Souvenirs of Manchester United’s NZ tour in 1967. Photo: Supplied
'Heard the one about the team that visited the southernmost nation in the world, scored 19 goals to one, but started a football renaissance?'
The championship-winning Manchester United team's two-game tour of New Zealand in 1967 was so unlikely that the Red Devils' website describes it as like a pub joke, but it still started a football renaissance.
Man U's trip down under is outlined in detail in Craig Stephen's new book Boots and Bombs: How New Zealand Football grew up in the 1960s and 70s.
The team included legendary sporting supergiant George Best, who made the sixties swing like no other player. The fleet-footed winger was so famous that he was described at the time as the "fifth Beatle".
Souvenirs of Manchester United’s NZ tour in 1967. Photo: Supplied
To say the enigmatic Northern Irishman and conservative 1960s New Zealand made unlikely partners is an understatement. And yet there he was, cutting a swathe - on and off the field - through suburban Auckland and Christchurch.
United arrived after a series of games in California and hit the ground running. Alongside Best in the star-studded team were future greats Bobby Charlton, Nobby Stiles and Denis Law. To top it off, they were managed by Matt Busby, later Sir Matt Busby, one of the most revered names in English football.
They flew into the country on a drizzly Friday morning in May, two days before their first game. Stephen's book describes the innocence of the time, with Auckland player Paul Rennell spotting them in the city.
"As I drove past, lo and behold there was the Manchester United team getting off the bus, so after dropping off my girlfriend, I parked and went to the hotel, introduced myself and spent the day with Manchester United. I was talking to all the players, Matt Busby and chairman Lou Edwards, having a drink and I had a great time."
Stephen said the public embraced the games.
"A massive crowd of 25,000 turned up at the old Carlaw Park Stadium for the first match. There'd been rugby league matches at the ground the day before, so the pitch wasn't exactly in tip top condition. But the matches were easy for Manchester from day one. They won the first game 8-1 and George Best was absolutely brilliant. He completely outplayed the fullback Gary Lake. Gary was so tired, he had to come off at halftime."
The after party, attended by United's host of famous faces, was held at the home of mid-fielder Paul Rennell, in the quiet eastern suburb of St Heliers. Surprisingly, not all of Best's team-mates wanted him there.
"He wasn't invited to the after-party. They gave him an address on the North Shore, but he somehow found out and managed to get to the party. He was on his best "George Best" form, but there was a bit of a division within the Manchester United team.
"There were the family men, and the younger players. George was obviously the main guy. He was the one that the press was always interested in and got up to all the shenanigans. He handed out club ties to the Auckland players for the use of their rooms. I think we know what those rooms were used for!"
The second and final game was in Christchurch. These days, English Park holds about 3000 people, but on a freezing night in 1967, 12,000 turned up to see an unofficial national side take on the men in red. As Stephen explains, it was a one-sided encounter.
"They won 11-nil. Bobby Charlton was absolutely dancing. It was freezing. One of the players said that his fingers were black because it was so cold. Goalkeeper Arthur Stroud conceded a goal while he was putting on an extra jersey."
United's tour led to a resurgence in popularity for football. A Scotland team, featuring a young Alex Ferguson - the future Man United manager - toured the nation soon after, while the national league followed a few years later.
"It wasn't just the first national league for football. It was the first national competition for any sport in New Zealand. Even rugby didn't get an actual league until the mid-seventies."
Boots and Bombs pays tribute to the semi-professional years, and that tour by Manchester United. The experiences paved the way for Wellington's A-League team, players running out in Europe's top-tier, appearances at the 1982 and 2010 men's World Cups, and the co-hosting of the 2023 women's tournament.
Stephen thinks we shouldn't forget how it used to be.
"The game has moved on and is much more professional than the 60s and 70s, when local bodies were at the helm. These people did a good job, but they were basically just doing the work in their spare time. From small things back then, came bigger things. We should pay our respects, because the game is in a good state these days."