-time goalscorer behind Bobby Charlton.
He was
controversially sold on a free transfer to Manchester City at the end of
the 1972/73 season following Tommy Docherty's arrival and his final
goal for United came in a 3-1 win over Bari in the Anglo-Italian
Tournament. He remains United's FA Cup record scorer and was only
eclipsed as European top scorer in 2000 by Andrew Cole. Denis will be
remembered as more than just a goalscorer with his abilities to create a
chance for a colleague equally memorable. (Steve Drabble)
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