Ryan Giggs will tear you apart again

January 17, 2011
Posted by Steven Tan | Source from espnstar.com
Opinions in football change at the drop of a hat but there's one thing I think we can all agree on - Ryan Giggs is a legend.
 
The 37-year-old clocked up his 600th league appearance for Manchester United on Sunday night when he lined-up against Tottenham Hotspur.
 
Perhaps it was fitting that the Welsh wing wizard would reach his milestone playing against Gareth Bale - another Welsh winger who looks set to follow his countryman's footsteps by terrorizing (as the headline of this article - named after a United song for Giggs - suggests) Premier League defenders for years to come.
 
Giggs made his debut for the United way back in 1991 - before the Premier League even existed - and since then he has been a pivotal part of United's domination of the English game.
 
Juventus legend Alessandro Del Piero once famously said that he had only cried twice in his life watching a football game - "the first one was seeing Robert [Baggio] play and the second was Ryan Giggs".
 
There are quite a few other notable football personalities who have paid tribute to Giggs during his career.
 
"He has been named Player of the Year and there is a big debate about ‘oh but this year was not his best year in his career. But I have a big respect for Ryan Giggs. He started his career in 1991 and we are in 2009. When a player has spent 18 years at that level you have to have complete respect when you know what it demands - the sacrifices, the focus. To be 18 years at the top level, that is massive." - Arsene Wenger on Giggs after he raised some eyebrows by lifting the PFA Player of the Year award in 2009.
 
"Ryan is streetwise and very clever. It's a credit that he's pulling the strings at United at the age of 36. Ryan is so professional. He's always on time for training and has a terrific attitude. I look back on my playing career and the pluses are not necessarily the medals, but the people you meet. I was privileged to be involved for so long with someone like Giggsy." - Former Ipswich manager Roy Keane tells the Daily Mirror about his old United team-mate Giggs.
 
"What can you say about a man who has won ten Premier League titles? The proof is in his medals. Yes, maybe we are talking about the greatest Premier League player of all time. At the very least no player has contributed so much to a single Premier League club as Ryan Giggs has to Manchester United." - Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho interviewed in 2009 by the Sunday Mirror.
 
"He's an incredible human being and an example to anyone that wants to use him as a role model." - Sir Alex Ferguson on Giggs following United's game against Spurs at the weekend.
 
Giggs was born on 29 November 1973 - a period of time in United's history when another legend George Best was on his way out of club for good. He had this to say about the man who has carved himself into the history books.
 
"One day, they might say I was another Ryan Giggs" - The late George Best.
 
That kind of sums up nicely the sort of impact the Welshman has had on football. To think it might have all been so different had United not snapped him up from Manchester City while he was still a trainee there.
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