Ryan Giggs became the eleventh player to score one hundred league goals for Manchester United on Saturday. He modestly played down the occasion, claiming that at the time, he was celebrating the goal in the context of the match, the goal to break the deadlock, but later reflected on its importance.
“It’s obviously nice to score the 100th goal at Old Trafford and nice to get there because there’s not many people who have done it. I’m not one for stats really but a couple of people have mentioned it,” said Giggs. Ferguson was also quick to praise our Welsh winger, saying, “I am surprised there was no announcement. Not many players have scored 100 league goals but the service Ryan has given us, quite apart from the goals, is outstanding.”
Ferguson was right, it was a rather subdued occasion, which is disappointing considering what a massive achievement it really is. Rio Ferdinand championed Giggsy’s status yesterday, “Ryan is respected a lot more abroad than he is in this country,” he said. “He very rarely gets mentioned. It is a shame we don’t really appreciate a footballer who has been the most successful of our generation. It is unbelievable. Some people don’t get 100 appearances let alone 100 goals. It is phenomenal. It is no surprise for a player of his calibre. I don’t think he really gets the credit he deserves for what he has achieved in the game, not only in terms of winning medals, but the quality of his play on the left wing year in, year out. He scores goals and creates goals. There are not too many more accolades you can give to a player of his quality. He is a fantastic footballer. He will be appreciated more when he retires.”
Today, Giggs has moved on from talk of his one hundredth goal, and is looking more to where his next goal will come from. After being given the day off for United’s away trip to Rome, Giggs has said he is now focusing on the Liverpool game. “If you’re not involved in midweek, you start preparing now for Liverpool because it is such a big game,” said Giggs. “You’ve got to play well at Anfield to come away with a result.”
It was Giggs who played the ball in to the box when Rio scored in our 2-0 win at Old Trafford, and it was his freekick which saw Ferdinand’s 90th minute winner the season before. It was only a couple of years ago that Giggs got on the scoresheet twice in our 2-1 win at Anfield. We have seen so far this season that when Giggs is given a a rest his performance comes on leaps and bounds. After being subbed with twenty five minutes to go on Saturday, and being saved from a trip to Rome midweek, hopefully we should see Ryan Giggs in fine form, ready to score his 101st goal against the dippers.
Who would you most like to see score against Liverpool this weekend?
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