Alex Gordon - Denis Law: King and Country
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- Book:Denis Law: King and Country
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Denis Law is undoubtedly Scottish footballs favourite son. He is joint top record scorer for his country with an impressive strike rate of 30 goals in 52 games and scored in the famous 3 - 2 win over world champions England at Wembley in 1967. As well as his prolific strike rate, he was also part of the Scotland team that won their way through to the 1974 World Cup Finals in West Germany - the first time the Scots had reached the finals in 16 years. In this unique portrait of Denis Law, which is the first book solely devoted to his illustrious international career, Alex Gordon interviews a vast array of former teammates, including Willie Henderson, Davie Hay, John Greig, Pat Crerand, Tommy Gemmell, and international opponents such as Gordon Banks, George Best and Bobby Charlton. Denis Law was the showman supreme. He was more than a mere goal scorer whose cavalier thrusts and menacing darts brought panic to opposing defences. Law was an inspiration to those around him at club and country level and to younger generations of fans everywhere. Team-mates adored him, opponents feared him, fans revered him. He was a free spirit, an extrovert, a complete one-off, a rare combination of impudence and intelligence, class and clout. Denis Law is, was and always will be The King.
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First published in 2013 by
Arena Sport
An imprint of Birlinn Limited
West Newington House
10 Newington Road
Edinburgh
EH9 1QS
www.arenasportbooks.co.uk
www.birlinn.co.uk
Copyright Alex Gordon, 2013
Foreword Sir Alex Ferguson, 2013
The moral right of Alex Gordon to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form without the express written permission of the publisher.
ISBN: 978 1 90971 506 6
eBook ISBN: 978 0 85790 639 7
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Ebook by Iolaire Typesetting, Newtonmore
To my wonderful wife Gerda for her support throughout. Also, for getting the coffee going at the ungodly hour of 5am when I was working on this book. And for throwing a bacon butty into my den every now and again for some much-needed sustenance.
A massive thanks must also go to the man himself, Denis Law. What an inspiration to everyone. The glorious memories will always be treasured. Cheers, Denis.
There has been a lot of laughter along the way in putting this book together. A lot of hard work, too. Denis Law had a playing career that spanned 18 years and there wasnt too much this man missed on his way along lifes highway, on and off the pitch.
There was so much to be discovered that hadnt already seen the light of day about a genuine Scottish football legend. I delved through newspapers, scrutinised cuttings, scoured magazines, checked out books, devoured matchday programmes, visited libraries, watched hours of TV, video and DVD footage and interviewed so many people who were happy to give their time to talk freely about the one and only Denis Law. Thank you everyone. There are too many to mention, but you know who you are. Also, I would like to express my gratitude to Neville Moir and Peter Burns at Birlinn.
A special round of applause must go to my good friend Fraser Elder, a stalwart of journalism for as long as Denis has been around. Thankfully my mate, by his own admission, is a hoarder. On his travels throughout the world, Fraser, working in all aspects of the media from TV and radio to the written word, has picked up a veritable treasure trove of football memorabilia. For instance, he magically produced the matchday souvenir brochure for the England v. Rest of the World FA Centenary celebrations at Wembley on 23 October 1963, when Denis Law played alongside his great hero Alfredo di Stefano. Thats just one instance; there are so many more. Fraser became a man possessed as he unearthed gem after gem, facts and statistics of which, I have to admit, I didnt even realise existed. His help, professional dedication and kindness will never be forgotten; there is a lot in this tribute to Denis Law that would never have been seen if it wasnt for my pal. Thank you, Fraz.
I was enjoying a welcome pint of cold frothing ale with my good friend Davie Hay in a quiet little pub one day when I mentioned I was thinking of writing this very book. Yes, I realised Denis had already been involved in at least three excellent autobiographies, but I was also aware that they, as you might have expected, majored on his time with Manchester United, a massive chunk of his career and life. A chapter in each tome had been set aside for his international experiences. To my mind, there was so much more to discover about Denis Law, as patriotic a Scot as you are ever likely to meet. One chapter per book on his playing days with Scotland was never going to be adequate. There had to be a full book on this colourful characters devotion to Scotland. As I dropped the idea on Davie, he looked at me, grinned and, without a flicker of hesitation, said matter-of-factly, Denis Law, Scotlands first football superstar.
Just like that. Absolutely spot-on. Six little words. I smiled and ordered another drink for my mate it was well worth it. The book came alive in that instant.
Its hard to say something about Denis Law that hasnt already been said by countless people over the years. Quite simply, he was the finest player that Scotland has ever produced and one of the greatest the world has ever seen. He was my idol as a player.
Denis Law is one of the all-time great stars of football and that opinion would have had a much broader base had he played in more international tournaments. World Cups and European Championships provide a huge profile and there are few great players who break into the world class category who havent displayed their skills regularly in the big international contests.
To say that Denis is the finest talent to come from North of the Border is in itself a huge accolade. The Scottish national side may not be the team it once was, but there were times when Scotland could boast numerous outstanding players. Richly-gifted individuals such as Alan Morton, Hughie Gallacher, Jim Baxter, Jimmy Johnstone, John White, Billy Bremner, Willie Henderson, Kenny Dalglish and Alex Ferguson (how did he get in there?), and thats just a few of the names that trip off the tongue.
Its no wonder that the fans of the Stretford End were quick to crown him as their King when he moved to Manchester United from Italian club Torino in 1962. He was in the early years of his incredible career, but he had already stamped his mark on the game. Lightning quick, fearless, dynamic, good with both feet, spectacular and sometimes unbelievably devastating in the air, he was as near as damn it the perfect goalscoring individual.
Anyone who saw him in his halcyon days was privileged in the extreme to see a total footballing craftsman in action and Im immensely proud to say that hes a Scotsman.
There are not a lot of years between Denis and myself, but I list him as one of my heroes, and a close friend.
SIR ALEX FERGUSON
Playing for Scotland is, without doubt, the greatest honour anyone could have bestowed upon me. It really doesnt matter if its football, rugby, athletics or whatever; its a massive honour to represent your country, though, particularly in football as its the national game. It was always a thrill to be informed that you were playing, no matter whether it was against Jutland, Norway or Brazil. As the old saying goes, you would play for your country for nothing: the money side of things doesnt even come into the equation. That certainly holds true for me at any rate.
DENIS LAW
BY ROYAL APPOINTMENT
Artiste and assassin. Entertainer and executioner. Showman and swordsman.
Denis Law. The name simply shimmers and sparkles with charisma. It whisks you off to a golden, bygone era when football truly was the beautiful game. Performing for his country, he was the Dark Blue Pimpernel, a character with a rare and spectacular combination of elegance and menace; a debonair destroyer; a master of improvisation; a contortionist in the penalty box. He was the Demon King, clinical and nerveless, possessor of lightning, gravity-defying reflexes to unleash hell, or open the gates to heaven, depending on which side you were on.
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