Giggs set for 1,000 milestone
The ageless Welshman can reach four figures in combined senior club and national appearances when rampaging United play Norwich at home
Ryan Giggs is poised to reach yet another milestone in his extraordinary career this weekend as he stands to make his 1,000th appearance in senior football against Norwich City.
The indefatigable Welshman, who signed a one-year contract extension to return for a 23rd season, took his tally of appearances to 999 last weekend with a goal-scoring turn in a 2-0 win at Queens Park Rangers that helped Manchester United preserve their 12-point lead at the top of the Premier League.
That advantage seems destined to turn into a 13th English league title for Giggs, which would solidify his place as the most decorated footballer in the English game. No man can compete with his 12 league titles and he also has two Champions League trophies, four FA Cup titles and three League Cup winners' medals, as well as a clutch of other prizes, in his 22-year Old Trafford career.
A willowy winger when he blazed on to the scene in the early 1990s, Giggs has refined his game in recent years and now operates more often than not as an elegant midfield playmaker.
The Welshman will turn 40 in November but teammate Rafael da Silva says the players continue to be astonished by his ability.
"He is an unbelievable player," Rafael said. "Every game you see him, he works hard, scores, makes assists. It is getting boring. He is just such a good player.
"He is the same in training; he just loves to play the game. He is one of the top players that I have played with."
Giggs has demonstrated superb form in recent weeks, after a difficult early-season spell that included a galling half-time substitution in a 3-2 loss at home to Tottenham Hotspur in September. He has now scored three goals in his last five appearances in all competitions.
His opening goal in the 4-1 win over Fulham in the FA Cup came a staggering 20 years after his first goal in the competition, while he has now scored in a remarkable 23 consecutive top-flight seasons.
Although no longer able to race through the gears as he did in his younger days, Giggs still possesses an eye for the spectacular and came close to scoring with an exquisite chip that hit the crossbar against Queens Park Rangers.
United manager Alex Ferguson ran out of original ways to describe his protege long ago.
"I think the superlatives have all been used up," Ferguson said last month.
"I don't think he needs any himself. His legacy lives on. He is just a fantastic human being."
As a youngster, Giggs was dogged by hamstring injuries, but he attributes his longevity to yoga techniques that have helped him steer clear of the treatment tables in recent years.
"The yoga has definitely helped me," he told last year. "It helps me train every day because it gives me the flexibility and the strength not only to play the game, but to train as well.
"You have to change the way of thinking. I was a quick player when I was younger, now I am not so quick.
"You use your experience, your intelligence on the pitch, to adapt your game and change your game, as I have done."
His 999 appearances include 931 games for United, 64 for Wales and four for the British Olympic men's football team at last year's London Games.
It seems unlikely that he will ever cross the 1,000-game threshold for United, but today's home game with Norwich City could provide another opportunity for the club to salute one of British football's true greats.
