Red flair: Paul Scholes could be joining United¿s
600 club on Wednesday night.
As he approaches his 600th appearance for Manchester
United tonight, no one will be less inclined to celebrate the
occasion than Paul Scholes himself.
Personal accolades have never meant much to the shy,
flame-haired kid from Salford's Langley estate who has eschewed the
celebrity culture more than any other player of his generation.
Clubbing into the early hours? No thank you. Photoshoots for a
glossy magazine? Not a chance. Scholes prefers the quiet life with
his wife Claire and their three children in Saddleworth Moor, near
Oldham. Nike might pay him a great deal to wear their merchandise,
but they know better than to ask him to make a public
appearance.
'It's agony trying to get him to a press conference or to do
anything for UEFA in the Champions League,' admits his club manager
Sir Alex Ferguson.
Do not expect him to milk the moment if Ferguson hands him that
landmark appearance against Portsmouth at Old Trafford tonight. At
34, he is unlikely to reach 688 games and challenge Bill Foulkes
for third place on the club's all-time list, but Ferguson knows
Scholes's true value to his success at Old Trafford.
'Considering he's had three or four long injuries in his career,
it's great,' said Ferguson. 'He's probably missed over a year of
football, so that would have put him nearer 700.
High praise: Sir Alex Ferguson rates Scholes as one
of the best of his generation.
'In my time, he would sit in the top six or
seven players. He could have played in any league in Europe.
Maybe he's had private approaches, people begging him to join them,
but funnily enough we've never had one inquiry for Paul. You know
why? Because they all know he'd never leave.'
Mike Coffey, a former United scout who taught Scholes, believes
the midfielder could join Oldham if he calls time on his United
career when his contract runs out next year.
Scholes grew up an Athletic fan and needed convincing to join
the likes of David Beckham, Nicky Butt and the Neville brothers at
Old Trafford. Ferguson's former right-hand man Brian Kidd liked
what he saw and told United youth coach Eric Harrison: 'He's only
tiny, he's got ginger hair and you'll probably have a giggle, but
he can't half play!'
Scholes has matured into the finest of United's golden
generation, blessed with such a magnificent passing range, eye for
goal and fearsome shot that it was perhaps asking too much he
should master tackling, too. When Beckham moved to Real Madrid he
discovered his former United team-mate was the man admired most by
the Galaticos. Zinedine Zidane said: 'My toughest opponent?
Scholes. He is undoubtedly the greatest player of his
generation.'
Thierry Henry is a fan, too. 'Without any doubt the best
player in the Premiership has to be Scholes,' he said. 'He knows
how to do everything.'
As well as suffering from asthma, his career was in doubt three
years ago when an eye condition resulted in blurred vision and he
was out for months.
There was also a rare fall-out with Ferguson in 2001 when he was
fined £80,000 for refusing to play in a weakened team, a suspension
that ruled him out of the 1999 Champions League final and his
controversial decision to quit international football at the age of
29.
Steve McClaren and Fabio Capello both failed to make him change
his mind.
'I'm happiest with my family and being in Manchester,' he said
recently. 'Giving that up to go back playing international football
again isn't something I'd think about doing.' It is that simple.
Six hundred will be little more than a number to Paul Scholes.