“I‘m not sure you can train it – I think it’s just in you,” Paul Scholes says of the fundamental qualities that made him the most decorated English footballer: calmness and composure. Those asking after England’s Euro 2024 final defeat last month where the country’s Rodri, Modric or Kroos was, could just as easily have wondered: “Where is our Scholes?”
Well, the midfield past master is here, at a special free school in Stretford, Greater Manchester – like the one his son, Aiden, attended – learning how the funds from a charity match will help. He’s wiping a mild sweat off his brow after playing football with a class of kids. And here he is, eulogising Kobbie Mainoo, Manchester United’s young midfielder who many believe could fulfil that role the triumphant Spaniards call pivote.
“He’s the nearest thing I’ve seen to [Zinedine] Zidane in taking a ball, receiving the ball, cruising past people,” Scholes says. This is Zidane, who Scholes once named his best opponent. It’s surprisingly unfettered praise from a pundit renowned for harsh criticisms.
“I heard there was a young lad holding his own against Casemiro in training, sometimes better than him,” Scholes says. “But you have to go out and do it. The first time I saw him I remember that calmness. The way he received the ball with confidence; I just couldn’t believe such a young player could do that.”
Scholes was won over instantly by Mainoo’s composed displays in the harsh atmospheres at Everton and Galatasaray last November. Mainoo became the first English teenager to score in an FA Cup final for 43 years. Scholes wrote on Instagram: “Read a few comparisons between me and this kid. Don’t waste your time, he is 10 times the player I was at 19.”
Can that be true? Mainoo has five goals in 36 United games to Scholes’ three in nine aged 19, but the latter was challenging a stacked midfield led by Roy Keane and Paul Ince, rather than finding a place in a dysfunctional injury-afflicted side.
“That calmness didn’t come for me as quick as it did for Kobbie,” Scholes says. “I’d say it came five or six years into my career. That’s why it amazes me. He’s so relaxed, the game’s so easy to him. It’s almost like poetry in motion. That calmness will be vital throughout his career. It’s [something] just in you.
“The sky’s the limit for this lad if he keeps his head down. And he looks like the type who will stay on an even keel.”
Those who know Mainoo speak highly of him and his family. Shortly before his Euros call‑up, he visited his old Stockport school. A teacher said: “The Kobbie I knew when he was seven – forever smiling, just getting his head down for his work – he’s not changed.”
That Mainoo scored in one major final at 19 is remarkable, but in Berlin he could not dominate Spain’s superior midfield, so there remains room for improvement. “He can probably win more games for his team,” Scholes says. “We’ve seen midfield players over the years who, when they score goals, they win games. [Steven] Gerrard and [Frank] Lampard, those kinds of people. With his personality, he can become a match-winner for United. A bit more consistently.”
Scholes and Gerrard averaged just under three match-winning goals a season, and Lampard a little more than that. Mainoo, with two last term, at Wembley and an added-time stunner at Molineux, has started well. He also curled one in against Liverpool, though it ended 2-2 after his special moment at the Stretford End.
“I loved shooting that way,” Scholes says, anticipating his Old Trafford return. On 7 September, he will play for United Legends against Celtic alongside Nicky Butt and under Bryan Robson’s management. What could Mainoo learn from these midfield greats?
“Bryan Robson? Leadership. For me, he’s the epitome of a United midfield player. The amount of times I hear now: ‘Is he a 6, an 8 or a 10?’ When you’re a United midfielder, you’ve got to be able to do everything. Robson could.
“Nicky? Aggression. I’m not saying Kobbie’s not aggressive. He’s not had to be because he never really loses the ball. But that could be a part of the game he could get better at.”
Scholes is typically reluctant to indulge in self-praise. “Calmness and control, I suppose,” he offers from his own game when forced. He remains understated, the archetypal Mancunian. But in visiting the Orchards – a school supporting disabled children, aided by funds from the Manchester United Foundation – he’s a little different. The kids tease out the dry humour that makes former team-mates insist the Scholes they know is very different from the one on TV.
He engages naturally with the kids, remembering names, picking them up after falls, encouraging them to push themselves and cracking jokes. He’s had nearly 20 years learning this balance. “I’ve really enjoyed the morning,” he says. “It’s something close to my heart and it’s an amazing job the staff do.”
Scholes revealed Aiden’s autism diagnosis in his 2011 autobiography. He opened up further in a 2021 BBC documentary and with his old friend Gary Neville on The Overlap. He recognises the effect his openness can have, although he didn’t tell his team-mates or manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, for months. He wore long sleeves to hide the scratches.
His Instagram documents activities worthy of celebration in Aiden’s life – a haircut without scratches or making chocolate Rice Krispie cakes. “I just try to raise awareness. It’s very difficult for a lot of parents. The amount of messages I get that say: ‘We have a son just the same as yours, we’re amazed he can do this, we’re amazed he’s eating’ … They’re worrying about everything, [even] the sleep.
“Aiden amazes me every single day, even at 19 years of age now, with some of the new stuff that he can do. If that can help give hope to other parents in a similar position, then that’s the aim.”
Scholes has no appetite to jeopardise Aiden’s hard-earned happiness by taking, for example, a managerial role far from home. But in 2022, he told Neville he had struggled to find something that drives him like playing did. The search seems to be over.
“It’s Salford City,” he says, in his third summer working on recruitment at the club he co-owns. “Working hard to have a bit of success. We were poor last year, really. We’ve stagnated in League Two for the last three or four years. So, working hard to have success there.”
After wrapping up this transfer window, Scholes will relish his Old Trafford return. Someone make sure to send Mainoo the tapes. – The Guardian
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