Dennis Law is pictured above playing for Manchester United at Leicester City in their
2-0 defeat at Filbert Street.
He died on 17th Janaury 2025 aged 84.
His death brought to an end the "Holy Trinty" of Best, Charlton, Law.
In August 2021, it was announced that he had been diagnosed with
Alzheimer's
disease and vascular dementia.
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)
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)