Paul Aron Scholes is an outstanding English athlete, legend of world football, charismatic Irishman, “Red Prince”, who became great despite everything - vision problems, asthma, sore knees and anxiety of loved ones. He was brought up at the Manchester United Football Academy, where he spent his entire professional career.
Biography
Paul Scholes was born in 1974 on November 16 in the small town of Salford in the north-west of England. The boy had a love of football since childhood. Scholes is a vivid example of the fact that nothing is impossible, as a child he was diagnosed with asthma, but this did not prevent him from achieving great success in professional football. It is believed that Paul has played for one club all his life, but this is not entirely true.
He began to try his hand at the academy of a small local club "Langley Farrow". Scholes got into the legendary Manchester United only at the age of 14. The talented boy was noticed by Brian Kidd, one of the assistants of the Great Alex Ferguson, and invited him to the Academy of the "Red Devils". Scholes impressed the management of the club and was able to stay at the school of the famous team. Paul signed his first contract with the club in 1991 and played in the youth squad for 2 seasons.
Career
Paul Scholes belongs to the famous "Class 92". It is undeniable that legendary coach Sir Alex Ferguson had an extraordinary flair for talented players. But "Class-92" is a unique phenomenon. Literally all the graduates of that year became real football stars and indispensable players of the base of Manchester United for many years. It was a real "Klondike" of talent: Paul Scholes, Nikki Butt, David Beckham and Gary Neville - to name just a few of the players who have made their names in the history of the club forever.
He signed a professional contract with the Red Prince club in 1993, but his debut took place only a year later. Thanks to the disqualification of the outrageous Eric Contona, Scholes had a chance to show what he can do in the league cup against the lower division team Port Vale.
I must say, the debut was a success, Manchester United were playing away, and by the break the score was 1-1. It was Paul Scholes who scored the goal. In the second half, 53 minutes into the match, the Red Prince scored a double. This goal was victorious for Manchester United, and the meeting ended 2-1. The first match in the national championship, despite the offensive defeat at Ipswich Town (2-3), was successful for Paul Scholes, he scored both goals against the opponent. In total, Scholes appeared on the field 25 times in tournaments that season and scored seven goals.
In the season that started in 1995, Sir Alex gave Scholes more chances to prove himself, and he spent most of the season on the field. In 26 matches, he upset opponents 14 times with a goal. In the same season, Paul won his first trophies in his career. Manchester United took the FA Cup and won the country's Premier League.
Since this season, the talented midfielder has finally established himself in the starting lineup and played every match by 200 percent. It's hard to imagine the "Red Devils" of the 90s and 2000s without this amazing player. His presence on the field meant that there would be stability in the center, there would be support for attacking players and assistance in defense.
Treble of Manchester United in 1999
The end of the 20th century is by far the brightest moment for all fans and players of the club. That year, the team was able to score a golden hat-trick - winning three competitions in one season. On May 16, the Red Devils defeated Tottenham 2-1, beating Arsenal London by 1 point and finishing in the Premier League in first place, becoming the champions of England.
On the 22nd of the same month, Manchester United quite simply dealt with Newcastle in the FA Cup final, the meeting ended 2-0, the second goal of the match at 52 minutes was scored by Paul Scholes, finally determining the outcome of the game. The cherished treble Sir Alex's charges were issued on May 26 of the same year.
The Champions League Final in 199 can rightfully be called the most dramatic and intense match in the history of football. The meeting took place at the famous Camp Nou, the home stadium of Barcelona. A colorful poster of Manchester United - Bayern Munich has gathered a full stadium. Already in the sixth minute of the match, the Munich team stunned the Red Devils and opened the scoring. Despite a large number of chances, Sir Alex's team was not able to equalize the score before the break, by the end of the half, offensive 0-1 were on the scoreboard.
With the beginning of the second half, the Reds were unable to reverse the outcome of the meeting. Moreover, Bayern had some really scoring chances, the Devils' goal was saved only by a miracle, and his name is Peter Schmeichel. The rest of the match was played with varying success, there were chances at both gates, but the score remained unchanged.
The fans of the German club were already celebrating the victory with might and main and even preparing congratulatory banners, but they did not take into account one thing: the rivals were the "Red Devils" led by Alex Ferguson himself. The famous Fergie Time buried Bayern in just a couple of minutes. At the end of the meeting, Ferguson did not leave the edge and constantly pointed to the clock, urging the players on.
The main time is over, the referee added the traditional 3 minutes. At this time, the Red Devils earned a corner, which even goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel went to play. After an accurate pass from a corner by David Beckham, Schmeichel won the ball and sent it with an unsuccessful discount to the crowd of players, Ryan Giggs emerged victorious from the fight, taking possession of the ball. He sent the ball into the goal with a soft kick. 1-1! Such a score would have automatically translated the game into extra time, if not for the next corner at the gates of Bayern. After a pass from Beckham, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer accurately sent the ball to the goal, 92nd minute, the score was 2-1.
Unfortunately, the "Red Prince" was unable to take part in this "massacre of the century" due to overuse of yellow cards and disqualification, however, he contributed to the "golden hat-trick" in the intermediate stages. In the group stage, thanks to his goals, Manchester United drew and shared points with Bayern Munich and Barcelona Catalan. In the ¼ finals, in the 88th minute second leg against Inter, Paul Scholes led the team away from defeat by leveling the score 1-1.
In total, Scholes scored 4 goals in the Champions League that season. All Manchester United players who had a chance to play that season consider this period to be the brightest and most successful in their careers, and Paul Scholes is no exception.
Post-treble performances and retirement
After a fantastic 98/99 season, Scholes continued to play at a consistently high level until 2011. After a dramatic Champions League final at Wembley, lost to Barcelona against Spain, following Edwin Van Der Sar, Scholes announced his retirement.
The next season Manchester United did not start well. He was eliminated from the FA Cup, finished in the Football League Cup in the 5th round, losing to Crystal Palace. In the Champions League, the team finished third in the group and went to the Europa League. In January 2012, Scholes, who retired from his professional career, announced his return to the camp of the "red devils", he himself explained this by the fact that he really missed the game.
Rumor has it that Ferguson himself persuaded him to return to the club, at least for one season. The return of the "Red Prince" certainly affected the team's game, but did not bring any results. In the Europa League, the club was eliminated in the 1/8 finals. And in the regular season "Manchester United", having stumbled twice at the end of the season, finished only in second place.
Paul Scholes decided to stay with the team for another season, in which he played 21 matches and scored only one goal, at the same time he lifted the last trophy of his professional career over his head. At the end of the season with Manchester United, Scholes became the champion of England for the 11th time. After which he ended his playing career, this time finally and irrevocably.
In total, the legendary player played 718 games with Manchester United, in which he scored 155 goals. He became the champion of England 11 times and twice won the most prestigious trophy in Europe - the Champions League Cup.
England squad
The founders of football have had bad luck since 1966, when they won the world championship for the only time in history. Paul Scholes was also unlucky, having played 66 matches for the national team and scored 14 goals, but never won anything.
Personal life
Paul Scholes is probably the most humble footballer in the world. He does not like to give interviews and attend public events, from the pathos and gloss of noisy parties, he prefers to stay away. It is known that he lives in the county of Greater Manchester, in the city of Oldham with his wife Claire. Together they raise three children: Aiden, Aaron and Alicia.
