Denis Law remembered in emotional tribute by Man Utd legend – 'He was and always will be my hero'

Never meet your heroes. It’s a guiding principle dished out to those keen to avoid being let down and disappointed by the icons they’ve placed on a pedestal.

But if Jim McCalliog was going to make an exception for that rule, it had to be for Denis Law. Former Chelsea, Sheffield Wednesday, Wolves and Manchester United star McCalliog has his own special place carved out in Scottish football’s history books. After all, it was his debut strike at Wembley in 1967 which sent the Scots on their way to the nation’s most cherished ever victory over England.

But it was not the prospect of facing the then world champions which had McCalliog - then 20 - breaking out in a sweat, rather a staged photo op with a man he’d grown up idolising. Tearfully, the Scotland legend told Record Sport : “If you were a football fan growing up in my day, you just loved Denis Law. We all did. He just looked so different with that shock of blonde hair. But it wasn’t just how he looked, it was how he played. He was fearless, ferocious.

“I can remember going up to Hampden in 1961 after school on a Wednesday afternoon to see him place for Scotland against Czechoslovakia. He scored two goals that day which almost put Scotland into the World Cup.

“Then later once I became a professional myself, it was fantastic to go to England and play against him. Watching him on the pitch was like watching a brilliant piece of theatre. He was so captivating with how he moved his arms and the way he’d attack the ball.

“He was an amazing footballer, he had everything. He's the only Scot to win European Footballer of the Year and for me he’s up there with Kenny Dalglish and Jim Baxter as the best this country has ever produced.

“But there’s this saying that you