Thank You Paul Scholes
In May 2013, football fans (and especially Manchester United fans) say goodbye to Sir Alex Ferguson, David Beckham and Paul Scholes. The first two names undoubtedly hog all the headlines anywhere during and after the retirement announcement. Paul Scholes’ retirement news might as well be just a footnote to the first two names.
Yet he won’t mind a bit, he might even be delighted. “There’s no better way to end a career. Last match, just slip off the radar, and there I go”, he said.
718 games, 155 goals, 19 years of career, 11 Premier Leagues, 2 Champions Leagues, 3 FA Cups, 2 League Cups, 5 Community Shields, 1 Intercontinental Cup and 1 FIFA Club World Cup. Not bad a career. Not bad at all.
For all his achievement on the field, he never really cares about the things that go with football. “I love football, have done since I first started kicking a ball as a boy. But I am not interested in the things that go with it. For me, it is about the game, the pleasure of striking a ball or finding the right pass. It is not about having my name up in lights,” he said.
While most players revel the fame and attention that come with success, Scholes avoids them like a plague. He never really does the celebrity stuff. No affair, no scandal, no tattoos. He’s just a normal guy who happens to be very good at playing football for Manchester United. The closest thing to celebrity stuff he ever did was write one book after his first retirement, an autobiography, and he said it was an “one-off”, as in don’t expect another one from him.
Such a good player that Scholes is, many world-class players and managers have sung praises for him. Here are some of the most famous ones:
“My toughest opponent? Scholes of Manchester. He is the complete midfielder.”
Zinedine Zidane
“When we were in training, I used to do a lot of tricks which hardly any players at the club could do. Once I was showing my skills to Scholes. After I finished it, Scholes took the ball and pointed to a tree which was about 50m from where we were standing. He said, I’m going to hit it in one shot. He kicked and hit the tree. He asked me to do the same; I kicked about 10 times, but still couldn’t hit it. He smiled and left.”
Cristiano Ronaldo
“Very few players can do that, but Scholes is one of them - and I knew he was one of them. That’s why, without question, I think Paul Scholes is the best player in England. He’s got the best skills, the best brain. No one can match him. There isn’t a player of his mould anywhere in the world.”
Alex Ferguson
“In the last 15 to 20 years the best central midfielder that I have seen — the most complete — is Scholes. I have spoken with Xabi Alonso about this many times. Scholes is a spectacular player who has everything. He can play the final pass, he can score, he is strong, he never gets knocked off the ball and he doesn’t give possession away. If he had been aish then maybe he would have been valued more.”
Xavi
“At La Masia (Barcelona’s Academy) his name was mentioned a lot. He’s a teacher.”
Lionel Messi
Don’t expect him to be over his head though with these compliments. He humbly said that he was nothing as great as those who had won World Cups and such that he had not. Such humility is definitely rare in the modern football world. Combine it with loyalty (he played his whole career for Manchester United) and ability, you get yourself a complete and role model footballer.
Words sometimes fail me when I have to describe my appreciation of this man. I figured I’d create a tribute site for him, and here it is: http://benhanks040888.github.io/thankyoupaulscholes. Hope I’m doing the tribute justice!
