Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE is a Manchester United legend from whatever point we look at it. The 40-year-old Welshman, who played his last game for United in April this year, joined the club in 1987 but had his debut in 1990 in United’s home game against Everton. By the time he retired last May, he had made an astounding 963 appearances and scored 168 goals; scoring at least one goal in each season since his debut.
He has earned the respect of players and staff at Old Trafford through his career spanning 27 years. He is by far the most decorated player in English history. As a United player, he has won 13 Premier League medals, 4 F.A Cup medals, 3 League Cup medals and 2 Champions League medals. In 1992 and 1993, he became the first English player to win two consecutive Young Player of the Year Award. On and off the pitch, he has distinguished himself as a highly disciplined and resourceful personality. Throughout his Manchester United career, he never got a red card.
Beside Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Bobby Charlton, no one else knows Manchester United as well as Ryan Giggs does. He worked closely with Sir Alex Ferguson as a player and would certainly have learned a few on the job strategies and skills from his former boss. During David Moyes brief spell as United manager, he reported described Giggs as a ‘freak” after Giggs helped steer the team through to the quarter finals of the Champions League’. His experience in United affairs is a huge asset should he decide to take any further role in the club. Added to this is his, he has taken a UEFA Coaching course and became‘the first man to complete his UEFA Pro Licence during his playing days’ as reported by The Daily Mail. He has therefore shown intent to become a manager and possibly take over the Manchester United manager’s job one day.
As United Interim Manager after the Moyes era, he received the backing of Sir Ferguson and those of a number of Club officials who have known him and watched him transform from a young boy of 13 to a man of 40. The Telegraph reported that at a fundraising dinner in Manchester, Sir Ferguson said ‘I think that he [Giggs] is the one man they should go to really. He’s got 20-odd years of experience at Manchester United. I signed him as a kid at 13 years of age. He’s gone through the gamut of emotions at the club – he’s experienced all the highs and lows. He knows exactly what’s needed to be a Manchester United player…’
Is he ripe yet to take on a club as big as Manchester United? Many would not agree but a consensus can be reached that United should turn to him sometime in the future; in the same way as some big clubs are now doing: Liuz Enrique in Barcelona and Zidane in Real Madrid.
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