Carrick: My England Idols

Michael Carrick reveals his five favourite England players.....
1. Paul Gascoigne (1988-1998 - 57 caps / 10 goals)
“The top one has to be Gazza. Back when I was a kid, I used to idolise him. He’s just Gascoigne isn’t he? You used to get everything with him – he was a phenomenal talent, a great footballer, and such a massive personality too. He was a sensational player… he excited anyone who watched him play.”

2. Paul Scholes (1997-2004 - 66 / 14)
“There haven’t been many better English players in the modern game than Scholes. He’s just got something that you can’t teach. He’s so clever, so quick in his head, that he’s untouchable on the pitch. He’s only really been appreciated in the last few years – truly appreciated as much as he should be – and he’s probably still underrated. Ask any of the top, top European players and they’ll say that Scholes is one of the best players they’ve played against. I think Zinedine Zidane said that Scholesy was one of the best players he’d ever come up against – that doesn’t surprise me, he’s just so good.”

3. Wayne Rooney (2003- 69 / 26)
“I’d have to include Wazza in there. The way he burst on to the scene and took the game by storm surprised everyone – he was such a young kid making a big impact against men. Then you have everything he has gone on to achieve with United since then, and he’s still only 25. He has his best years ahead of him, it’s frightening really.”

4. Peter Beardsley (1986 - 1996 - 59 / 9)
“Peter Beardsley was another player who I really looked up to when I was a kid. That was partly because he was from my town, and from the same boys’ club – Wallsend Boys’ Club – where I grew up playing football. I just really enjoyed watching him play because he was a very clever footballer and very creative.”

5. Alan Shearer (1992-2000 - 63 / 30)
“The last one is a tough one but I’ll go for Alan Shearer. I’m favouring the Geordies here! I was around 14 or 15 at the time of Euro 96 and it was an exciting period for the England team because the country hosted the European Championships and we got to the semi-finals against Germany. He was just a brilliant goalscorer.”

This interview first appeared in Inside United, the Reds' official monthly magazine.