‘Absolute nuisance’ – Paul Scholes names 3-man list of toughest opponents

This article contains a shock or two. I thought it would be best to drop that warning before singling out one of Paul Scholes’ toughest opponents.

Scholes is widely regarded as one of the best midfielders to grace the Premier League.

Throughout his career he faced great players such as Barcelona trio Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets. Not to forget Patrick Vieira when he captained Arsenal.

“When I played central midfield, I like to go into games thinking: ‘I just want to have all the time in the world here, just nobody around me, just find a little bit of space and pass the ball around,’” he said on BBC Radio 5’s Savage Social show.

“Then you play against people like you [Savage]. An absolute nuisance, trying to close you down dead quick. I don’t want that; I just want it nice and relaxed.”

Scholes went on to explain how difficult it was to play against Vieira and former Fulham, Portsmouth and West Ham midfielder Papa Bouda Diop.

“The way I played I didn’t really have to beat people or be stronger, quicker than the other person,” he added. “I suppose Patrick Vieira, you play against him, he is so long, he is so big. You think you’ve got the ball, and the next minute he nicks it over your head, he was a clever player as well.

“There’s one more that people won’t think of. We used to play against Portsmouth. Do you remember Papa Bouba Diop? Big, massive. They used to call him ‘the Wardrobe.’

“You get involved physically with him and you’re wasting your time. I always found him awkward to play against. He wasn’t a Vieira, of course he wasn’t, but he still had talent.”

Robbie Savage had a decent career, despite not making the grade at Manchester United

The 19-year-old amassed over 600 appearances during a 20-year career, starting off in the United academy before playing for the likes of Leicester City, Birmingham City, Blackburn Rovers and Derby County.

Savage also represented Wales on the international stage, making 39 caps and scoring two goals.

He had the reputation of being a hardman on the pitch and never shied away from sticking a boot in. That’s how he ended up with a whopping 89 yellow cards in the Premier League.

Savage’s son Charlie also came through the academy at United. The young midfielder is currently playing his football at Reading.