"I BELIEVE I'VE FOUND you a genius," was how Bob Bishop, ManUtd's chief scout in Northern Ireland, announced to Matt Busby his discovery of a 15-year-old lad called George Best. After bringing him over to Old Trafford in the spring of 1961 for a closer look, Busby was immediately smitten. Having signed him up, he gave his coaches strict instructions. "Don't tinker with the boy's style." he said. "Let him develop his own way, naturally. He really is something special."

So began a relationship that would span the next 33 years. Here the pair are pictured at the height of their powers. It's 1968. United are reigning European Champions; Busby has been voted Manager of the Year, and Best is both European and English Footballer of Year.

Busby said Best was "giften with more individual ability than I have ever seen in any other player." And it was the United manager, more than anyone, who helped to nurture Best throughout the 1960s, so that when he retired, however prematurely, he was still recognised as Britain's greatest-ever player.

When Busby died in January 1994, a select group of his former players - including Bobby Charlton, Noel Cantwell and, of course, Best - were invited to attend his burial at Manchester's Southern Cemetery. As the coffin was lowered into the ground, Busby's son Sandy turned to a tearful Best and whispered in his ear, "You know he loved you."