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Date of Birth: Saturday, November 16, 1974
Birth Place: England
Height: 170cm
Position: Midfielder

Biography

Paul Scholes is a midfielder for Manchester United in the English Premier League. He has retired from international football, having scored 14 goals in 66 appearances for the Three Lions. He is one of a rare-breed of one-club footballers, and has been widely acknowledged ass one of the world’s best footballers. He plays as an attacking midfielder, slipping passes through to the strikers from his advanced position up the pitch, and unleashing powerful shots at goal that more often than not end up in the back of the net.

Childhood

Paul Scholes was born on 16th November 1974, in Salford, Manchester. He grew up in the shadows of Old Trafford, but actually supported Oldham Athletic as a child, and still has a season-ticket at Boundary Park. He was scouted by United whilst playing Sunday league football, and joined United on his first contract at the age of 14.

Early Career

Paul Scholes was a member of the FA Youth Cup team that reached the final in 1993/94, and was one of Sir Alex Ferguson’s ‘class of 92’, who came into the first team at around the same time as David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Gary and Phil Neville and Ryan Giggs.

Current Club

Scholes made his debut in September 1994 after two years in the reserve teams. Whilst the likes of David Beckham and Ryan Giggs were installed into the first team relatively quickly, Scholes had to be content with learning all he could from the attacking players at the club – Sir Alex had him earmarked to take over from Eric Cantona when the mercurial Frenchman hung up his boots.

After coming on in the dying minutes of United FA Cup loss to Everton in 1995, Scholes found himself as one of the key attacking players at the start of the 95/96 season, with Mark Hughes having moved on to pastures new, and only strikers Andy Cole and Eric Cantona left. United went on to win the league and FA Cup double, helped by Scholes’ contribution of 10 goals.

With Scholes established as a regular first-teamer, United went from strength to strength. The midfield quartet of Keane, Scholes, Beckham and Giggs has gone down as one of the very best in history, and it was a shame that after all their league titles and matches won, both Keane and Scholes couldn’t play in United’s 1999 Champions League Final against Bayern Munich – Paul had been ruled out because of a clumsy tackle in the Semis that had cost him his fifth yellow card, and suspension.

United finally managed to win their second Champions League title in May 2008, by which time Scholes had become an absolute legend in the game – having scored 96 goals in over 400 league matches, and won 8 Premier League titles, 3 FA Cups and 2 Champions Leagues in his lifetime.

Scholes was unveiled in the ‘Football Hall of Fame’ in 2008, and continues to lead United forwards – his calming presence in the centre of the park helps the more enthusiastic players like Anderson and Park. United continue to dominate the league, and whilst Scholes isn’t making the lung-busting late runs into the box as much as he used to, he is still very much missed when he is left on the bench in favour of younger legs.

International

Paul Scholes made his debut for England in May 1997, and was included in the World Cup France 98 team. He scored in the early stages, but England crashed out to Argentina after Beckham was sent off in extra-time. Euro 2000 was another disappointment, though Scholes was one of the few attacking players in a team that lacked creativity. By World Cup 2002 he was a leader on the pitch, though England again went out in the early knock-out stages – this time to a stunning Ronaldinho goal.

At Euro 2004 Scholes was played on the left hand side of midfield as Sven Goran Eriksson looked to team up Gerrard and Lampard in the central positions. England crashed out, an Scholes decided to retire from international football aged 29. He cited family reasons, saying that he wanted to spend more time at home. His has probably been one of the key factors in prolonging Scholes’ United career – allowing him recovery-breaks when international fixtures are on. He has been asked to come back by various coaches, but has always turned down the opportunities.