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 23 - 42 of 102

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  1. SMALLCOCK'S MUM I THINK YOUR SON HAS SERIOUS ISSUES

    From saeed, on Wed 22 Apr 6:12PM
  2. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    scholes is one of the best players ever its a shame he­ plays for the mancs and the rest of twats that play for­ them bunch of sc*m bag cheating fu*k wits

    From chris, on Wed 22 Apr 6:11PM
  3. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    I think your son has a very round bottom

    From Uzoigwe, on Wed 22 Apr 6:11PM

  4. PAUL SCHOLES HE SCORES GOALS

    From saeed, on Wed 22 Apr 6:11PM
  5. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    ginger idiot

    From douglas, on Wed 22 Apr 6:10PM
  6. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Really ?lol.........Just heard that he is ho-oking up­ with a nice gi-rl on the inter-esting cl-ub called:­ ____Tallconnect Co M____, really ? Sounds it is a­ famoaus on-line service.

    From gary4loves, on Wed 22 Apr 6:10PM
  7. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    David moyes must go 2 arsenal.......HE IS THE BEST!!!

    From Amer, on Wed 22 Apr 6:10PM

  8. Scott S I don't think he'll be disappointed at­ not winning the UEFA cup seeing as how Man Utd­ haven't been out of the top 3 in the league since­ he's been there!!!!

    From i am a teacup, on Wed 22 Apr 6:07PM

  9. As an Arsenal fan I can honestly say that I would have­ liked Scholes on our team

    From Geraldine B, on Wed 22 Apr 6:06PM

  10. Hello young men, im rc_alcock's mum, im very­­­ worried about him, after last nights 4-4 draw­­ (rc's­ a big liverpool fan) he had a terrible­­ nights sleep,­ when i went into his room to bring him­­ his ribena he­ had wet his bed and soiled himself­­ (he's 29) do you­ think i should get him to see a­­ doctor...from rc's­ very concerned mum.

    From rc_alcock_the_scouse_bum_boy, on Wed 22 Apr 5:57PM

  11. The top midfielder in the premisership since it­ began...Gerrard, Lampard, Ince, Redknapp, Viera­ etc....put your medals on the table and lets compare­ them.

    From Jamie S, on Wed 22 Apr 5:57PM

  12. hello young men, thank you for your advice, when rc­ went out to do his paper round (he's 29) i decided­ to go to his bedroom to turn over his matress and to my­ horror i discovered numerous upsetting items...a dirty­ magazine with pictures of naked men...a punctured­ inflatable woman...and numerous tisses which had gone­ hard...but most upsetting of all i found a picture of­ rafa benitez covered in what looks like yoghurt...do­ you think this is a cause for concern ?

    From rc_alcock_the_scouse_bum_boy, on Wed 22 Apr 5:57PM

  13. true legend

    From Dúde, on Wed 22 Apr 5:56PM

  14. I am a huge liverpool fan but i must admit that Paul­ Scholes is a legend and is without doubt the heart of­ Manchester United. I hate when people say that Scholes­ is finished because he is not and he is still one of­ Man Uniteds best players. I think the younger players­ should get it in to their heads that they are not­ better than Paul Scholes

    From Alex, on Wed 22 Apr 5:54PM

  15. I am a huge liverpool fan but i must admit that Paul­ Scholes is a legend and is without doubt the heart of­ Manchester United. I hate when people say that Scholes­ is finished because he is not and he is still one of­ Man Uniteds best players. I think the younger players­ should get it in to their heads that they are not­ better than Paul Scholes

    From Alex, on Wed 22 Apr 5:53PM

  16. its a nice touch to add those comments from other­ footballers. True legend. Thanks for 600 games and more­ Scholes!

    From irshad_0, on Wed 22 Apr 5:52PM

  17. Paul Scholes deserves all the accolades. And to the one­ who said pity he wasn't a foot taller then he would­ have been world class, I got bad news for you, he was­ and is world class. By your reckoning, Maradonna­ couldn't be world class because he wasn't a­ foot taller. Not comparing Scholes with Maradonna just­ pointing out that your comment about his height stoppin­ him being world class is nonsense. From a Liverpool fan­ who loves watching great players whatever the team

    From trouble, on Wed 22 Apr 5:52PM
  18. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    great record but he has past his best now...

    From Renan, on Wed 22 Apr 5:48PM

  19. legend

    From Mark, on Wed 22 Apr 5:46PM

  20. Pretty impressive record, particularly when you look at­ some other players that only hang around for a season­ or two then move on in the home of cashing in on­ transfer fees - Scholsey really is one of the best and­ next to giggs in the current crop of players.I hope he­ gets his 100th tonight

    From Nick B, on Wed 22 Apr 5:41PM
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