So, Bestie, where did it all go wrong?
Those famous words from a saucer-eyed hotel bellboy could just as easily have been spoken on October 3 1982 when George Best knocked back cocktails in the Dens Park bath.
The question is: did he go to Fat Sam’s nightclub afterwards?
The 36-year-old was some way past his Manchester United prime but was the star attraction at Dundee FC’s open day and still proved a box-office draw.
Best was surrounded by a mob of autograph hunters wherever he went, which gave the stewards a headache when they spilled on to the pitch from the terraces.
He pulled on a Dundee shirt and played a five-a-side match and took part in a Superstars competition that included haggis-hurling and wellie-throwing!
The event was based on the popular Superstars show of the 1970s and 1980s, which pitted elite athletes from different sports against one another in a series of events.
Best showed off his skills when he scored two out of three penalty kicks in the opening round of the competition, before making his first attempt at haggis-hurling.
The Belfast Boy’s effort landed 27 metres out but he was defeated by Dundee Rockets ice hockey player Chris Brinster, who hurled his haggis 39 metres up the pitch.
Brinster’s baseball pitching motion worked wonders!
Wellie-boot throwing was another event that was foreign to the former European Footballer of the Year but he appeared to enjoy the fun and the sunshine.
He eventually finished fourth in the Superstars competition behind former Dundee striker Jocky Scott, Dens Park midfielder Ray Stephen and Rockets hero Brinster.
Best rolled back the years in the five-a-side football tournament and his guest team went on to win the competition, defeating the hosts Dundee 4-2 in the final.
Best and his team-mates were presented with a medal on the pitch, with the former Manchester United player signing autographs for young and old afterwards.
There were no airs and graces despite his superstar status.
George Best generous with his time on Dens day
Among those who took part in the open day 40 years ago was Roy Halpin, who led the Dundee Rockets to three Grand Slams in the 1980s.
Roy recalled his magic memories of his day spent with the Belfast Boy.
He told me: “Until that day, I had no idea who George Best was. I very much do since!
“I had been invited to play in the match even though I had never played soccer (as we call it in Canada!) and was designated as a goalkeeper, which I thought was a safe way to introduce me to the game but which proved to be a huge mistake!
“It didn’t take long for the opposition to pick up on my soccer history.
“The first two shots I faced went through my legs. There was obvious collusion in that they were attempting to change the pitch in my voice.
“Contrary to best practice in soccer, I had taken the liberty of secretly wearing my hockey genital protector. Thank God!”
Roy was struck by his first taste of football, which included being left awestruck by how hard and accurate the professionals kicked the ball at Dens Park.
“Watching it on TV does not do justice to the speed of the ball and speed of the game.
“It was amazing.
“I remember the great crowd and fans who turned up for the celebration.
“I will never forget the generosity and availability of George Best, who spent a lot of time with me after the game to exchange stories and cocktails in the team bath.
“Someone had set up a few drinks to share.
“We had a few cocktails in the bath with Best after the match.
“I remember some players went out with him afterwards but I had other commitments that night and did not join them clubbing.
“I’m not sure where they went but Fat Sam’s was really popular at that time.
“That’s pretty much all I can remember about that great day at Dens Park and I will blame my forgetfulness on the alcohol that followed the game!”
Best has some history with Dundee
It wasn’t all smiles for Best, however, when he first came up against Dundee in a match that took place in California in 1967.
Dundee went to the United States to prepare for the following season and defeated one of Manchester United’s greatest teams – featuring the holy trinity of Best, Bobby Charlton and Denis Law – 4-2 in San Francisco.
Best was 27 when he played his final competitive match for Manchester United on New Year’s Day 1974, when he was sacked by United’s manager, Tommy Docherty, after a long series of alcohol-related disciplinary breaches.
He played a handful of games in South Africa, three for Stockport County and another three for Cork Celtic before he went to LA Aztecs in the summer of 1976.
It earned him a couple of seasons with Fulham alongside Rodney Marsh and Bobby Moore, while continuing to spend the English close season with the Aztecs.
Best moved on to Fort Lauderdale Strikers before signing for Hibs on a pay-as-you-play deal in 1979, where his debut away to St Mirren drew 13,670 fans.
One infamous incident saw Best briefly sacked in February 1980 after he went on a massive drinking session with pop star Debbie Harry and the French rugby union team, who were in the city to play Scotland.
The highlight of his return was a 2-0 win over Dundee at Easter Road that was his finest performance in a Hibs jersey and saw him score his best goal for the club.
Best later became a freelance gun for hire, although manager Billy Bingham still considered including him in the Northern Ireland squad for the 1982 World Cup.
Best also made guest appearances for Arbroath Vics, Perthshire side Scone Thistle and Motherwell in August 1982 before signing for Bournemouth in March 1983.
He finally hung up his boots in 1984, at the age of 37, and fought a public battle against alcoholism until his death at the age of 59 on November 25 2005.
Pelé and (almost) Maradona at Dens
Was he the greatest player to perform on the Dens Park pitch?
Pelé – who once hailed Best as the world’s greatest footballer – arguably knocked his great friend off that perch when he arrived in the City of Discovery in June 1989.
The stadium was hosting Group C matches in the under-16 Fifa World Cup, featuring Argentina, Nigeria, Canada and China.
The 1958, 1962 and 1970 World Cup winner signed autographs and spoke to school children, including pupils from Hill Primary in Blairgowrie, alongside Scotland manager Andy Roxburgh before one of the games.
The Fifa ambassador also showed off his skills with a game of keepie-uppie on the Dens Park pitch despite wearing jeans and Cuban heels below his tracksuit top!
There was also the great ‘What If…?” moment that might have seen Diego Maradona also stake his claim to being the best player ever to have graced the Dens turf.
Maradona, who died at the age of 60 in 2020, played his first game in Scotland at Hampden Park for Argentina in 1979 and he almost returned in 2001 to play at Dens Park when he agreed to play in a glamour friendly against Napoli.
Maradona’s name had been spoken about in the corridors of Dens Park from the moment his best mate and former international strike partner Claudio Caniggia arrived at Dundee in October 2000 in a signing that stunned the football world.
The pair had hit on the idea of the partnership that had steered Argentina to the final of the 1990 World Cup being reawakened in Scotland for a one-off glamour friendly at Dens Park against Maradona’s former club, Napoli.
The terms agreed between Maradona and Dundee would remain “a confidential matter between both parties”, although reports suggested he would be paid £250,000.
The thought of Maradona arriving from Havana to turn out at Dens Park unsurprisingly made global headlines.
But just a day later the Dark Blues were brought crashing back down to earth.
Maradona stepped off a plane in Italy and straight into the middle of a £16.6m tax fraud scandal.
It was just one of a number of “significant factors” that derailed the showcase match from going ahead, as a Dundee FC spokesman put it.
Sadly, he never did perform at Dens.
That Best and Pelé (albeit in Cuban heels) did, however, is still pretty impressive.
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