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| Career | |
| Position: | Midfielder |
| Clubs: | Manchester United (since 1994) |
| International appearances: | 62 |
| International goals: | 13 |
| International debut: | 04/06/1997, England-Italy (2-0) |
| Last international appearance: | 05/06/2004, England-Iceland (6-1) |
| First international goal: | 04/06/1997, England-Italy (2-0) |
| Last international goal: | 21/05/2002 South Korea-England (1-1) |
Appearances : 2 (1998, 2002), 9 matches, 1 goal
Quarter-finals (2002), second round (1998)
Appearances: 1 (2000), 3 matches, 1 goal
Winner (1999)
Winner (1999)
Winner (1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003)
Winner (1996, 1999, 2004)
Winner (1996, 1997, 2003)
Biography
His may not be the first name that comes to mind among the top players in England but opposition coaches and spies would do well not to underestimate the role of Paul Scholes in the national side.
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| Paul Gascoigne (R) of Everton and Manchester United's Paul Scholes chase the ball, during the F Carling Premiership match in Liverpool, 16 September 2000. |
Although retiring and modest (he is very shy of the media) he is a loyal player with great professional integrity, and he scores goals for Manchester United and England on a regular basis.
He knows all about sucess, having won no less than six English Championships and the 1999 Champions League title with the legendary club.
Scholes suffered from both asthma and Osgood-Schlatter's disease, (which affects the lower legs) when he was young, but despite these minor handicaps was among the cream of the Manchester United youth stable in the early 1990s.
He turned prosfessional in 1993, having been a member of the England Under-18 team which triumphed in the 1993 European Championships.
He made a spectacular start to league football, scoring twice against Ipswich Town in September 1994 in a 3-2 defeat.
By this time the Englishman had become a fully integrated member of the new generation of young stars at Old Trafford, alongside David Beckham, Gary Neville and Nicky Butt.
On his full international debut for England against Italy in 1997 the "Ginger Prince" was voted man of the match and scored in a 2-0 victory.
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| Paul Scholes (R) of England takes on Poland's defence prior to scoring the first of his three goals during the Euro Soccer 2000 qualifying match in London, Saturday 27 March 1999. (EPA Photo/ Martyn Hayhow) |
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| Manchester United's Paul Scholes celebrates as a dejected Laurent Charvet o Newcastle looks on after United beat Newcastle 2-0 in the FA Cup final at Wembley, 22 May 1999. United have now won the League and cup and go for the European Champions league cup 26 May 1999. ELECTRONIC IMAGE. EPA PHOTO |
In March 1999 he scored a hat-trick against Poland in a European Championship qualifier at Wembley (3-1), and has scored many more crucial goals for Manchester United against some of the best defences in Europe.
Although he has to use an inhaler every day to ensure he can produce the kind of dynamic performances which led to United boss Alex Ferguson dubbing him "my pocket battleship," Scholes helps fans breathe easier with his unruffled game.
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| Argentinian midfielder Javier Zanetti (L) runs with the ball in front of English midfielder Paul Scholes during the Group F first round match Argentina/England of the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea and Japan, 07 June 2001 at Sapporo Dome Stadium. AFP PHOTO DANIEL GARCIA |
England manager Sven Goran Eriksson certainly got the best out of him at the 2002 World Cup where he was Man of the Match in the thriller against Argentina (1-0) and formed an outstanding partnership with fellow Manchester player Nicky Butt in the enforced absence of the injured Steven Gerrard.
Scholes promises to be part of the England set-up for many years to come as Eriksson's young side turn their sights to Euro 2004 in Portugal.