MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Thousands of Manchester United fans gathered at Old Trafford on Tuesday to pay tribute to Denis Law ahead of the club great's funeral.
Law, the only Scottish player to win the Ballon d’Or, died last month at the age of 84. Alex Ferguson and Ruben Amorim, the past and present managers of United, were among the mourners attending the funeral at Manchester Cathedral.
Before that, a cortege set off under a rainy sky at Old Trafford and fans lined the concourse at United’s stadium to pay their respects to Law, who played 404 games for United and scored 237 times — a goal total bettered by only Bobby Charlton and Wayne Rooney.
To a backdrop of applause, the procession went around the stadium and stopped briefly at the Trinity Statue that commemorates Law, Charlton and George Best, the three-pronged strike force which led United to English league titles in 1965 and 1967 and the European Cup in 1968 — a first for an English club. The lead car in the cortege had a Scottish flag in its rear window.
Flags at Old Trafford flew at half-staff.
“Flower of Scotland” — Scotland's national anthem — was played by a lone piper as Law's coffin was carried into the cathedral, where United captain Bruno Fernandes, former players Bryan Robson, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Peter Schmeichel and Gary Neville, and Liverpool and Scotland great Kenny Dalglish were among those invited.
Law is tied with Dalglish on a record 30 goals for Scotland, though Law achieved that haul in just 55 games compared to Dalglish’s 102.
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The Associated Press
