Manchester United and Premier League legend Paul Scholes was recently tasked with building his ‘perfect player’ from a selection of Reds past and present. Safe to say this fantasy footballer would be an absolute world-beater.
The now-retired midfielder turned occasional pundit sat down with MUTV to discuss what Man United talents new and old would make up the so-called ‘perfect player’ capable of bossing it in his era as well in the present day.
Regarded as one of the best players of his generation not only in England but in Europe, in general, it’s fair to say Scholes knows a thing or two about football, so if this mish-mash of different players is the one he believes would make the perfect individual on the pitch then we’re fairly happy to take his word for it.
However, perhaps the most interesting about this hypothetical player is that despite being quite negative about the state of the club pretty much ever since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, he actually settled on picking two current United squad members to make up his perfect player.
Breaking this mythical footballing maestro down into core traits and even designating specific players for specific feet, there is no doubt that this imaginary player would win a Ballon d’Or in the blink of an eye.
ADVERTISEMENT
Without further ado, here is Paul Scholes’ perfect United player, step by step:
Right foot – David Beckham
Left foot – Ryan Giggs
Heading – Cristiano Ronaldo
Pace – Marcus Rashford
Tackling – Nicky Butt
Finishing – Ruud van Nistelrooy
Strength – Jaap Stam
Skills – Cristiano Ronaldo
Vision – Bruno Fernandes
Mentality – Roy Keane
Explaining his picks, he said Becks‘ right foot picked itself simply because of his “free-kicks, his corners, his set-pieces, his passing” and, as for the left, “when dribbling, that ball stuck to [Giggs‘] foot.” He had pretty sound reasoning for most of them, to be honest.
When it came to the two current United players in his ideal build, he picked Marcus Rashford due to the fact “he can go past a man either way with that speed and pace” and Bruno Fernandes because he possesses the same key trait that made Scholes the incredible player he was: vision.
“He sees everything on a football pitch. He plays in that position and he’s actually played a bit deeper. I love him in that role… He’s not afraid to lose the ball, we all say at United, you have to be prepared to take risks, he’s prepared to do that and we all know the ability he’s got.”
All told he’s built quite the player here, hasn’t he? Certainly one capable of walking into any of the top teams in Europe today.
ADVERTISEMENT
What would your perfect player look like? And you don’t just have to stick to United players — we’re sure there are plenty of Blues that wouldn’t have a Red anywhere near their list.
Man United Women lift their first-ever FA Cup as Ella Toone stunner sets game alight
Danny Jones
Manchester United Women have won their first FA Cup in their history following a 4-0 thrashing at the expense of Spurs.
With neither team having ever won the cup before, it was always going to be a historical moment for one of them – we’re just glad it just happened to be the Mancs.
After an up-and-down season in the Women’s Super League, Marc Skinner’s side signed things off with a potentially job-saving piece of silverware following an impressive performance in front of an equally impressive record 76,082-strong Wembley crowd.
It all got started with an absolute stunner for Tyldesley’s very own Ella Toone, netting not only the opener but the club’s first-ever goal in an FA Cup final.
From that moment on, the floodgates were well and truly open, as Rachel Williams made up for an earlier miss with the crucial second goal.
Only moments later, fan favourite Lucía García made it three and in fine fashion, pretty much sealing the landmark victory in less than an hour.
It’s also worth noting that the female Devils controlled most of the possession throughout the game and showed what they have been capable of in spells this year.
And then came another for García, with the brace rounding off an absolute rout in the capital. Here was the moment they knew their name was on the trophy:
With a Manchester derby for the men’s team in just a couple of week’s time too, it could be a double and a much-needed one at that.
It’s fair to say Man United as a whole are a club very much still in flux but successfully bringing home silverware is what the fans have been crying out for in the post-Ferguson era.
Will the blokes get the business done on their end? We’ll see soon enough.
Featured Images — Man United Women/FA Cup/BBC Sport
Sport
Manchester City Under 18s win the coveted FA Youth Cup in comfortable fashion
Danny Jones
TheManchester City Under 18s squad have won the prestigious FA Youth Cup in fine fashion after cruising past Leeds United 4-0.
The academy-level competition is one of the most highly revered trophies in the English youth ranks, with some of the greatest teams and legendary footballers having first shone on this stage, including the Class of ’92 as well as players like Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Rio Ferdinand, Phil Foden and more.
Ben Wilkinson’s promising young side secured the youth title after a comfortable showing at the Etihad Stadium on Friday night, making this the fourth time they have lifted the trophy, the previous times being 1986, 2008 and most recently in 2020.
Here’s the moment the young ‘Cityzens’ drank in their success.
Commenting on the momentous achievement, Academy Director Thomas Kruecken said of the squad and staff: “This is a fantastic achievement for our Academy. The FA Youth Cup is one of our main targets each season, so to have won the trophy for the fourth time in our history really feels special”.
“Ben, his staff and all the players deserve huge credit for the way they have played throughout the competition. It’s been a pleasure to watch them grow and develop together and they’ve produced some outstanding football along the way.
“But this trophy belongs to everyone connected to Man City’s Academy. There are so many people who work tirelessly every single day to ensure the Academy environment is as good as it can be – to give our young players a platform to develop and become the best footballers they can.
“It makes me really proud to see the work our staff do every single day.”
The names on the scoresheet included Justin Oboavwoduo, Stephen Mfuni and Matty Warhurst, who came straight off the bench to grab the fourth and final goal, but this was probably the pick of the bunch from Jaden Heskey, son of former Wigan Athletic, Bolton Wanderers and England striker, Emile:
City are still a fair few short of Manchester United’s record in the competition, having won the tournament 11 times, but with more development and focus on the academy system and club-wide playing principles up and down all age levels ever since Pep Guardiola arrived, this won’t be their last.
Congrats to the youngsters and be sure to remember those names – we’re sure plenty of them will be lighting up leagues soon enough.
You can watch the highlights from Man City’s U18s’ convincing Youth Cup victory down below or watch back the game in full HERE.