Heavy going...

 Here's one for the nostalgists, George Best would have played a considerable proportion of his career games on frankly dreadful pitches.  Week in week out even the top first division teams turned out on quagmires or sandpits. How the players were supposed to demonstrate any ball skills in these conditions is beyond me. Even accurate passing and keeping the ball on the floor were fraught with peril. 

Wembley was supposed to be special, showcase Cup Final pitches chequer board mown, flat as bowling greens, the famous energy sapping lush turf...this was not always the case, as we can see above (Swindon Town vs Arsenal 1969) and below (Chelsea vs Leeds United 1970).

The levels of individual skill and control on show these days would have been considered otherwordly back then. The average player has more mastery over the ball and the pitches are generally far superior on a week in week out basis to the very best of surfaces of even 20 years ago. Even the lush green Azteca was bumpy- look at Carlos Alberto's 1970 World Cup Final goal- the ball bobbles up nicely for him.