It's widely accepted that English football has produced few players that were able to strike a football cleaner than Paul Scholes.
The midfielder scored a host of goals during his 20-year association with Manchester United, but arguably none was more memorable than the one that he fired in at Valley Parade during a match against Bradford City 14 years ago today.
Having soaked up some early pressure from the home side, league leaders United took a 2-0 advantage into the break courtesy of Dwight Yorke. The Trinidad & Tobago international first headed in a cross from the right by David Beckham, before an intended cross of his own drifted over Bradford goalkeeper Matt Clarke and into the net.
Both teams created chances after the restart, but the outcome was put beyond any doubt in the 71st minute as the famously shy Scholes took centre stage.
From a corner on the left, Beckham spotted his flame-haired teammate lurking around 25 yards from goal. So, instead of sending a hopeful ball into the area, Beckham decided to pick out Scholes with a drilled pass. After that, it was all about the United midfielder, who rearranged his body just in time to volley an unstoppable effort into the bottom corner of Clarke's goal.
Beckham then turned scorer eight minutes later when he scored from the edge of the area following good work by Ryan Giggs, but it was Scholes that had claimed the headlines.
Speaking about that goal in an interview with FourFourTwo in 2011, the now 39-year-old said: "We never worked on it in training. Becks just took the corner, I gave him a little look to let him know I was there, he delivered it to where I wanted and I volleyed it in. We were on the same wavelength."
However, although many might disagree with him, Scholes does not believe that it was the best goal of his career, adding: "I'm not sure that's my best goal, though. My best is probably the one at Aston Villa when I volleyed it again from outside the area. That was more difficult."
BRADFORD: Clarke; Wetherall, O'Brien, Halle, Jacobs; McCall, Beagrie, Lawrence; Windass, Saunders, Cadete
MAN UNITED: Bosnich; G Neville, Berg, Silvestre, P Neville; Beckham, Keane (Wallwork), Scholes, Giggs (Solskjaer); Cole, Yorke
Liam Apicella
