Tales of the Faithful: Paul Scholes was one of the best midfielders of his generation. But the Manchester United legend remains in the shadows

Manchester United has produced many great players. In particular, under Sir Alex Ferguson’s leadership, the club has produced several players who have made history. One of them is Paul Scholes. However, the admired midfielder has remained somewhat in the shadows.

Tales of the Faithful is a series by Ruik that follows players who have dedicated all, or the vast majority of their careers to one club. In today’s edition, we take a look at Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes.

The start of his career

Paul Scholes was born in Salford, England, a city located in the county of Greater Manchester. He played football from a young age. He joined Manchester United at the age of 14. He gradually worked his way up to the A-team.

His success was mainly due to the 1992/93 season, in which the Red Devils’ youth team reached the final of the FA Youth Cup. Along with Scholes, Phil Neville, another Manchester United legend, formed the backbone of the team.

However, it was not until the 1994/95 season that he started to get a place in the A-team. Slowly but surely, he worked his way into the line-up. Right from the start, he impressed with his excellent kicking technique and game vision. For a central midfielder, he was over-goal scoring and did his bit defensively.

Scholes was one of the key figures in the best era of the club’s history

Paul Scholes was one of the key icons of Sir Alex Ferguson’s team. He won the Champions League twice with the team, thus missing out on the famous treble in 1999. Eleven times the English midfielder has enjoyed victory in the Premier League. In total, he won 26 trophies with the club.

It was under Sir Alex Ferguson that Manchester United experienced the best period of the club’s history. And Scholes contributed 153 competitive goals and 75 assists in 714 games.

The Red Devils star was also one of the leading figures of the England national team for a while, but was unlucky. Scholes was overshadowed by the younger Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard. Because of this, the red-haired footballer had to play out of position and therefore decided to retire from the national team back in 2004.

In doing so, he certainly had a lot to offer. Quite possibly, it was his factor that was missing for England to win a major trophy afterwards. As already mentioned, apart from his offensive duties, he also filled defensive ones. He knew how to dish out the punches, which is why he got a lot of yellow cards.

But if he was really famous for anything, it was taking the ball deep in the box and immediately sending a precise long pass through the air to the wing areas. Ideally to Cristiano Ronaldo or Ryan Giggs, who were already running to wreak havoc on opposing defences.

Apart from that, he had fantastic shots from mid-range and his volleys are absolutely iconic. He was a complex footballer who simply had a lot to offer. Always.

After his demise, there was a hole in the midfield, so he came back

After the 2010/11 season, Paul Scholes ended his career. It was just a big problem for Manchester United. Sir Alex Ferguson had no replacement for the redheaded midfielder. Paul Pogba wasn’t getting space and so he left for Juventus. And no one else could replace his quality.

So Scholes only stayed in retirement for six months. In January 2012, his comeback was spectacularly announced and in the very first game it was clear that you will hardly find a similar footballer. He scored a goal and put in an outstanding performance. In total, he scored four goals in six months.

He went on for one more season, but only sporadically.

Outside of his playing role, Scholes tried his hand as an assistant coach with both the reserve and A-team.

He has been praised by legends such as Zidane, Xavi and Ronaldinho

Already during his career, Paul Scholes has received a lot of praise. Although he remained somewhat in the shadows, never receiving any votes in the Ballon d’Or poll, he was still highly respected by everyone who understood football.

For example, Zinedine Zidane faced a question when a journalist asked him what it was like to be the best player in the world. The answer? “I don’t know, ask Paul Scholes,” TalkSport quotes him as saying.

Besides, he added that he never stopped enjoying watching Scholes play. He said it is rare to find a footballer as complex as the Englishman. He dreamed of playing together, but it never happened.

Phenomenal coach Pep Guardiola, for example, described Scholes as the best midfielder of his generation. The legendary Xavi, now Barcelona coach, felt the same way: “He is a spectacular player who has everything. He can make the final pass, he can score, he’s strong, he doesn’t lose the ball. If he were Spanish, he would be more appreciated.”

Xavi, in his own words, has often spoken about Scholes’ qualities with another legendary midfielder, Xabi Alonso. The Englishman has also received praise from Ronaldinho. The latter dazzled with his fantastic technique, but envied Scholes: “I would like to be able to pass like him. Who taught him?” he asked.

Source: Manchester United, Twitter, Transfermarkt, TalkSport