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http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-1204005,00.html

Football legend George Best has died in the west London hospital where he was being treated after developing a lung infection.

Members of the 59-year-old's family, including his son Calum and father Dickie, were at his bedside.

Best's death came hours after doctors treating him said he had multiple organ failure and was not expected to last the day.

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The guy died from a lung infection :angry: He may have abused his body with the amount of alcohol, but in the end alcoholism is an addition, not as easy to overcome as people may seem.

At the end of the day, he was the greatest football the world has ever seen, one of the nicest people anyone could ever meet, would go out of his way to help others and will be sadly missed.

RIP :(

Didn't the man beat his wife and get a lot into drugs / alcohol? My point here is, even if he was a good soccer player in his time, that doesn't make him necessarily a better person.

Still, may he rest in peace.

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Good to see I'm not the only one sobbing about a loser kicking the bucket. Sure he may have been a good football player way back when but so what? What has he done since? And why is there such mass grief for such bad example of a man?

Yeah, may he rest in peace and may the rest of the population start living in 2005!

Nicest people? He beat his wife. Lovely guy!

And alcoholism is an addiciton yes. But at what point do you realise "****, I need to kick this"?

Probably the point when you realise you're going to die if you don't! I know people who have done it.

The guy was a great football player, though absolutely not the best ever, but a responsible human being he was not. He wasted not only his own life but also that of a person who could have gotten that liver instead of him.

OT: punchdrunk (nice ID for a thread like this one :D ), love the avatar man!

Glad to see at least one other person here doesn't have a mainstream taste in music.

1984 - Sentenced to 12 weeks in prison for drink driving and assaulting a police officer.

2003 - September: Separates from wife Alex after picturess how George drinking heavily again and media reports of repeated infidelities.

2004 - Banned from driving for 20 months and fined for drink driving.

Sure, deserves total respect. Sorry but he brought his own death about by abusing his body.

And I think you need to lay off the insults about me a little dude. You're kinda new here and that's no way to make friends.

If you cant respect the guy for what he was then to be honest i wouldn't want to make friends with people like you anyway. Doesn't matter what he has done before or mistakes he may have made, NOBODY can say he deserves to die.

On Wednesday i think it was, he gave permission for the News of The World to take pictures of him on his deathbed and publish them on the front page. The purpose of this was that he wanted people to see what he was going through and may encourage those with similar problems to gain help. So i think u'll find he was a thoughful guy afterall, so how about letting the legend rest in peace and stop slagging him. If you haven't got anything nice to say just keep it to yourself

Respect? He didn't respect himself, so why should anyone else?

Sorry but a collegue died this week. He was a prat while he was alive, and I still say he was a prat. I dislike the way people change their opinions just cos someone died.

some people here are a disgrace...

i knew george best as the football player (not personally, figuratively speaking), i watched him play football and he was excellent at it. For all those moments that he made special with skill and grace he should be thanked.

For what he has done wrong, he should not be punished by the whole world, only those who he hurt.

thankyou for the memories George, Rest in Peace

I simply had to comment to all the people who have condemned George Best for his alcoholism. Do none of you actually HAVE a brain? This man was an alcoholic. Alcoholism is not a personality trait - it is a serious illness. Yes, he did some bad things, because he was ill. It wasn't his choice to become addicted to alcohol, but he did, and it controlled his life and his brain.

If your father or grandfather had Alzheimers or a similar degenerative disease, and started acting strangely and doing bad things, how would you feel if I waited for the day they died and then said "Good. Rot in hell"? You are despicable and should be ashamed of yourselves.

This man was a fantastic talent, who became very ill and he should be remembered for his footballing days and not condemned for what his illness did to him.

Rest in peace George. God bless.

some people here are a disgrace...

i knew george best as the football player (not personally, figuratively speaking), i watched him play football and he was excellent at it. For all those moments that he made special with skill and grace he should be thanked.

For what he has done wrong, he should not be punished by the whole world, only those who he hurt.

thankyou for the memories George, Rest in Peace

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I had the pleasure of meeting George a few times, as he lived in my local community briefly. He was the kindest gentleman and he was more than keen to let the children play football in his garden at anytime, even watching them himself. The quote below is of a journalist from Northern Ireland which basically sums up the legend that is George Best:

"In 1976, Northern Ireland were drawn against Holland in Rotterdam as one of their group qualifying matches for the World Cup. Back then the reporters stayed at the same hotel as the team and travelled with them on the coach to the game. As it happened I sat beside George on the way to the stadium that evening.

Holland - midway between successive World Cup final appearances - and Johan Cruyff were at their peak at the time. George wasn't. I asked him what he thought of the acknowledged world number one and he said he thought the Dutchman was outstanding. 'Better than you?' I asked. George looked at me and laughed. 'You're kidding aren't you? I tell you what I'll do tonight... I'll nutmeg Cruyff first chance I get.' And we both laughed at the thought.

Five minutes into the game he received the ball wide on the left. Instead of heading towards goal he turned directly infield, weaved his way past at least three Dutchmen and found his way to Cruyff who was wide right. He took the ball to his opponent, dipped a shoulder twice and slipped it between Cruyff's feet. As he ran round to collect it and run on he raised his right fist into the air.

Only a few of us in the press box knew what this bravado act really meant. Johan Cruyff the best in the world? Are you kidding? Only an idiot would have thought that on this evening"

RIP

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