The Left Coast Biased

In 1990 the two best players in the World were Lothar Matthaus and Diego Maradona. In the ’90 World Cup West Germany, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia all advanced to the quarter finals, with With Germany taking home the cup. International superstars David Beckham and Ronaldo had yet to make their entrance on the senior stage, but a young Welshman named Ryan Giggs made was introduced to the world in his debut for Manchester United.

In the 19 years that have passed since then, Matthaus and Maradona have either faded into obscurity or flamed into infamy. West Germany, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia no longer exist, and Beckham and Ronaldo are languishing on mediocre teams in second or third tier leagues. Giggs, on the other hand, is still starting for arguably the best team on the planet and is on the short list for the World Player of the Year.

The chips are stacked against a player being able to play at a high level for this long, now more than ever. The game is faster, the players are larger and more athletic, top players will end up playing many more games over the course of a season, what with international duty, the league cup, charity tournaments and European competitions, as Giggs has turned in over 800 senior level appearances, almost 200 more than another famous Welshman Ian Rush and his renowned mustache, and all of Giggs’ have been at the highest level. Rush, whose senior career spanned two more years than Giggs’ has to date, included spells at such illustrious clubs as Chester City, Wrexham, and Sydney Olympic.

In addition to growing into perhaps the finest left winger in the history of the game with his tremendous work rate, technical ability and raw speed, Giggs has also spent the last 19 years gathering more awards and honors than another player in United history. This last year he has smoothly transitioned from the position he has practically defined out on the wing to a central role directing the attack from behind the strikers. In fact, just about the only thing that Ryan Giggs hasn’t done is answer the question of why some players age with such grace and others, and the list is long, disappear behind the haze of injury, revelry, and most inevitably, age itself (see: Michael Owen, Ronaldinho, and Alan Shearer).

On behalf of the footballing public, I would like to offer thanks to Ryan Giggs for all that he has done for the sport, for his selfless loyalty to his club, for his dazzling runs down the wing, for never making headlines for off the field antics, and for giving the rest of us a reason to watch United, despite however we may feel towards the team on the whole. Thank you, Ryan Giggs. It has been a pleasure.