Denis Law

At 84 years old, Denis Law has this physical status:

Club career

He was detected by Archie Beattie, a scout for Huddersfield Town, who allowed a trial to be heard from 14 years old Law in the 1954-55 season. "The boy's a freak," the boss said as he arrived. I'd never imagined a less likely football future, poor, puny, and bespectacled. However, they did sign him on April 3, 1955, much to the law's surprise. Although he was at Huddersfield, he underwent surgery to repair his squint, which greatly increased his self-confidence.

He made his debut in 1956, aged only 16, over Notts County, as Huddersfield's relegation to what was then the Second Division made it possible for Law to play, and he made his debut on December 24th. Manchester United's manager, Matt Busby, made a £10,000 loan for a teenage footballer at the time, but the club turned down the bid. Bill Shankly, the manager of Huddersfield from 1956 to 1959, was keen to take Law with him, but Liverpool were unable to afford him at the time.

In March 1960, a law was signed for Manchester City for what was then a British record transfer fee of £55,000, although Law's share of the fee was "precisely nothing." Matt Busby had attempted to sign Law for Manchester United, but the city rivals of United defeated them to obtain the Law's signature.

Huddersfield had barely escaped relegation from Division I this season, and legislation had stated that the Huddersfield team had a more cohesive crew at the time. In a 4–3 loss to Leeds United on March 19, he made his debut on March 19th and scored on his debut on March 19th. He scored two goals in a 4–1 win over Aston Villa that guaranteed the city's survival in Division One in April 1961.

Despite he was worried about leaving, he was still playing well, and his 1961 Law set a record six goals against Luton Town. However, the game was called off with twenty minutes to go, so his six goals did not count. Luton won the replay 3–1, making it even worse for him, and City was left out of the Cup after being knocked out.

Though he loved his time at City, he wanted to play on a more professional level and was sold to Torino, Italy's summer 1961.

A fee of £110,000 was paid to Torino for a transfer involving a British player, and Joe Baker, who had signed from Scottish side Hibernian, was accompanied by Joe Baker. The law's time in Italy did not go according to schedule. Internazionale, another Italian team, attempted to stop him from becoming a Torino player as soon as he arrived, but the club denied it right away.

Players in the United Kingdom were not treated well at the time, and the maximum wage for footballers was only recently abolished there, so he was delighted to discover that pre-season training was held in a luxurious hotel in the Alps. Torino went all out of a positive mood when the team gained, but not so much when they lost. Law did not like the style of football and found adapting to it difficult, as many British footballers who have gone to play in Italy. At the time, the ultra-defensive catenaccio system was in fashion, but forwards had no opportunities to score, so forwards had no chances to score.

On February 7, 1962, he was injured in a car accident when his colleague Joe Baker took the wrong route around a roundabout and clipped the kerb as he tried to turn the car around, flipping it over. Baker was almost killed, but law enforcement's injuries were not life-threatening.

He had made a transfer request by April, but it was turned down. When Law was called off in a match against Napoli, he was the last straw for him. Beniamino Santos, Torino's coach, had begged the referee to leave him off because he was angry at Law for taking a throw in, which he had been told not to do. A man walked out, and was told that he would be moved to Manchester United. He was told that he was being sold to Juventus and that the small print in his deal required him to go there whether he wanted to or not. He returned to Aberdeen knowing that Torino would not receive a single penny in transfer fees if he refused to play at Juventus. He signed for United on July 10, 1962, a new British record fee of £115,000.

Despite the fact that his stay in Italy was mixed, the law was voted Italy's top foreign player ahead of teammate Joe Baker, Fiorentina winger Kurt Hamrin, and Inter Milan midfielder Luis Suarez. The lifestyle and lifestyle of a foreign country was an eye opener for the young Scot, as the medical and sports science in Italy was far ahead of what was available in the United Kingdom at the time. However, the football was ultimately devastating and overly defensive, with him being exposed to brutal man marking and heavy tackling on a regular basis.

The law was reintroduced to Manchester, boarding with the same landlady with whom he had resided during his time as a City player. On August 18, 1962, United's first match for United was against West Bromwich Albion, a great start, scoring after just seven minutes. The match was drawn in a 2–2 draw. United's form had been erratic since the Munich air disaster in 1958, but the season was spent fighting relegation. A hat trick was awarded in a league match against Leicester City Law, but United lost, but not lost. They found form in the FA Cup, with Law scoring another hat trick in a 5–0 victory over Huddersfield Town, his hometown team, and Leicester City advancing to the final against Leicester City. Leicester had been a strong favourites in the league going into fourth place, but Law scored the first goal as United defeated 3–1 in what turned out to be his only FA Cup final ever. He married Diana that season on December 11, 1962.

That year, a law deemed out had repercussions in later years. The referee Gilbert Pullin continually referred to Law with taunts such as "Oh, you clever so and so, you can't play," after the match, and his boss Matt Busby informed the Football Association that he did not play. Pullin should be seriously punished, according to a disciplinary committee, but the player did not accept their verdict and leave the game. I was a marked man in the eyes of some referees," the court said later, and criticized the situation for the "staggering fines" he received later in his career.

Law scored a number of goals early in the 1963-1964 season, and was chosen to play for a Rest of the World team against England at Wembley Stadium, scoring their first goal in a 2–1 loss. He later described this as the highest honour of his career. His season was interrupted by a 28-day suspension for a sending off he received against Aston Villa. United had to play several of their games in a short time due to the unusually cold winter, and their results were disappointing. United's inability to win a trophy in that season was partly due to a law later this year. Despite the lack of silverware, Law had a fruitful goalscoring season and ended the season with 46 goals in all leagues, a new club record today.

Law gained the Ballon d'Or award in 1964–65, and Manchester United claimed their first league title since Munich. Lawmaker Leo Varadkar's 28 league goals this season made him the First Division's Top Scorer.

Law suffered his right knee while playing for Scotland against Poland on October 21, 1965. When he arrived at Huddersfield, he had already had an operation on the same knee, and his recovery was going to be an ongoing nightmare for the remainder of his life.

If not get one, law asked United's boss Matt Busby to get a pay raise at his next contract renewal and threatened to leave the club if he didn't get one. "No one will hold this team to ransom, not a player," Busby said immediately on the transfer list. When law allowed him to sign, Busby took out a written apology for him to sign, announcing it to the public after he had done so. Busby had used the occasion to warn others not to do the same thing, but had secretly given him the pay raise, according to a law professor. Despite all of this, Law scored 23 goals in 36 league appearances from 1966-67, assisting United in winning the league championship for the first time.

United won the European Cup for the first time in 1968, but Law's knee injury caused him serious complications, and he missed both the semi-finals and the final as a result. He was given cortisone injections to relieve the pain, but playing while the knee was still injured could have long-term damage. He met with a consultant in January 1968 who wrote to United arguing that a previous operation to remove the cartilage from the knee had failed and suggested that a new operation be carried out, but the author was unable to see the study for several years and had to resume full training.

United were in the semi-finals of the European Cup in 1968-69, playing AC Milan. United lost the first leg of the San Siro 2–0, defeating the second leg 1–0 with a Bobby Charlton goal. Law prevailed as the top scorer in the tournament with nine goals after scoring seven times in the 10–2 aggregate first round victory over Waterford United.

Wilf McGuinness was appointed first team coach at the start of the 1969–70 season. United finished eighth in the league in the standings in April 1970, but Law missed virtually every part of the season due to injuries, and he was transferred to £60,000 in April 1970. He was the subject of a pleading for him, so he stayed at United.

United is an American footballer with a poor 1970-71 record. Frank O'Farrell was appointed as the head coach. They got off to a good start in the 1971–72 season and ended 1971 five points clear at the top of the standings, with Law having scored 12 goals. However, results improved and the team finished the season in eighth place, with eighth place. In the first match of the season, 1972–73, Law scored, but his knee injury followed him again, and he was unable to score for the remainder of the season. The poor results continued, and O'Farrell was fired, despite his dismissal.

United'Farrell was supposed to be replaced by Tommy Docherty, who was familiar with the Scottish national team from his time playing with the Scottish national team. The club followed his advice, and things got off to a good start, with the team's continued success propelling them into the mid-table. Tommy Docherty was given a free transfer in 1973 after 11 years with the club, in which he had scored a total of 237 goals in 404 games, as well as two league championship titles and an FA Cup champion's medal. Only Bobby Charlton (who died in 1973) and Wayne Rooney have scored more goals for United than ever.

Manchester City manager Johnny Hart was given a contract. In the first game of the 1973–74 season, he scored two goals on his second debut for City against Birmingham City. He made 27 total appearances and two as an emergency in that season, including City's 2–1 loss in the League Cup final against Wolves. Law's 81st-minute back-heeled goal gave City a 1–0 lead in City's last game of the 1973–74 season against Manchester United at Old Trafford, but the goal was not celebrated. United were relegated whatever their result was, according to the day's other matches, but Law did not know it at the time. A number of pitch invasions by United Fans followed, and Law walked off the pitch with his head down as he was recalled. In the 85th minute, the pitch invaders caused the referee to call off the game. Following a report, the Football League decided that the result should be retained.

Law had been a member of Manchester City from 1974-75, but new boss Tony Book told him that if he stayed at the club, he would only be playing reserve team football. He didn't want to end his career in this manner, so he resigned from professional football in 1974. Law appeared in two games for Manchester City between 1974 and 1975 in the pre-season Texaco Cup tournament, scoring his last goal of his career in the match against Sheffield United on August 6, 1974. On August 10, 1974, he defeated Oldham Athletic 2–1 in his last professional game. He officially resigned on August 26, 1974.

International career

Law was not allowed to compete for Scotland in the 1958 FIFA World Cup, but Matt Busby, who ruled Scotland on a temporary basis for two matches, gave him his debut in a British Home Championship match against Wales on October 18, 1958. In a 3–0 victory over the Welsh at Ninian Park, law scored Scotland's second goal. In Scotland's match against England on April 15, 1961, he played but didn't score. Scotland lost the match 9-3, but the law described it as his "blackest day" on the occasion. When Torino continued to play for Scotland, the club was not keen to release him for international competitions and had put a provision into his deal stating that they were not obligated to do so.

In the FA Centenary match against England in 1963, a law was drafted for the Rest of the World team.

On October 21, 1965, Law injured his right knee while playing for Scotland against Poland. In Scotland's landslide over England in the 1967 British Home Championship, less than a year after England became world champions, a law was involved. Manchester United won the league last season, but Law felt that the victory over England was even more rewarding.

In the summer of 1974, Scotland advanced to the World Cup finals for the first time since 1958. Despite the fact that he had not played much first team football in the previous year, Law was brought into the squad and played in their first match against Zaire. He did not score, but Scotland beat Scotland 2–0, but Scotland did not win. The law was "very disappointed" not to be selected for the following match against Brazil, and it was not selected for the following match against Yugoslavia. Even though Scotland was not defeated in any of their matches, they did not qualify for the second phase and were thus out of the World Cup. The match against Zaire proved to be the last of Law's 55 appearances for Scotland.

With 30 goals, the Scottish international record tally stands.

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