Shay Given praises Ryan Giggs' Manchester United career

ALEX FERGUSON has had so many great teams at Manchester United — and Ryan Giggs has been a member of ALL of them.

There is no higher compliment I can give him than that.

Everyone has been praising Giggs, who is just one game short of a milestone 1,000 appearances.

He deserves every plaudit he gets. What he has done is unbelievable.

To make 1,000 appearances in a career is some achievement.

To make them at Manchester United — one of the biggest clubs in the world — is incredible.

To make the 1,000th against Real Madrid in the Champions League, as now seems likely, would make it even more special again.

Giggs did not feature for United against Norwich at Old Trafford yesterday — perhaps Ferguson is holding him in reserve for the visit of Jose Mourninho’s men on Tuesday.

What I can say with certainty is that to still be churning out the great performances on a regular basis as well shows the desire he still has in his game.

Ferguson is ruthless and will only keep players he believes still play a part — and he decided Giggs deserved a new contract.

He did not get that on Friday because of past glories, he got it because he is still an important member of Alex Ferguson’s squad.

The last few years, his form has still been excellent and he still plays a lot of the big games too. He is not brought in when others are rested, Giggs is still one of the players Ferguson looks to in the important matches.

Which is why it would not surprise me to see him play some part against Real Madrid on Tuesday.

I don’t know the secret to his longevity but his fitness is astonishing.

It is normally goalkeepers that keep going into their late 30s and 40s.

It is almost unheard of for a person in Ryan’s position.

He has adapted his game over the years but he is still a left winger that is capable of terrorising full-backs.

You need to be much fitter now in the Premier League than Ryan would have needed to be when he started out as the game is much quicker.

But he still has the levels required to play for United.

That shows how well he has looked after himself throughout his career.

He is still going strong now but there is no doubt that he will be mentioned among the greats when he does eventually hang up his boots.

I am sure everyone has their own memory of him and I think mine is similar to a lot of other people’s — that unforgettable goal against Arsenal in the FA Cup semi-final.

Every time there is a cup game on television, they show that goal and that says it all.

It was what you would probably call a typical Ryan Giggs goal as it sums up everything he has as a player.

When he got the ball on the halfway line, he had no right to score.

But his run through the whole defence, his shot and celebration with his shirt above his head is something no one who saw it will ever forget.

Giggs could play an important role on Tuesday against Real Madrid as well but anyone could be a match winner in that game.

United got a great result three weeks ago in drawing 1-1 in the Bernabeu and will be confident of finishing the job at Old Trafford.

But, as Real Madrid showed against Barcelona last Tuesday and again yesterday, they are a very dangerous side on the break and United will have to be careful. It is so delicately poised that anything could happen.

All eyes will be on Cristiano Ronaldo but both sides have so many great players that it could be won from anywhere.

Normally you feel that an away goal could be important but Real Madrid will be extremely confident of scoring at Old Trafford too.

I hope that it is not a very cagey game. A tie like this with so much at stake, and with so many great players on show, can be.

Second legs can be tighter as teams know each other a bit better and also because the stakes are raised Hopefully it will be a really open game.

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