My dear readers,
Welcome to the first International edition of "Killer Instinct"! Every Saturday, I'll be talking about the three most prolific footballers of some of the most important teams in this sport's history.
Last week I took on the Devils of Milan. Today, I'll be dealing with their English counterparts: MANCHESTER UNITED.
3°- John Frederick Rowley
CAREER
Rowley's football journey started in his hometown's local team, Wolverhampton. After making his debut appearance with Bournmouth, Manchester United's coach Walter Crickmer decided to sign the 17-year old Rowley in 1937.
He soon gained the nickname of "Gunner", which described perfectly his scoring attitude: in his second match with ManU, Rowley was able to score a poker against Wigan.
The Englishman would go on being a Red Devil for the next 16 years, with the only interruption being that of the Second World War: in these years, he played and scored with Spurs (6 goals in just one match!) and Wolves (8 goals). One of his career highlights is surely the 1948 FA Cup final against Blackpool, where he contributed to his team's success by netting the goal twice.
He is also one of the four players who have scored more than 200 goals for Manchester United (along with the other two in this special article and Wayne Rooney).
STATS AS A RED DEVIL
-211 goals in 424 appearances
-1 FA Cup (1947/1948)
-1 First Division Title (1951/1952)
-1 Charity Shield (1952)
2°-Denis Law
CAREER
All hail the King! A Scot, like the glorious Sir Alex Ferguson, he was born just one year before the great manager. Denis Law has been nicknamed both "the King" and the "Lawman", but looking back at his career, I think "recordman" would suit him best, at least for the transfer operations in which he played a key part.
After debuting with Second Division Huddlesfield Town in 1956, Law played for the following 6 years dividing his time between the "blue side of Manchester" and Italy's Torino, before deciding to wear United's colours in 1962. The record books had to be updated 3 times, as he set the highest price for a British transfer twice (signing with Manchester City for £55.000- where he also ended his career after leaving ManUtd in 1973- and with the Red Devils for £115.000) and then went on to be the most expensive player transfer from a British to an Italian club (moving to Torino for £110.000).
With Manchester United, Law also became the only Scottish player to become European Footballer Of The Year in 1964.
STATS AS A RED DEVIL
-237 goals in 404 appearances
-1 FA Cup (1962)
-2 First Division Titles (1964/1965, 1966/1967)
-1 European Cup (1967/1968)
It was Matt Busby who, in 1962, ordered this huge amount of money to be spent in order to create a trio of powerhouses formed by Denis Law, George Best and the player who still wears the crown as the best scorer in Manchester United's history. Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to...
1°-Bobby Charlton
CAREER
If Law and Ferguson have tartan in common, Charlton joined the mythical ManU manager by becoming a knight of the British Empire.
Sir Bobby Charlton was born on the 11th of October 1937, and while Rowley was making his mark on the Old Trafford field, Charlton was taking his first steps into the world.
One of the most important English players in history, he was chosen by Matt Busby when he saw him play with his high school team East Northumberland. It was love at first sight, and so Bobby went on to sign his first contract at the very young age of 15.
His early career as a Red Devil brought him great satisfaction but also intense grief. He scored twice in his debut match against Charlton Athletic and won the First Division in his first season as a ManU player, with 10 goals in 14 matches.
Five years later, though, the Munich airplane disaster in which many of his teammates lost their lives shocked him beyond words. As two of the survivors, Charlton and Busby went on to rebuild a new ManU formulated around the 21-year-old's talent.
The end result was a technically solid winning team, and destiny was on their side as they gave a farewell gift to their faithful departed friends. In 1968, 10 years after the accident, Manchester United defeated Benfica 4-1 in the European Cup final at Wembley; with Charlton, by the way, scoring the opening and closing goals of a historical match.
-249 GOALS IN 758 APPEARANCES
- 3 First Division Titles (1956/19527, 1964/1965, 1966/1967)
-1 FA Cup (1962/19623)
-4 Charity Shields (1956,1957, 1965, 1967)
-3 FA Youth Cups (1953/1954, 1954/1955, 1955/1956)
-1 European Cup (1967/16968)
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