Monday, December 21, 2009

Profile: Ryan Giggs


A Ryan Giggs figurine circa 1995 from
a trip to England with my youth soccer team.

While Manchester United have dropped 2 of their last 3 matches, they still sit near the top of the table. This is a familiar position for the Red Devils over the last 20 years, and someone who has been there almost that entire time is Ryan Giggs. With his recent signing of a one year contract extension, the 36 year old will be suiting up for his 19th season with Man Utd's first team next year. I thought I would take this space to highlight some of what has made Giggs one of the most respected professional footballers ever in the English Premier League.

He has been with Man Utd since the inception of the Premier League and in that time he has appeared in over 550 league matches and scored 105 goals. He has terrorized the left side of the pitch and scored some of the greatest goals ever seen. Here is my favorite from 1999 in the FA Cup semifinal against Arsenal. He scored in the 109th minute to give United the lead and help them win the cup during their historic "Treble" season (FA Cup, Premiership Title, Champions League).


Ryan Giggs Vs Arsenal - Click here for another funny movie.

Giggs has continued to score goals and produce for United, even into the latter stages of his career. Now he has been able to provide a strong sense of leadership on a team that still competes in the highest echelon of world football. The only thing that English football fans could dislike about him is the fact that he did not play for their national team (he is Welsh). Here's a compilation of some of Giggs' greatest moments on the pitch.

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