Denis Law at Torino – A law unto himself

Denis Law’s madcap season playing for Torino was famed for his well-documented off the pitch exploits, which featured a car crash, arguments with his own manager and regular brawls with the paparazzi. His spell at the club however moulded him from raw potential to superstar in the making. Would he have went down in the annals of Manchester United history, if it weren’t for a young forwards education in the notoriously defence minded Serie A? Who knows, but what we do know is his lone season pulling on the dark red of Torino was anything but mundane.

The future European Player of the Year made his debut as a talented, yet awkward, forward in 1956 for Huddersfield Town. Moving south at the tender age of 15 didn’t seem to deter Law and this was a trait that he would further demonstrate in years to come. His time at Huddersfield was successful and led to interest from Manchester United, who submitted a £10,000 bid for him (a substantial amount for a teenager) but was turned down. Even Bill Shankly wanted to take Law with him when he moved to Liverpool! The young Aberdonian was in high demand.

Although Law and Manchester would become synonymous over the course of his career, initial impressions were for the blue half of the city. His record in the 1960/61 season read 21 goals in 44 matches, which for a struggling club was not bad at all. His reputation was growing steadily, word had reached the continent about a talented young Scot, who with the correct nurturing, could reach the very top.

John Charles arguably paved the way for British footballers to make their mark on the continent and he obtained notable success with Juventus after signing in 1957. This would give Italian clubs added incentive to pursue talent from Britain. Torino first became interested in the young prodigy after he scored one of the goals as his English league select side lost 4-2 to the Italian equivalent. There it was, Torino had their superstar in waiting.

The abolishment of the maximum wage policy in the UK had given players more freedom in regard to moving clubs and negotiating massive pay rises, however the wages on the continent were far superior. Torino offered not only a huge pay rise for the Scot, but also performance related bonuses, including for goals scored. This incentive only enticed Law even further to succeed at the club and he duly signed alongside another Brit, Joe Baker, who joined from Hibs.

The Italian game was noticeably different from what he was used to in England, those in Serie A were utilising catenaccio to great effect. Law was offered little to no space from opposition players, was regularly subjected to strict man marking and kicks from defenders were commonplace, whether he had the ball or not.

This was the only downside to Law’s initial honeymoon period in Turin, he thoroughly enjoyed a preseason which involved much more tactical work and emphasis on technique and ball work, compared to the basic training methods which were used by Manchester City. It was obvious that the Italian game was much more regimented, diet was far more advanced (no steak and chips pre match), and the weather was unsurprisingly, warmer than in Manchester.

These factors may well have contributed to Law’s tremendous start to life in Serie A. Four goals in six games, which included a victory over arch-rivals Juventus, had the Scotsman flying. As encouraging a start this was, it wasn’t all rosy as Italians view on the game differed slightly to that of their English counterparts – preventing goals rather than scoring them was the fundamental theory favoured by the vast majority of the teams. Law found this increasingly difficult, and the goals soon dried up. The watching eyes of the paparazzi were a constant bugbear for the young Scot where the next few months would prove to be a testing period for both Law and Baker.

Dreamlike beginnings began turning into nightmares. Due to breaking far too many curfews, the pair were constantly receiving fines and the bad boy moniker was used rather freely by the press. This was only the start of a downward spiral for the two Scotsmen, however.

Baker was the one that finally snapped first. The day before Torino were due to play Venezia, the two decided to take a walk through the beautiful city. They were of course followed by plenty of paparazzi, who continued to take pictures despite the obvious aversion by Baker. He lost his cool and punched the key protagonist, Celio Scapin, and the entire incident was of course captured on camera and plastered over the papers the following day.

Things would only get worse. On the 7^th of February, Baker picked up his new Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint. Baker, Law and Law’s brother Joseph went out for dinner and decided to make a night of it and enjoy themselves, something which they had been doing since they arrived in Turin. This time however, there would be serious repercussions.

As the drink flowed in the Scot’s hillside apartment, the decision was made to embrace the nightlife and carry on the evening in the city. At roughly 4am, Baker decided to drive the party home. A combination of brand-new sports car to show off and a high level of alcohol in the blood was never going to end well. As he tried to take a corner at high speed, Baker clipped the side of the road and the car flipped. Law and his brother were miraculously unhurt. Baker on the other hand was a mess. His face was covered in glass, and he had broken his nose and both cheekbones. He was hysterical, believing Law had been killed in the accident, where he had to be sedated before going to hospital.

This was the end of Joe Baker’s career at Torino. Law was fined and banned for a few matches before returning before the end of the season. The final nail in the coffin for Law came during his last game against Napoli in the Coppa Italia. He ignored an instruction from his manager and took a throw in, which then transpired in the manager asking the referee to send him off. The writing was on the wall, with both parties keen to shake hands and move on. Manchester United were leading the race to sign Law.

There was one more twist in the tale, well if you believe the myth that is. Rumours were flying around that Gianni Agnelli wanted to sign Law for Juventus. The story goes that a group of Torino supporters arrived at Law’s house during the night and drove him to the airport, buying him a one-way ticket back to Britain. He got his way and signed for Manchester United for £110,000, a record at the time. This final anecdote sums up Law’s spell at Torino

Despite his notorious off the field antics, Law is remembered fondly for his time at Torino, with many fans going as far to say he was sold too soon. A decent enough haul of 10 goals in 27 matches proved that he would have carved out an excellent career if he remained in Italy.

This experience stood Law in good stead and did wonders for his game when he arrived back in England. Revelling in the less cynical nature of the defenders and the increased space he was allowed, he scored 29 goals in 44 matches, a masterstroke of a signing by Matt Busby, who was just beginning to build another title winning team from the ashes of Munich.

Law will be vastly remembered as one of Scotland’s greatest ever forwards and a key part of the Utd team that won titles and the European Cup in 1968, but his time in Turin should be regarded as the most valuable period of his career. Torino provided the platform for Law to gain all the necessary attributes needed for success at the highest level, and what a career he had.