Law Admires Boss & Scholes

Denis Law spoke exclusively to ManUtd.com at the recent Lunch with Legends function at Old Trafford...

The manager says you were his favourite player, that must be high praise..
I think I paid him a few quid as well [laughs]. No, he's the same age-bracket so he probably remembers it.

And would you like to return the compliment about his managerial ability?
He will probably go down as the greatest manager ever when he eventually retires, whenever that will be!

Are you pleased to see Paul Scholes back in the team?
Well, I thought he retired too soon. He's got another couple of seasons in him and the way he plays, he's one of my favourites now. He's a lovely player and it would have been really good to play alongside him.

Do you get to see many games these days?
I don't really, no. I'm not really a football watcher. I watch a little bit but never too much. I enjoyed playing but I'm not really good at watching. Of course I keep up-to-date and Manchester is a fantastic place to be at the moment. Whether you're a United supporter or City, it's going to be a race until the end. I can't see anyone else coming into the equation.

But are you already looking forward to the derby later in the season?
Well, we're always on TV somewhere along the line. I'm not a great watcher but I do watch the occasional game.

And your son is a City fan isn't he?
Yes, we have a City fan in the family. He's had a bad time for many years so he's having a wee bit of success.

Of course, in your career you also had a spell abroad in Serie A. How was that?
Well, first of all we [he moved to Torino with Joe Baker] didn't know a great deal about European football in those days. It's not like today. And, to be fair, we were too young. Guys of the same age today as we were then are far more experienced and more advanced at 21 or 22. We were going to a foreign country and playing different football. Well, in saying that, it was a great experience and it did me a lot of good when I came back to United.

And we have the opposite situation here with a number of young Italians (Petrucci, Macheda, Massacci, Fornasier) coming to Manchester. Do you think it must be hard for them?
Yes, not too much the football game itself but it's the life. It's the fact that you live in a city where your friends aren't here, there's different food and different culture. The game itself is the easy part, though.