Paul Scholes - the real power behind Manchester United

Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Sure enough, bang on cue, the man turned up in the form of Paul Scholes, just when we were beginning to think that his rocket launcher had somehow lost all its power.

I’ve always had a deep-down feeling that Scholes is one of the finest strikers Manchester United have ever had, yet he has never been encouraged to develop that talent in an out-and-out forward role.

He’s scored and poached his fair share of goals over the years but mostly they have been from outside the penalty box. However, there was no finer example of his finishing power than the one he hit from close to 30 yards on Wednesday night that stamped United’s passport to the Champions League Final on May 21.

Any self-respecting clairvoyant would have told you to take the 16-1 on offer for Scholes to score the first goal at Old Trafford. While Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez have scorched their way through the charts this season, wasn’t Scholes looking for his first goal since last August?

Wasn’t he the player looking to remove the one stumbllng block, namely Barcelona, that could prevent him appearing in a Champions League final, the ultimate prize that had been denied him nine years earlier because of suspension?

Wasn’t it Scholes who was condemned to sit for 90 tormented minutes on the sidelines while Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer literally picked the pockets of Bayern Munich in what was to prove a final, tumultuous Triple triumph as United added the European Cup to the League title and FA Cup they had claimed in an astonishing climax to the 1999 season?

And wasn’t it fitting that within minutes of the final whistle at Old Trafford, Sir Alex Ferguson was heaping praise on his prize carrot top, pledging that the first name on his teamsheet for the final at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow (bring on Chelsea or Liverpool!) would be one Paul Scholes?

There have been many memorable individual goal-scoring moments in Europe’s finest competition, but Scholes’s 14th-minute strike in front of United’s adoring fans will rank alongside the very best.

Redemption day is surely at hand for the quiet-spoken family man from Salford who has always claimed that he is not haunted by the fact that he was a spectator when United last graced the biggest of all European stages. Surely no one will begrudge Scholes his moment of atonement in a unique all-Premier League European final in three weeks’ time.

Is it asking too much for United, three months after the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster, to pay the ultimate tribute not only to those who died but to those who survived the tragedy?

Scholes gave up his international career three years ago to concentrate on playing for United. It is perhaps significant that while England’s fortunes have become somewhat deflated, United have gone from strength to strength, due in no small measure to the influence of Scholes.

I find it regrettable that, unlike the Americans who rejoice in their sporting heroes and readily acclaim their achievements by admitting them to Hall of Fame stature in their respective sports, we in Britain can’t come up with some kind of similar accolade.

Because I’m sure that Scholes would be knocking at the door right now.