Ryan Giggs
Ryan Giggs Giggs played against his hometown club, Cardiff City, for the first time in November 2013. Personal information Full name Ryan Joseph Giggs Date of birth (1973-11-29) 29 November 1973 (age 41) Place of birth Cardiff, Wales Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) Playing position Midfielder Club information Current team Manchester United (assistant manager) Youth career 1985–1987 Manchester City 1987–1990 Manchester United Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 1990–2014 Manchester United 672 (114) National team 1989 England Schoolboys 1 (1) 1989 Wales U18 3 (0) 1991 Wales U21 1 (0) 1991–2007 Wales 64 (12) 2012 Great Britain 4 (1) Teams managed 2013–2014 Manchester United (player-assistant) 2014 Manchester United (interim player-manager) 2014– Manchester United (assistant) * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). Ryan Joseph Giggs, OBE (born Ryan Joseph Wilson on 29 November 1973) is a Welsh football coach and former player who is currently the assistant manager at Manchester United and co-owner of Salford City. Giggs made his first appearance for the club during the 1990–91 season and was a regular player from the 1991–92 season. He established himself as a left winger during the 1990s, and continued in this position well into the 2000s, though he was increasingly used in a deeper playmaking role in his later years. Giggs was known for his tireless running, ball possession and ability to create goalscoring opportunities for those around him. At the end of the 2013–14 season, Giggs was named as Manchester United's interim player-manager of Manchester United following the sacking of David Moyes, before being named as assistant manager under Moyes' permanent replacement, Louis van Gaal, on 19 May. Giggs announced his retirement from playing that same day in an open letter on the Manchester United website. Giggs is the most decorated player in Welsh and English football history. He also holds the club record for competitive appearances. During his time at United, he won 13 Premier League winner's medals, four FA Cup winner's medals, three League Cup winner's medals and two Champions League winner's medals. He has two runner-up medals from the Champions League, three FA Cup finals and two League Cup finals, as well as being part of the team five times when it finished second in the Premier League. Giggs captained the team on numerous occasions, particularly in the 2007–08 season when regular captain Gary Neville was ruled out with various injuries. Giggs has a number of personal achievements. He was the first player in history to win two consecutive PFA Young Player of the Year awards (1992 and 1993), though he did not win the PFA Player of the Year award until 2009. Until the end of the 2012−13 season, he was the only player to have played and scored in every season of the Premier League, but he failed to score in his final season and has now retired. Prior to his retirement, he was the last remaining player in the Premier League who had played in the old First Division. He was elected into the PFA Team of the Century in 2007, the Premier League Team of the Decade in 2003, as well as the FA Cup Team of the Century. Giggs holds the record for the most assists in Premier League history, with 271. At international level, Giggs played for the Welsh national team prior to his retirement from international football on 2 June 2007, and was once the youngest player to ever represent his country. Giggs was named one of the three overaged players for the Great Britain team to compete at 2012 Summer Olympics, and was subsequently named as the team's captain. In addition to the many honours Giggs has received within football, he was appointed an OBE in the Queen's 2007 Birthday Honours List for his services to English football. He was named as BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2009. On 31 January 2011, Giggs was named Manchester United's greatest ever player by a worldwide poll conducted by United's official magazine and website. On 10 October 2011, Giggs was honoured with the 2011 Golden Foot.