Boundless Energy Hero: Ryan Giggs

You don’t play for Man Utd for 22 years, win 12 league titles and a whole host of personal accolades without displaying boundless energy. Ryan Giggs has this in spades.

Giggs has shown that his hunger for the game shows no sign of dissipating and a testament to his skill was the standing ovation he was giving by a section of the Real Madrid crowd during the Champions League tie at the Bernabéu last week.

Though it is hard to escape the fact that the Welshman is 39 years old, the picture above really illustrates just how long Giggs has been plying his trade at the highest level, displaying the ages of his colleagues when the Welshman made his league debut in 1991.

The nature of his game has changed considerably since he burst on the scene as a 17 year-old speed merchant and in recent years Giggs has often played a more central, play-making role.

Even in the latter end of his career, the contribution from the Welshman has been of a high standard, winning the PFA Players’ Player of the Year and BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2009.

While Alex Ferguson has always invested and shown faith in youth, Giggs himself being a case in point, the Old Trafford legend has been instrumental in assisting the younger players into the team, while the club continues to add to their glowing trophy collection.

His consistency is what has marked him out. In the past three seasons he has played 25 each term, showing that as well as being an important cog in the first-team wheel, his fitness levels have not dipped despite being plaugued by hamstring injuries earlier in his career.

We have covered a number of sports in recent weeks to recognise the efforts of athletes who have demonstrated boundless energy in their chosen sport. In the world of football, Manchester United’s Ryan Giggs has few peers.