As his coffin was carried away shortly before three o’clock on Tuesday decked in white roses, Denis Law’s voice echoed around Manchester Cathedral inviting his old friend Sir Rod Stewart to play him out with their rendition of Angel. He always did have style.
Outside, among the tributes to the man known simply as The King by Manchester United fans, Stewart had sent a wreath in the shape of a Scottish saltire with the message: ‘You are, and always will be, my footballing hero.’
He is not alone in worshipping Law. Sir Alex Ferguson confessed to being in awe of him during his eulogy on Tuesday on one occasion using United’s delayed flight back from Greece to get to know his hero better.
Ferguson singled out his fellow Scot’s courage and determination to explain why Law will go down in the pantheon of greats.
‘He would fight his granny for a goal. He showed the courage that very, very few players show,’ he said, chuckling at the image of a ‘skinny’ Law swinging punches at Jack Charlton.
‘That’s a lot to do with why they called him The King because he showed the people of Manchester United that at the end of the day he earned that.’
Denis Law’s coffin was carried away shortly before three o’clock on Tuesday decked in white roses
The legendary former Manchester United striker was laid to rest after a moving ceremony at Manchester Cathedral
Sir Alex Ferguson confessed to being in awe of Denis Law in a moving eulogy on Tuesday
A joyful and emotional celebration of Law’s life following his passing at the age of 84 last month attracted football’s stars from across the generations.
There were his former United teammates who won the European Cup under Sir Matt Busby – Alex Stepney, Paddy Crerand and Brian Kidd – along with other Old Trafford greats like Bryan Robson, Wayne Rooney, Peter Schmeichel and Ruud van Nistelrooy.
‘He was a very reserved person, Denis. Shy really,’ recalled Kidd. ‘You wouldn’t have thought that when you saw him on the pitch, but he was.
‘He was just a wonderful person. Very humble. I’ll never forget him, the Lawman.’
Fellow Scotland internationals Sir Kenny Dalglish and Joe Jordan were joined by Mike Summerbee, a legend of Manchester City where Law had two separate spells.
There was a delegation from Huddersfield Town, Law’s first club after he left home in Aberdeen at the age of 15 to embark on a glittering football career.
United head coach Ruben Amorim arrived with club executives shortly before senior players Bruno Fernandes, Harry Maguire and goalkeeper Tom Heaton.
The cortege made its way to the cathedral via Old Trafford where more mourners were gathered, stopping poignantly in front of the United Trinity statue where Law is immortalised in bronze standing between Sir Bobby Charlton and George Best, one arm raised in that iconic celebration.
United head coach Ruben Amorim arrived with club executives shortly before three of the playing staff appeared
Senior players Bruno Fernandes, Harry Maguire and goalkeeper Tom Heaton were in attendance
Three Ballon d’Or winners and Law the only Scot ever to receive the honour. Best’s son Calum was there on Tuesday to say farewell to his father’s teammate.
‘There is an Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman – don’t worry, this isn’t going to be a bad joke,’ smiled Law’s daughter Diana during her eulogy.
‘They are all up there in heaven, reunited, smiling down, and I’d like to think they’ve started a team with all the others.’
Growing up in Aberdeen the youngest of seven children, she described how Law would always be playing football in the street ‘even sometimes without a football’, and turned down grammar school because they only played rugby there.
How an operation at Huddersfield to correct a childhood squint had changed his life and career. ‘Despite all life threw at this skinny, squint-eyed young boy, he looked adversity in the eye and didn’t blink.’
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Sir Alex Ferguson and Gary Neville join past Man Utd stars to pay respects at Denis Law’s funeral
The story of how he met his late wife Diana in a dance hall in Scotland and got engaged six weeks later.
And how, despite the liking for Italian suits from his brief spell at Torino and flamboyant hairstyle, the son of an Aberdeen fisherman liked nothing more than going back to his roots or spending time with his five children and the grandchildren he adored.
‘He loved returning home to the smell of the sea, sitting on the beach in his favourite spot overlooking the harbour, usually with a fish and chip supper and a cup of tea.’ As we filed out of the cathedral under suitably leaden skies with the old recording of Law’s duet with Sir Rod still ringing in our ears, it was hard to think of a better tribute than this.
‘Trying to place Denis in the pantheon of the great players is a challenge but it is made easier by Pele,’ said Ferguson. ‘He was asked was there any British player who could play for the Brazil team. He said without equivocation, Denis Law.’
