Ageless, Peerless Genius: A Paul Scholes Tribute

It surprises me when people say someone is past their prime, not in terms of their ability, but in terms of their age. One's reflexes may slightly wane with age, but their ability, as such remains.

The only criteria for judging athletes are their performance levels, their fitness levels and their motivational levels. If an athlete can measure up to these parameters, he should be able to continue playing without being reminded of his age.

There have been plenty of star turns by these so-called "ageing" stars, but being a diehard Manchester United fan, the one memory that really stands out in my mind is Paul Scholes's commanding performance over the two legs of the European Champions League Semifinal last year, thus helping United reach the Champions League final by beating Barcelona.

When United took the field at the Camp Nou, they were greeted by an obstreperous and partisan Barca crowd.Understandably, some of United's young guns played a nervous game.

To be honest, Barca completely dominated and United were lucky to escape with a 0-0 result.But even with everyone falling apart beside him, Paul Scholes managed to stand tall, and come away with another good performance.

He was one of the few players singled out for praise by the Manager, that night. Commendable though this performance was, the highlight was yet to come.

A week later, United welcomed Barca to the Theatre of Dreams.The atmosphere was absolutely electric.United had not been to the final in a long time and this represented a great opportunity to do so.

The talismanic Paul Scholes had missed the '99 Champions League final, and perhaps this served as an extra motivational factor for him.

The Early exchanges were tense, with neither team being able to get a real foothold in the game. It was becoming increasingly apparent that this was one of those games that would probably be decided by a moment of madness or a moment of magic. The question was, who?

United fans did not have to wait long for the answer. Midway through the first half, Ronaldo was blocked by Barca, and the loose ball fell into the path of Paul Scholes. From a good 25 yards out, Paul Scholes rolled back the years to thump a thunderous drive past the goalkeeper. Old Trafford erupted. Cometh the Hour, cometh the Man!

For the rest of the game, United managed to stave off Barca's threat, thanks in no small part to Scholes's ball-retention capacity and his eye for a pass.

When the final whistle blew, joyous delirium took over Old Trafford. But all the players, as one, searched and congratulated the man who had once again, displayed his tendency of performing in the biggest games.

United are a club steeped in tradition, and worship many heroes. But few as loyal and self-effacing as Paul Scholes.Scholes gave United 90 minuted of his very best, and as opposition fans will agree, that usually is enough to make the best bite the dust.

For those near-sighted and forgetful people who had questioned Fergie's selection of Paul Scholes, this was a resounding slap in the face...

I leave you with what Greats of the game have to say about Scholes..

"I tell anyone who asks me - Scholes is the best English player."
-Laurent Blanc. 

"An amazingly gifted player who remained an unaffected human being."
-Roy Keane. 

"Scholes is undoubtedly the best midfielder of his generation."-Zidane