700 not out: United genius Scholes on brink of major milestone in a career full of goals, perfected passes and crunching tackles. Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes hopes to make his 700th appearance for his one and only club at Old Trafford. Hailed as one of the finest European players of his generation, the 37-year-old has returned from retirement once to continue his remarkable contribution to United’s success. Scholes — so far — has 10 Premier League titles to his name, three FA Cups, two League Cups and two Champions Leagues. His time in the English game has, however, been a lot more colourful than that and, when he does finally say goodbye, few will forget his passing, his shooting or indeed his rather clumsy tackling. Let’s look back at his astonishing 17-year career.
Port Vale (A) Sept 1995: Scholes makes his debut in the League Cup in the Potteries. In a young United team he stands out in a 2-1 win. Oh, and he scores both goals.
Liverpool (H) Sept 1998: Three years on and Scholes has emerged as a central figure. He dominates the Liverpool midfield and scores a thumping goal with his left foot to seal a 2-0 victory.
Inter (A) March 1999: The charge towards the Treble is taking shape and Scholes — on as a substitute — scores a crucial away goal at the San Siro.
Newcastle (A) April 2003: Three days before a crucial visit to Arsenal, United warm up with a 6-2 hammering of Newcastle. Scholes helps himself to a hat-trick.
Blackburn (H) March 2007: Another title race and another vital contribution as United win 4-1. Scholes scores and his overall performance is almost faultless.
Barcelona (A) April 2008: Scholes is remembered for the goal he scored in the second leg of this semi-final but the way he helps to stifle the Spaniards in a scoreless first game is equally as important.
Stoke City (A) Sept 2009: A largely forgotten 2-0 win but a perfect example of Scholes’s art. Physically strong enough to stand up to the home side, he proceeds to pass them off the field. Looks at times as though he is playing in an exclusion zone.
BEST GOALS
Bradford (A) April 2000: The goal that Scholes himself describes as his best ever, a right-foot volley from a David Beckham corner that only a superbly gifted player could execute.
Middlesbrough (A) May 2000: Two weeks later and another first-time strike that goes like a tracer bullet into the top corner from 30 yards. Seems to be speeding up as it hit the net, even though that’s impossible.
Panathinaikos (H) November 2000: A precise United passing move ends with a backheel from Teddy Sheringham into Scholes’ path and the maestro chips the Greek goalkeeper with his right foot. Hard to imagine anything better.
Aston Villa (A) December 2006: Another day, another Scholes volley. Even Edwin van der Sar comes to join the celebrations after Scholes smacks an unstoppable shot high into the net from distance.
Blackburn (H) March 2007: Top goalscorers always stay calm and Scholes embodies this here, picking up a loose ball 18 yards out and easing past lunging tackles to score low with his right foot.
Barcelona (H) April 2008: Scholes claims he ‘sliced’ this shot but that’s not how it will be remembered. Right foot, 25 yards, top corner. United through to the Champions League final.
Manchester City (A) April 2010: A Manchester derby is in a stalemate but Scholes turns back the clock to ghost into the box and head a Patrice Evra cross into the corner for the winner. It’s all in the timing of the run.
BEST TRIBUTES
Luis Figo: ‘I’m star struck when I see Paul Scholes because you never see him. On the pitch you can’t catch him. Off the pitch he disappears.’
Roy Keane: ‘No celebrity bull****, no self-promotion — an amazingly gifted player who remained an unaffected human being.’
Lionel Messi: ‘At La Masia (the Barcelona youth academy) his name was mentioned a lot. In some ways, he was one of our teachers.’
Pele: ‘If he had been playing with me, I would have scored many more goals.’
Xavi: ‘In the last 15 or 20 years the best central midfield player — the most complete — is Scholes. He is a spectacular player who has everything. If he had been Spanish, he would have been valued more.’
Sir Bobby Charlton: ‘I have no hesitation in putting a name to the embodiment of all that I think is best about football. It’s Paul Scholes.’
Rio Ferdinand: ‘He will do ridiculous things in training like say, “See that tree over there, 40 yards away? I am going to hit it”. And he will do it. Everyone at the club considers him the best.’
BEST QUOTES
On retiring from international football: ‘I got fed up. You want to be part of a team and play well. But with England there are (too many) individuals who are after personal glory.’
On the media: ‘I don’t like compliments. I would rather people have a go at me so I can prove them wrong.’
On life out of the spotlight: ‘My ideal day? Train in the morning, pick up the kids from school, go home, play with kids, have tea, get them up to bed, and then come down and watch a bit of TV.’
On the Champions League triumph of 2008: ‘I was first on the bus afterwards. But I always am. What’s the point in hanging around? I was pleased with what we had done but didn’t want to spend all night talking about it.’
On the future, four years ago: ‘I’d think I have two years left at the most and part of me will be glad to finish. The only thing I will definitely miss is the football. The general life of a footballer I suppose I will not miss at all.’
On his longevity: ‘Maybe football intelligence helps you to cope. After all, there’s only so much running you can do. It’s football and if you are clever enough to play then you’ll find the right answers.’
On tackling: ‘Of course I can tackle. There’s plenty of evidence of that. I was just getting people back. It was always in the back of my mind.’
WORST FOULS
On Stefan Schwarz, 1999 Euro Championship Qualifier, Wembley: OK, so this one wasn’t playing for United but his early assault on Sweden’s midfielder was so bad it left a hole in his thigh. A yellow for that and another later in the game saw him become the first England player to be dismissed at Wembley.
On Jose Antonio Reyes, 2005 FA Cup final: The Arsenal forward didn’t last long in England and perhaps moments like this didn’t help. Scholes is so late as he arrives from behind that it is almost the second half. Yellow card and a talking-to.
On Xabi Alonso, 2007 Premier League, Anfield: Scholes manages to punch the Spaniard and kick him between the legs at the same time. Full marks for ingenuity, none for subtlety — and a red card.
On Sergio Busquets, 2009 Champions League Final, Rome: The Barcelona midfelder plays a simple pass, only for Scholes to arrive late and clamp his standing leg between both feet, sweeping him to the ground. A yellow follows.
On Marouane Chamakh, 2011 FA Cup, Old Trafford: On video, a stunned United fan is seen with his head in his hands after Scholes pole-axes the Arsenal forward. He even gives his opponent a little slap during the melee that follows. Yellow card.
On Pablo Zabaleta, 2011 FA Cup semi-final, Wembley: Manchester City’s defender plays a bouncing ball first only for Scholes to reach the scene a split-second too late. Cue the sound of studs on upper thigh. A red card followed.
On Darron Gibson, 2012 Premier League, Goodison Park: It was only last season that he was at the same club as Gibson but 13 minutes into the new campaign, Scholes thunders through the back of the Everton player. Just a yellow.
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