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Paul Scholes

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Paul Scholes
Personal information
Full name Paul Scholes
Height 5 ft 7 in / 1.70 m
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Manchester United
Number 18
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:16, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

Paul Aaron Scholes (born November 16, 1974) is an English football player who has spent his whole career at Manchester United. One of the most decorated players of his generation[1], Scholes has been praised many times for his modesty and attitude towards the game, and for his pin-point passing. Is regarded as one of the best ever players to pull on a Manchester United and England shirt.

Career

Early career

Born in Salford, England, Scholes has trained with Manchester United since the age of 14. He then later joined as a trainee upon leaving school in the summer of 1991 (although he was a diehard fan of Oldham Athletic, and serves as a patron on the board of Trust Oldham and in his first season guided the club to victory in the FA Youth Cup. He turned professional on 23 July, 1993, but did not make his breakthrough into the Old Trafford team until the 1994–95 season, when he made 17 league appearances and scored five goals. The 20-year-old Scholes proved himself to be a promising understudy for the likes of Éric Cantona and Andy Cole. In the FA Cup final he twice came close to scoring goals which would have seen United and not Everton win the FA Cup.



Later career

Scholes' retirement from England helped revive his club form in 2005. Scholes had a crucial penalty saved by Jens Lehmann in the penalty shootout during the 2004–05 FA Cup final against Arsenal, thus allowing Arsenal to win the trophy. However, he was ruled out for the second half of the 2005–06 season with blurred vision. The cause of this was initially uncertain, at first leaving Scholes' career in the balance [2]. He overcame this problem through the beginning of the year and he appeared in United's final game of the 2005–06 season, against Charlton Athletic. Reportedly, Scholes' vision has not been completely recovered [3].

Scholes caused controversy in September 2006 after allegedly making a homophobic comment to the referee during his club's 1-0 win over Benfica in the Champions League.[4]

Scholes has, however, declared that when the time comes for him to leave Manchester United, he would not rule out ending his career at his boyhood club, Oldham Athletic [citation needed].

Scholes recently scored his first goal since last Boxing Day against FC Copenhagen in the Champions League match, ending people's doubt about his comeback to form after the eye incident that almost ruled him out of football forever last December.

On the 22 October 2006, in the 2-0 Premiership victory over Liverpool at Old Trafford, twelve years after marking his Red Devils debut with a League Cup brace against Port Vale, Scholes became the ninth United player to reach the 500th appearance landmark, following the likes of Sir Bobby Charlton, Bill Foulkes, Denis Irwin and current team-mates Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville. Scholes opened the scoring in the 39th minute, prodding the ball home following a Ryan Giggs cross. Rio Ferdinand scored the second goal, in the 66th minute. He was voted Man of the Match and gave a rare interview after the game.

He also scored twice more before Christmas; one rifling drive into the bottom corner from the edge of the 18-yard box in the Champions League match against FC Copenhagen on 17 October, and an incredible 30-yard volley which struck the underside of the crossbar against Aston Villa on 23 December.

International career

Scholes made his international debut against Italy in 1997 and announced his retirement in August 2004.

When he was sent off against Sweden at Wembley Stadium in 1999, he became the first English player to ever be dismissed on home soil. Given that the stadium has now been demolished he will therefore forever be the only England played to have received a red card in England's 223 matches at the old stadium. [5]

More recently, Scholes has twice turned down the opportunity to come out of retirement and retain his position in the England squad under the new manager, Steve McClaren citing his commitment to his family life.

Honours

With Manchester United (1994 - 2006)

Individual honours

References

  1. ^ http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/manchesterunited/comments/view.html?story_id=228753
  2. ^ "Scholes career in the balance".
  3. ^ "Scholes still troubled by vision problems". {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  4. ^ "Scholes urged to apologise after alleged homophobic remark". Retrieved 2006-09-29.
  5. ^ "English International Disciplinary Records".
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