George Best knocked back a consolation whisky after Manchester United were humbled on the Pittodrie turf by five-star Aberdeen 50 years ago.
Best showed flashes of genius during the glamour match in autumn 1972 but was upstaged by the man regarded as one of the best footballers to pull on a Dons shirt.
Magic Magyar Zoltán Varga was the architect of Aberdeen’s 5-2 victory.
Varga won gold at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics with Hungary and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1965 with Ferencvaros when they beat Juventus 1-0 in the final.
The Hungarian international was signed from Hertha Berlin for £40,000 in 1972 while serving a two-year ban from German football following a bribery scandal.
Aged 27 when he joined the Dons, Varga was at the height of his career.
He was given 50% of the transfer fee which perhaps explains why he started an antiques side-line which he ran from his home in the Milltimber area of Aberdeen.
The would-be Lovejoy was a gifted player who won games on his own and his brief spell at Pittodrie was enough to earn him legendary status with the Red Army.
On October 22 1972 a star-studded Manchester United team managed by Frank O’Farrell came to Pittodrie as part of Martin Buchan’s £125,000 move to Old Trafford.
Four years previously United became the first English side to win the European Cup with a 4-1 win over Eusébio’s Benfica at Wembley.
Several of that cup winning side from 1968 were included in the visitors’ squad which arrived at Aberdeen Railway Station with Best proving a box-office draw.
He was surrounded by a mob of autograph hunters and spent a considerable period of time accommodating every request for his signature on the platform.
The friendly attracted a crowd of 34,000 although Bobby Charlton and Aberdeen-born legend Denis Law were missing from the starting line-up through injury.
Martin Buchan was made United captain for the night against his former club.
Aberdeen: Bobby Clark, Alex Willoughby, Jim Hermiston, Steve Murray, Willie Young, Ian Taylor, Zoltan Varga, Dave Robb, Joe Harper, Drew Jarvie, Barrie Mitchell.
Sub: George Buchan.
Manchester United: Alex Stepney, Willie Watson, Tony Dunne, Tony Young, Dick Edwards, Martin Buchan, Willie Morgan, Ted MacDougall, Wyn Davies, Eric Young, George Best.
Sub: Sammy McIlroy.
Aberdeen raced out of the blocks and Joe Harper bravely headed home an Ian Taylor cross with just two minutes gone despite the attentions of Buchan.
The Pittodrie crowd were enjoying both sides attacking at every opportunity and, against the run of play, United levelled in 15 minutes from Ted MacDougall’s header.
Two minutes later, however, Aberdeen regained the advantage, a cross from the left from Ian Taylor being deflected past Alex Stepney in the United goal.
Drew Jarvie then went close but Stepney managed to deflect his effort on to the post.
United were now enjoying their best period and it took an international class save from Bobby Clark from Scots winger Willie Morgan to keep the Dons ahead.
Aberdeen then made it 3-1 with a clinical move which was started by Varga.
The Hungarian international’s cross-field pass found Hermiston who crossed for new boy Barrie Mitchell to score on his home Dons debut.
The exquisite talents of George Best in his number 11 shirt were rarely seen in a hectic first half because he was being closely marked by Alex Willoughby.
The Irishman opened the second period with a mazy run and showed flashes of his brilliance at a point where his career was about to go into decline.
United managed to force their way back into the game on 72 minutes.
Scotsman MacDougall scored his and United’s second goal when he brushed aside the challenge of Davie Robb to beat Bobby Clark from an acute angle.
Any hopes of a United fightback were extinguished by Joe Harper on 82 minutes when he turned on the edge of the box and struck a rasping shot past Stepney.
Constant Aberdeen pressure was rewarded two minutes later when Drew Jarvie scored from close range to complete the scoring.
The Dons left the field to a standing ovation.
But the encore from Best was almost as memorable as the match!
Harper recalled afterwards: “Aberdeen won 5-2 and I scored two goals but it was Bestie who lit up the game with his genius.
“After the game, he came into the dressing room to have a chat with the Dons players.
“Bestie breezed in, carrying a cup and saucer and held everyone in awe with his friendliness and jokes.
“When he sat down beside me I suddenly noticed it wasn’t tea in his cup, it was whisky.
“He has often been slated for not fully realising his talent after retiring at a relatively early age.
“But Bestie was European Footballer of the Year and won the European Cup and league titles.
“He is rightly rated as one of the greatest players to grace football, right up there with Pelé and Maradona.”
Dons midfielder Ian Taylor could never forget Varga’s masterclass.
“I doubt if there will ever be a time again when Pittodrie is graced by two football geniuses at the same time,” he said afterwards.
“Everyone was excited at the prospect of seeing George, but he was upstaged by Zoltan that night.
“It’s great to be able to tell my family and friends that I’m one of the few men who can claim to have been on the pitch when those two jousted.”
The Dons went on to finish fourth in a disappointing end to their league campaign.
Frank O’Farrell was replaced by Tommy Docherty and United finished in a poor 18th place as arch rivals Liverpool stormed to the title.
Law had to wait before gracing the Pittodrie turf and instead it was in the sky blue of rivals Manchester City after being given a free transfer by Docherty in the summer.
Law starred in a 1-0 win for City on August 2 1973.
What happened to Varga?
He spent just one season at Aberdeen before Ajax signed him to replace Johan Cruyff when the Dutch captain joined Barcelona for a world record fee of £920,000.
The signing was indicative of how highly he was regarded.
In later life he spoke of his short time at Aberdeen and said: “Playing in Scotland was such a very nice time for me and I will never forget the year that I spent in Aberdeen.
“But for my family it was better that my career took me on to Holland, Germany, and then Belgium. There was not much to be earned playing for Aberdeen.”
A season in Holland was followed by spells at Borussia Dortmund in Germany and Gent in Belgium before he returned from playing in 1978.
He coached top-flight teams including Ferencvaros when he took up management.
Varga died aged 65 after collapsing while playing football in Budapest in 2010.
He played 31 times and scored 10 goals for Aberdeen and the club described him as being blessed with a technical ability rarely seen before at Pittodrie.
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