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Date of Birth: Thursday, November 29, 1973
Birth Place: Wales
Height: 180cm
Position: Midfielder

Biography

Ryan Giggs is a midfielder for Manchester United in the English Premier League. He has retired from international football – citing the stresses and strains of constantly travelling – after 64 appearances and 12 goals. Sadly, Wales never qualified for a major tournament, though they came close on many occasions. Ryan Giggs has only ever played for Manchester United, and continues to show loyalty to the club, who have also benefited from his brilliance and professionalism.

Childhood

Ryan Giggs was born on 29th November 1973 in Cardiff, Wales. He started off life as Ryan Wilson, but when his parents divorced in his mid-teens he adopted his mother’s maiden name. His father was Danny Wilson, a famous rugby player. As a child he could often be found outside his grandparents’ home playing football, and he fell in love with the beautiful game. A move to Manchester followed, because his father moved rugby clubs, and Giggs signed up to eleven-a-side football with Deans FC.

Early Career

Giggs was scouted by Liverpool and Manchester City, but ultimately chose Manchester United as his club – legend has it that Sir Alex Ferguson turned up on his doorstep on his 14th birthday with a contract for Ryan to sign! Sir Alex has since compared Ryan’s early performances in the youth team as like ‘watching a dog chase a piece of paper’.

Current Club

Giggs signed professionally for Manchester United on his 17th birthday, and made his first appearance in United’s red shirt on 2nd March 1991. He was competing with the likes of Lee Sharpe and Andrei Kanchelskis for a place in the first team, so only managed three appearances in his first season.

By the start of the second season, Giggs had developed into an awesome winger – with the pace and guile to beat his man and get a good cross in. He became a first-team regular, establishing himself in the left-wing spot at the age of 18.

Giggs became a first-teamer just as Manchester United started to dominate the Premier League. Blackburn won the title in his first full season, but United were dominant from that point on – with Ryan winning 10 Premier League titles, 4 FA Cups and 2 Champions League title – the highlight of which was an unprecedented treble in 98/99.

Ryan Giggs scored the ‘Goal of the Century’ in their treble winning season. Down to 10-men in extra time against main rivals Arsenal in the FA Cup Semi Finals, Giggs took the ball the full length of the pitch, beating three players, before blasting the ball into the roof of the net to win the match for United, and keep their treble chances on the tracks.

Giggs was a key member of the United side, and was one quarter of United’s best ever midfield – alongside Paul Scholes, Roy Keane and David Beckham. Giggs has remained ever-present for United, and whilst Sir Alex Ferguson has chopped and changed teams and styles, Ryan has always been in his thoughts.

Following the back-to-back Premier League titles and Champions League victory in 2008, Giggs was moved from his normal left-wing position to play more centrally, where he could use his football brain without causing any further damage to his knees.

International

As a schoolboy, Ryan Giggs played for England, under the name of Ryan Wilson. This was mainly because he was living in Manchester, and when it came to choosing an U-21 team to play for Ryan chose to play for his homeland instead. He made his debut in October 1991, and went on to captain Wales in many of his 64 caps. Wales never made it to the World Cup or Euro Championship finals, which perhaps helped to prolong Giggs’ career – he had every summer off without the demands of international football to deal with.