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Sunday 19 January 2025 13:31
Sir Alex Ferguson has paid a heartfelt tribute to his friend Denis Law.
The former Manchester United manager was a huge admirer of Law, as a player, and the two became very close, with Sir Alex at Old Trafford on Sunday to watch the game against Brighton & Hove Albion and pay his respects to the prolific goalscorer.
Denis sadly passed away on Friday, aged 84, and is being remembered by the United family for his immeasurable contribution to the club.
“Once you knew Denis, and saw him play, you said well this is a player”, Sir Alex told MUTV. “It’s a strange thing but it took me years to actually meet him. I was chairman of the players’ union in Scotland, and we had an arrangement with other alliances of the football associations in other countries. We had a game in Paris and Denis played in the first half. I didn’t play.
“Denis came off at half-time and said: ‘where can I get a cup of tea’? It was Denis’s favourite, he loved a cup of tea. I went upstairs and there’s a saying in Scotland, when people get carried away. ‘Who do you think you are, Denis Law?’ It’s just a fact. It’s a saying. We all used it when we were kids.
“Anyway, there’s a gentleman player sat at the table opposite who’d played in the World Cup final for [West] Germany and, I don’t know why I did it, but I asked him for his autograph. And he said: ‘Oh, no’. I said: ‘Who do you think you are, Denis Law?’ And Denis is sat there! I said you are Denis Law! What a start!”
‘The Lawman’ was not just a wonderful player but also such a special person, and Sir Alex’s great affection for him shone through during his chat with Helen Evans.
“He was the best Scottish player of all time,” added Ferguson. “Kenny Dalglish soon after, some fantastic players, but Denis was a fantastic player. He summarised a Scotsman, the fighting element, he could fight in an empty house! An incredible human being. When I came to Aberdeen, he was doing a radio thing, in Greece, and we’re sitting in the airport and there was a bit of a delay.
“I don’t know why I said to him, as we weren’t doing great at the time, why don’t you come in for a cup of tea some time? He said: ‘I’m the last person you want to come for a cup of tea. Do you want front-page press that Denis goes to help Aberdeen?’ I can understand and we won the league so, the next week, he was in for a cup of tea.
Denis Law: A United icon Video
Denis Law: A United icon
On the day we remember Denis Law, this tribute epitomises his incredible United career…
“I went to see him a couple of months ago, and he wasn’t doing well, but he had a wee gift of taking the mickey out of you, when you actually don’t know,” Sir Alex said. “He’d be throwing wee quips in. The great thing was he didn’t use his fame. He was so level-headed and down to earth.
“He’s got all these caps for Scotland the King of Old Trafford. The interesting thing is why do they call him ‘The King’ because they had George Best and Bobby Charlton, the greatest English player of all time. He was a fantastic player for this club but they called Denis ‘The King’. It’s something to do with his determination, the will to win he showed every time he went on to a football field.
“It’s what he was – a really competitive human being. No matter which game, that was always there. This image of Denis Law fighting against the centre-half, if the goalkeeper dropped the ball, he’d be right over the top of them. Such a competitive human being. I think it was a natural thing for supporters to associate him as their King.
“I think, when he joined us in 1963, he turned the club around. That’s the greatest thing he could ever have done. Sir Matt [Busby] was recovering from the Munich Air Disaster and we’d win the first trophy in 1963, just after they signed Denis. The part he played at that time was so vital to the renovation of the team. I think most people always remember that signing from Italy. It was a cornerstone of their future success.”
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Sunday 19 January 2025 13:31
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