 Denis Law - European Footballer of the Year 1964
Denis Law was an extravagant, flamboyant player who made scoring spectacular goals look easy. The bicycle kick was his trademark, he also had an ability to hover in the air as he was about to head the ball. He enjoyed scoring goals and he shared his enjoyment with the crowd. Law was one of the first British players to salute the crowd after scoring, turning towards them with his right arm raised holding the cuff of his shirt with a huge smile on his face. The only time this salute was not seen, came in Law's last professional game, Manchester City played Manchester United at Old Trafford in April 1974 and Law back-heeled the ball into the United net. This goal relegated United to the Second Division even though a pitch invasion finished the game eight minutes early. Denis along with players of his ability attracted more than his fair share of attention from opponents, but Law's fiery temparment often got him into trouble with the match officials. Twice while playing for Manchester United he received 28 day bans. In his defence he would say he knew he was in the wrong, he would try not to retaliate but in the heat of the moment if someone kicked him he couldn't promise that he wouldn't retaliate. His goalscoring record puts him up there with the best of his contemporaries, scoring 28 goals in 33 matches for Manchester United in Europe and an FA Cup record of 40 goals in 59 matches (which does not include 6 goals for Manchester City against Luton in an abandoned cup tie). Denis Law Born Aberdeen 24 February 1940 Playing Career: Huddersfield Town 91 appearances 19 goals Manchester City 76 appearances 35 goals Torino 27 appearances 10 goals Manchester United 393 appearances 236 goals Club Honours: Football League Championship 1965, 1967 FA Cup Winner 1963 Football League Cup finalist 1974 International Honours: Scotland 55 Caps 30 goals Scotland U23 3 Caps Football League 2 appearances Italian League 1 appearance Rest of the World vs England 1964 European Footballer of the Year 1964
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