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Scholes changing the habit of a lifetime
Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes, the diminutive Manchester United midfielder, has made a career out of keeping out of the spotlight.
On the pitch, the 36-year-old spent the first decade of his Old Trafford career drifting into those impossible-to-mark pockets of space around the box that helped him grab 20 goals a season or more.
Off it, the quietly spoken star's unassuming nature has hardly changed despite his mushrooming collection of silverware. Put simply, if Scholes was put up for journalists on a Friday afternoon, they knew they were in for a tough time.
But not this Friday, with Scholes breaking with his own tradition by dismissing Manchester City's status as United's main rivals on the eve of the sides' FA Cup semi-final meeting at Wembley.
"When they are fourth or fifth [in the league], I don't think they can be classed as a main rival," said Scholes, who is yet to decide whether to extend his club career by a further year or hang up his boots at the end of the season. "Our main rivals are obviously Arsenal and Chelsea. I think City are just a rival because of where they are [geographically] and Liverpool the same."
Although he's not exactly turning into close friend Gary Neville – the former United defender who will become a pundit for Sky Sports at the end of the season – Scholes' attack on the progress of Manchester City in recent seasons comes hot on the heels of his revelation last summer that he might has seriously considered a World Cup call-up had England manager Fabio Capello given him more than a matter of hours to weigh up his options.
The veteran retired from international football aged just 29 following Euro 2004 but has continued to improve ever since pulling the strings in midfield and was angered that Capello had left his request for Scholes' participation too late to allow him to decide whether to reverse his self-imposed international retirement and join England's squad for South Africa.
Meanwhile, back in Manchester Scholes continued to bait City by admitting that United's motivation to keep their rivals searching for their first trophy since 1976 – two years after Scholes was born – was higher than ever following the Eastlands takeover of Sheikh Mansour and the club's subsequent multi-million pound outlay on players – including the signature of former United striker Carlos Tevez.
He also questioned the level of self-belief and desire in Roberto Mancini's squad, which is showing signs of fracturing in the wake of James Milner's public disillusionment with being dragged off by Mancini in the 3-0 humiliation against Liverpool on Monday.
Scholes, Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney have all pinched late winners for United in the Manchester derby in recent seasons, the latter courtesy of a remarkable bicycle kick in the teams' clash in February.
And he believes that remains the distinction between the Premier League leaders – who are still chasing the treble after seeing off Chelsea over two legs in the Champions League this week – and City.
"That's the difference that maybe there is between the two teams. We have a belief that we can beat anybody, but if City have that, I'm not too sure."
© Marc Fox & Soccerphile.com
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