Premier League - Scholes: The legend hits 600

Eurosport - Thu, 23 Apr 08:58:00 2009

As Paul Scholes prepares to make his 600th appearance for Manchester United against Portsmouth, Eurosport-Yahoo! looks back at an illustrious career that has seen him win every club honour in the club game.

FOOTBALL 2008-2009 Premier League Manchester United Scholes - 0

The quiet little man of Old Trafford, Scholes scored twice on his debut as a 19-year-old and, after being converted from a centre forward to a midfield playmaker, became one of the best in European football.

His ability to dictate the pace of games with pinpoint passing and clever movement was coupled with an uncanny ability to arrive in the right place at the right time to finish with both feet and - impressively for a man standing at only 5'7" - weigh in with plenty of headed goals.

Scholes made his national debut at 22 and earned 66 caps for England, scoring 14 goals, but that would have been significantly more had he not retired from international football in 2004, aged only 29.

The softly-spoken Oldham fan rarely gives interviews, but despite his reclusiveness has drawn plaudits from some of the world's greats.

Here are some of the things people have had to say about him over the years:

Zinedine Zidane: "My toughest opponent? Scholes of Manchester. He is the complete midfielder. Scholes is undoubtedly the greatest of his generation."

Edgar Davids: "I'm not the best, Paul Scholes is. We can all learn from Paul Scholes."

Marcello Lippi: "Paul Scholes would have been one of my first choices for putting together a great team - that is how highly I have always rated him."

Thierry Henry: "Without any doubt, the best player in the Premiership has to be Paul Scholes. He knows how to do everything, and he is the one who directs the way his team plays. On top of all that, he has indestructible mental strength and he is a genuine competitor."

Sir Alex Ferguson: "Throughout time, when you look at the likes of Duncan Edwards, Bobby Charlton and George Best, then it's difficult to say where Paul stands because that's a wide panorama of players. But in my time, he would sit in the top six or seven without question."

Paul Scholes Manchester United factfile:

Born: November 16 1974, Salford

Debut: September 21, 1994, Port Vale 1-2 Manchester United (Scholes 2), League Cup second round first leg

Premier League:

Appearances (as substitute): 339 (72); Goals: 98

FA Cup:

Appearances: 28 (12); Goals: 13

League Cup:

Appearances: 13 (6); Goals: 8

Other (including Champions League)

Appearances: 116 (15); Goals: 23

Total club:

Appearances: 599; Goals: 142

Honours:

Premier League: 1995-96, 1996-97, 1998-99, 1999-00, 2000-01, 2002-03, 2006-07, 2007-08

FA Cup: 1996, 1999, 2004

League Cup: 2006, 2009

Community Shield: 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2008

Champions League: 1999, 2008

Intercontinental Cup: 1999

FIFA Club World Cup: 2008

Reda Maher / Tony Mabert / Eurosport

Comment 83 - 102 of 102

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  1. bad luck

    From milespeterkin, on Fri 24 Apr 4:30PM

  2. bad luck

    From milespeterkin, on Fri 24 Apr 4:29PM

  3. bad luke

    From milespeterkin, on Fri 24 Apr 4:29PM

  4. IF Zinedine Zidane thinks he is the best­ ............... Then who am i toargue!!!!! congrats­ scholesy

    From geoff, on Thu 23 Apr 8:23PM

  5. i am a big liverpool fan but congrats to scholes on his­ 600 games not many players get to reach half that­ number

    From david, on Thu 23 Apr 12:15PM

  6. Scholesey Scholesey~!
    Our beloved Ginger­ Prince~!
    Joined Man Utd at his 19th
    First team regular­ eversince!

    Shoot! Shoot!
    The Stretford End were­ shouting
    He is the best in scoring
    But sadly for his­ tackling~

    Scholesey Scholesey~!
    The little Oldham-boy­ fan
    Marked his man in the field
    Even troubling the­ Great Zidane~!

    What a goal by Scholes!
    Hitting a­ screamer from 30 meter~
    He keep on scoring goals!
    Not­ to mention about his header~

    Great passer of the­ ball
    Bad tackler on the field
    Classic Scholes­ afterall~
    Often sent out from the field~

    But who cares­ about that?
    He is a great midfielder!
    If things go­ bad~
    He had to do it, one way or another!

    O Hail the­ Ginger Prince!
    Winning the league ever­ since!
    Struggling through the years with a minor­ wince~
    But that's Scholesey our Ginger­ Prince~!

    God bless Paul Scholes, and Manchester­ United!!!

    From Khalidi, on Thu 23 Apr 11:17AM

  7. Saw him again last night against Pompey. Still right up­ there with the very best. Am proud that he lives­ normally in my original home town. Not like a few of­ the other 'celebs' I could mention.

    From david.thwaites, on Thu 23 Apr 10:58AM

  8. FAIR PLAY!! WE NEED FAIR PLAY NOW ON FROM FA. FAIR PLAY­ IN THE SENSE THAT MANU AND LIVERPOOL SHOULD BE PLAYING­ THEIR REMAINING MATCES AT THE SAME TIME SAME DAY.ITS­ NOT TOO LATE DO TO RESCHEDULE THE MATCHES.IF THIS IS­ DONE,THEY WILL BE FAIR PLAY TO ALL THE TEAMS INVOLVED­ AND ALSO THE REFS.

    From Michael, on Thu 23 Apr 9:03AM

  9. Paul Scholes is a Legend. He can change a game in the­ Blink of an eye. His goal agains Barcelona in the­ chapmions league last year was fantastic. His pass last­ night for Carrick Fantastic. Great servent to a club he­ love's. Liverpool fans havin a go a­ "Legend" title. What about when Robbie Fowler­ returned to Liverpool after years. You all called him a­ Legend. This is a player that simulated Snorting Coke­ on pitch line during a match. What a Legend he was. How­ many times did he play on his return?
    Well done­ Scholes. Keep up the great work. Would Love to see more­ of your Fantastic 25 yard wonder strikes. Love to hear­ the crown scream "SHOT" every time he is­ within range.

    From andyprice17, on Thu 23 Apr 8:55AM

  10. no doubt that Scholes is the greatest midfielder right­ now...
    His pinpoint passing and ability to control game­ has create a lot of destruction to the­ opponent...

    Besides Old Scholes is not as young as­ Young Scholes, he is still be a legend in United­ Fans...

    Only one thing that scholes cant do,­ TACKLING...

    Haha

    From Redzwan A, on Thu 23 Apr 6:24AM

  11. who.are.you: Steven Gerrard was forced to reconsider­ his potential move from Liverpool after he had recieved­ a series of physical threats. Get your facts right.

    From sappercommando25, on Thu 23 Apr 6:13AM

  12. What I admire most about him is the fact that you­ hardly ever hear about him outside the soccer arena. He­ just gets on with the game, he just does his job and­ that is a person of quality.

    From sappercommando25, on Thu 23 Apr 6:12AM

  13. d.crouch Carragher withdrawing himself from­ international duty while McClaren was there has nothing­ to do with Capello asking him to play and him saying­ NO.
    Also Gerrard actually handed in a transfer request­ then reconsidered did he not? It was not just­ speculation.

    And no-one called Ronaldo a loyal­ legend... so why are you bringing him up? That's­ all you Scousers ever do... Whether it's a forum­ about Arsenal, Liverpool, Newcastle whatever the case­ may be... there's always one Scouser insulting or­ speaking Ronaldo, Ferguson or Man Utd on a whole. Get a­ grip!

    Anyway Scholes is a legend. End of. If you look­ at some of the stats like number of passes and­ completion, as well as area covered on the pitch...­ Scholes is almost always top of the list! He's a­ very intelligent player and he reminds me of the­ younger Pirlo.
    A true role model, bar some (rather­ funny) lapses in concentration... Pity he didn't­ win any international accolades!

    From i am a teacup, on Thu 23 Apr 4:00AM

  14. Ginga Ninja forever

    From bigbrother09447, on Thu 23 Apr 2:32AM

  15. LEGEND, ICON...RIGHT UP THERE WITH GIGGSY, CANTONA,­ LAW, BEST, CHARLTON

    From devilgal_91, on Wed 22 Apr 11:53PM

  16. Paul Scholes is top, he can kill a ball stone dead­ with­ his 1st touch, he can create space for himself­ behind­ enemy lines, he can send a 50 yard diagonal­ cross-field­ pass to a team mate, he was really the 1st­ master at­ arriving late in the box, he can hit a­ fearsome bullet­ shot or volley at will, need a go on?­ Quite simply a­ footballing MASTERCLASS.

    From check3011, on Wed 22 Apr 11:11PM

  17. Paul Scholes is top, he can kill a ball stone dead­ with­ his 1st touch, he can create space for himself­ behind­ enemy lines, he can send a 50 yard diagonal­ cross-field­ pass to a team mate, he was really the 1st­ master at­ arriving late in the box, he can hit a­ fearsome bullet­ shot or volley at will, need a go on?­ Quite simply a­ footballing MASTERCLASS.

    From check3011, on Wed 22 Apr 11:10PM

  18. EVEN GERRARD IS FAN OF SCHOLES. READ ABOUT IT IN­ GERRARD'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY BOOK...

    From Bali Tenno, on Wed 22 Apr 10:31PM

  19. PAUL SCHOLES IS A LEGEND!!! LONG LIVE GINGER PRINCE!!!

    From Bali Tenno, on Wed 22 Apr 10:27PM

  20. Zidane knows best. :)

    From Yea-Joon, on Wed 22 Apr 10:03PM
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