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 63 - 82 of 102

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  1. A great pro,a fantastic player in his time and a­ wonderful servent to the game,

    From mels_belles59, on Wed 22 Apr 10:02PM

  2. Tim I think you've mistaken this article with an­­ article about Gerrard.
    You can say what legend?over­­ there.

    From saeed, on Wed 22 Apr 9:14PM

  3. good for him :-( isnt he a bit old now though? sorry­ if ive offended anyone or any of his fans x

    From smiley123, on Wed 22 Apr 8:01PM

  4. True legend!
    Paul Scholes stands for all the good­ things about the British football.
    Heart,soul and­ backbone of United i used to love(R.Keane alongside).

    From theclashcityrocker, on Wed 22 Apr 7:54PM
  5. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Legend ? What legend ?!

    From Tim, on Wed 22 Apr 7:47PM

  6. With his amazing shooting and unique accuracy, I've­ often wondered, why doesn't he take free kicks?­ Throughout his career he has pulled of some amazing­ long range goals, and I've always been curious to­ why he's not tried a few in games.

    From luke.elliff, on Wed 22 Apr 7:39PM

  7. scholes has always been a great player. a pure gem from­ the first game he played in the famous red shirt. if­ only he learned to tackle!!!! but i have yet to see a­ better striker of the ball. well done scholsey

    From Fran L, on Wed 22 Apr 7:14PM
  8. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Legend ? What legend ?!

    From Tim, on Wed 22 Apr 7:13PM

  9. Paul Scholes is a model to any one who would ever find­ himself in the spotlight. He is humble, hardly ever­ involved in the scandals, he trains very hard, and he­ has the mental strength of steel. The likes of Scholes­ don't belong to this generation of football stars.­ He is a true legend.

    From Mega-Crazy, on Wed 22 Apr 7:12PM

  10. Possibly one of the most professional players ever? If­ only more were like him, he is an absolutely fantastic­ player (tackling aside), he can split the defence with­ one very clever ball, strike the ball as well as anyone­ I have ever seen and to top it off he remains modest­ and true to his Salford roots. Well done Scholesy.

    From Michael, on Wed 22 Apr 7:07PM
  11. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    sorry all.i was only doing a spot of manc fishing,see­ how many bites i could get,it's just a friendly bit­ of banter between fans.he is indeed a fantastic player­ and servant for his club and the only way he could have­ got any better would have been to join LFC. forza­ milan. carragher only retired from the international­ scene when McClaren chose to play ledley king ahead him­ after waiting patiently for his chance.this meant in­ McClarens eyes he saw him as at least 4th choice so it­ wasn't like he was a 1st choice ever present like­ scholes.as for gerrard i doubt whether a move was to­ chelsea was ever on the cards and if it was is it any­ different to ronaldo and his near move to Real?­ congratulations to scholes on 600 games tonight.­ however PLAY UP POMPEY!POMPEY PLAY UP!

    From crunch, on Wed 22 Apr 7:05PM

  12. rc_alcocks_mum, grow up. It was funny for a day or so.­ Its gettin boring and now your lookin stupid.

    From Howard, on Wed 22 Apr 7:02PM

  13. Still, Scholes did not ''win every club honour­ in the club game'' as this article says. He­ missed on the UEFA cup and the Cup winners' cup­ (not there anymore). He did not win titles in person­ such as player of the year like many other midfielders­ did. So Scholes is one of those players who completes­ your team but not the one who you would hiss poster in­ your room. And his international carrier is week. Great­ players are also judged by their international carrier.­ Look at Pele, Best, Maradonna, Baggio, Rumenigue,­ Zidane etc.. 600 games is anyway a massive achievement.­ Bravo Scholes

    From Half A Brain, on Wed 22 Apr 7:01PM

  14. im sorry smallcocks mum but im not coming anywhere near­ your son.im homophobic

    From saeed, on Wed 22 Apr 7:00PM

  15. i am a true chelsea fan but i must confess paul scholes­ and eric cantona has always be my best player in man­ utd.

    From sitamiky, on Wed 22 Apr 7:00PM

  16. Scholes has been 1 of the most consistant players in­ the premiership and does belong in the Legend bracket.­ Keeps himself outta the press and dilivers on the­ pitch. A true pro and it hurts me to say as im a­ liverpool fan.

    From Howard, on Wed 22 Apr 6:59PM

  17. Paul Scholes is one of the bestest,thats for sure.His­ international career should be longer I think,because­ he is so wonderful player!!!

    From kristjanalas555, on Wed 22 Apr 6:55PM
  18. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    he's @#$%

    From Harry, on Wed 22 Apr 6:52PM
  19. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Get a PS3/Wii/Xbox 360 etc for only £5 or even FREE ­ from: go4it.freebiejeebies. co . uk (copy/paste and ­ remove spaces) Sign up and complete ONE of the listed ­ offers to qualify. I would recommend the Lovefilm trial­ (free) or Coral (place a £5 bet). Gala Bingo is only­ £5 too, and the HSBC offer just involves signing up­ for a current account. BBC approved, I even got my­ hdtv from this site, don't miss out like so many­ others...!!

    From mooresrachel, on Wed 22 Apr 6:51PM
  20. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    thank you again saeed_wazza90...i have not have sex for­ 29 years and do not intend to start now....could you­ befriend my little boy (rc_alcock 29) and take him out­ of the house to the pictures or something nice like­ that so that it takes his mind off liverpool and mens­ bottoms... love from rc_alcocks mum....edith !

    From rc_alcock_the_scouse_bum_boy, on Wed 22 Apr 6:48PM
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