- by Hiten Mandalia, writing from West London
On the morning of 31st May 2011, Paul Scholes announced his retirement from professional football. This signals the end of a glittering career for “the best player of his generation”, as Zidane put it. There can be no complaints about the type of player Scholes was and the type of person he is.
He was considered to give 100% on the pitch, and as soon as his job’s done, he goes back to his family. He’s not one for the limelight and he’s not one who talks much to the media, except on the rare occasions. Paul Scholes keeps himself to himself.
He first came into the scene in 1994 under Sir Alex Ferguson and he made an instant impact. His trademark was volleying from 20-30 yards out and the ball ended in the back of the net most times then not. His shooting, passin and vision was second to none. He was one of thos players you had to admire, no matter what club you supported. His weakness was in his tackiling. He mis-timed many of his challenges, which at times, resulted in him being sent off. Other then that, there was nothing but admiration for the way he played the game.
He was a success when he got into the England team, scoring a hat-trick against Poland. He’s won 66 caps for England, scoring at the 1998 World Cup and the Euro’s in 2000 and 2004. He may have gone onto won over 100 caps for England, hadn’t it been for Sven-Goran Eriksson. He dropped Scholes, in order for a Lampard – Gerrard midefield partnership to work, which was a contraversial decision.
Scholes’ most decorative season came in 1998/99 where he won the treble with Manchester United. The unfortunate part of the season is when he couldn’t play in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich due to suspension. However, he did end up recieving a medal. Some would say he reached his peak in 2002/2003 where he has his most prolific scoring season, scoring 14.
In 2007, Scholes had difficulty with his vision and it signalled the possibility of Scholes never playing football again. This affected not only Man United, but also his family, but thankfully he got better.
During his later years, Scholes turned more into a defensive midfielder, who strung the passes together and dictated the play, rather then being more of an attacking player. However, who could foget his goal against Barcelona in the Champions League Semi Final 2nd Leg at Old Trafford. Typical Paul Scholes. He struck the ball with real venom from 20 yards and it went into the top corner. That goal sums up Paul Scholes and helped Manchester United reach the Champions League Final. He played in that final and won the Champions League.
His last game was when he came on for the last 14 minutes against Barcelona in the 2011 Champions League Final. Man United lost 3-1, but there were signs prior to the final that Scholes was going to retire.
The retirement of Paul Scholes will be a big loss to Manchester United in particular and also to all football fans. Many players and managers from the game have complimented him. All football fans will surely miss Paul Scholes. His goals, vision and passing technique. Scholes was one of a kind.
His playing days may be over, but he has decided to take on a coaching role at Manchester United.
Happy retirement Paul Scholes!
