Ryan Giggs still hungry for success

October 8, 2010
Posted by Steven Tan | Source from CNN.com
Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs, the longest-serving player in the English Premier League, wants to capture a third European Champions League title before he calls time on his glittering career.
 
Giggs, who is about to complete 20 years as a professional with United, has won 11 league titles with the club and is the only player to score in every season of the Premier League since its inception in 1992.
 
But in an interview with CNN, Giggs revealed that the proudest moments of his career were his two Champions League triumphs, over Bayern Munich in Barcelona in 1999 and Chelsea in Moscow in 2008.
 
"The Champions League is a special moment and it's probably the two best moments that I've had on a football pitch so I'd like to taste that feeling that I got both in Moscow and in Barcelona."
 
Giggs turned professional for Alex Ferguson's side in November 1990 and made his debut the following year.
 
He was named Young Player of the Year by his fellow professionals in 1992 and 1993, when he helped United win their first top-flight title in 26 years.
 
Ten more league titles have followed, the most recent of them in 2009 when Giggs was again named Player of the Year at the age of 35.
 
His career having spanned two decades, Giggs is well-placed to reflect on the changes that have taken place in English football and at Old Trafford.
 
"The game has got quicker, but there's no excuse for not being prepared for a game or not being prepared for training because you've got every facility, you've got everything," he said.
 
"Back then, there was one, maybe two physios, a coach, manager and that was it really. Now there are sport scientists, there are masseurs, there are five or six physios, there's everything you can think of to prepare you to maximize your ability really, to prepare you to be a footballer."
 
Giggs, who has played in sides featuring the likes of Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo, has helped United displace Liverpool as English football's dominant club.
 
And although Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City have emerged as more credible rivals for the title this season, Giggs still rates the Merseysiders as United's biggest rivals.
 
"We've been successful over the last 20 years, and Liverpool haven't been," said Giggs. "The ferociousness of the games and the build-up to the games [between us] is still massive.
 
"I still regard probably my greatest satisfaction as winning at Anfield because I know how tough it is. You've not only got to beat the team, you've got to beat the history, you've got to beat the club and there's fantastic respect between the two teams but obviously there's massive rivalry."
 
Looking beyond his playing days, Giggs confirmed to CNN that he would like to take on some kind of role with the Welsh national team.
 
"I would love to be part of the team that took Wales to a major championship," he said. "Whatever role it be I don't know, but for the moment I'm just concentrating on playing my football."