Paul Scholes
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Template:Football player infobox Paul Scholes (born November 16, 1974, in Salford, Greater Manchester) is an English football player who has spent his whole career at Manchester United.
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Style of play
With his distinctive head of ginger hair (he is sometimes referred to as "The Ginger Prince" or "The Ginger Ninja") Paul Scholes has been one of the most influential players at Manchester United for the last decade and a key component in United's success during this period. He is an attacking midfielder par excellence. He scores vital goals at vital times, and he times his runs into the box as well as any midfielder playing the game today. Scholes has often been described as the most natural finisher at United during his time there, but he also possesses a thunderous shot that has led to many spectacular long-range goals. He is not afraid to put his body in the way to stop a player or create a goal for United, and is often hailed as a particularly hard player. United fans frequently sing (to the tune of Kumbaya) "Paul Scholes, he scores goals" during matches. He is also known for his extremely erratic tackling. This dubious facet of his game has seen him booked and occasionally sent off in numerous important matches, as he invariably plays the man and not the ball.
Early career
Salford-born Scholes joined Manchester United as a trainee on leaving school in the summer of 1991 (although he was a diehard fan of Oldham Athletic, and remains so) and in his first season guided the club to victory in the F.A. Youth Cup. He 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 Eric Cantona and Andy Cole. In the F.A. Cup final he twice came close to scoring goals which would have seen United and not Everton win the F.A. Cup.
Late 90's - trophies galore
Scholes was unable to secure a regular first team place until the 1997-98 season, when he played in midfield after the ninth game when Roy Keane was ruled out by injury. He had already made his England debut the previous summer in a 2-1 friendly win over South Africa at Old Trafford, and was part of the England squad for the 1998 World Cup.
In 1998-99, Scholes was a key player in Manchester United's Premiership title, F.A. Cup and UEFA Champions League "Treble" success. He scored one of United's two goals against Newcastle in the F.A. Cup final but was ruled out of the Champions League final victory over Bayern Munich through suspension, brought about by a yellow card received in the semi-final away tie against Juventus. He also managed a hat-trick for England in a game against Poland.
Established player
Since then, Paul Scholes has established himself as an excellent midfielder at both club and international levels. He became a key player in both the Manchester United and England squads, playing an important role in the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
He announced his retirement from international football in August 2004, stating that club football was of the utmost priority and that he vowed to excel with Manchester United. Prior to this, however, he had become more peripheral to the England team, down in part to the rise of Frank Lampard, and having to play at left midfield during Euro 2004, which was not suited to his free-flowing, passing and penetrating game. England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson revealed that he repeatedly tried to coax Scholes out of international retirement but was rebuffed each time.
Most observers now agree he has been one of the most exciting attacking midfielders in the modern English game. He is also considered as one of the finest midfielders for Manchester United. He has averaged double digits in goals scored per season for his whole career and is well equipped in his heading too, despite being only 1.7m tall.
In ten years as a first team player at Manchester United, Paul Scholes has won six Premiership titles, three F.A. Cups, the European Cup and the Inter-Continental Cup, amongst many other personal accolades.
Latter career
Scholes' retirement from England helped revive his club form in 2005. Scholes was unlucky enough to miss a crucial penalty in the penalty shootout during the 2004-5 FA Cup final against Arsenal. However, he has currently been ruled out for the rest of the 2005-06 season with blurred vision. The cause of this is currently uncertain, leaving Scholes' career in the balance [1]. However, recently he has been back in training alhough he still can't do contact training and is still ruled out of the season. 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.
External links
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