The greatest footballer of this generation

[soulman]

you're not wrong at all.

A tribute to a genuis

As opposed to a genius

 

[jonnyd1978]

Or

Deano or Juan???

 

[chilango]

There's not many players who have performed so consistently at the top level, stayed loyal to their club and enjoyed a career almost free of prima-donna outbursts as Ryan Giggs.

Indeed.

My Turner Prize nomination for 1999 was this:


Just watching it again has made my day.

 

[Big Jim]

It's Zidane, obviously.

 

[stavros]

There's not many players who have performed so consistently at the top level, stayed loyal to their club and enjoyed a career almost free of prima-donna outbursts as Ryan Giggs.

Agreed. Paul Scholes should also be mentioned but Giggs did come through earlier.

 

[Termite Man]

Can I point out this isn't the best it's the greatest and the asda shelf stacker that is Sergio Torres is clearly the GREATEST .

I am so excited. I want to play professional football in England so badly. I have given up everything to do it. I have left my family behind, my sister and all my friends in Argentina. I have lost a lot for football. But I love football and having come this far I am determined to make it. I know it is now or never

 

[stavros]

Ah, but largely speaking "greatest" is an ambiguous and subjective property, but then football is full of opinions.

 

[Termite Man]

Ah, but largely speaking "greatest" is an ambiguous and subjective property, but then football is full of opinions.

exactly !

for example the greatest manager of all time is Martin O'Neill

 

[stavros]

Zidane wasn't just about that though.

I didn't actually say he was. I think he got some extra attention because he did though. Likewise, Christiano Ronaldo gets more than Giggs did in part because he's seen as a flamboyant showman from far away with his step-overs, etc. Let me be clear, Zidane was a very good player, and one of the outstanding attacking midfielders I can remember. However, he perhaps benefited from being in an outstanding generation of French players, with Thuram, Desailly, Deschamps, Lizarazu, Viera, etc which allowed him to achieve more in prizes than say Pavel Nedved, Luis Figo or Ryan Giggs. I just like to view individuals in the wider context as football will always be a team game.

 

[bigbry]

The hardest working.

The best attitude.

The most skilled.

That description sounds like Cesc Fabregas to me.

 

[Corax]

I'm a Spurs fan, but I think I've gotta go with Ryan Giggs too. He's clearly a class, skilful player, he broke into the team young, has won big, been incredibly consistent and injury free (especially for a winger), and as bonus he seems to have kept it from going to his head that much most of the time - certainly compared to the likes of Beckham, Lampard, et cetera. His loyalty to one club also counts in his favour imo.

 

[Bonfirelight]

His loyalty to one club also counts in his favour imo.

I don't think i'd call Giggs especially 'loyal' tbh. True he's stayed with one club, but that club is also the biggest and one of the most successful in the world.
Now if he'd stayed at Man City i'd think him loyal.
Matt Le Tissier was loyal, Giggs was just happy at a massive club.

 

[Corax]

I don't think i'd call Giggs especially 'loyal' tbh. True he's stayed with one club, but that club is also the biggest and one of the most successful in the world.
Now if he'd stayed at Man City i'd think him loyal.
Matt Le Tissier was loyal, Giggs was just happy at a massive club.

I see what you mean, but Giggs could have had his pick from any club in the world. It's not breathtaking loyalty, but he never cashed in on big money moves around Europe.

 

[Meltingpot]

Zidane at his peak (1998-2004?) was as good as any player I've ever seen, so I'd pick him.

 

[stavros]

Giggs' loyalty can be seen from two angles; yes MU are a humongously rich and prestigious club, but on the other hand around the mid-90s Serie A was the richest league and reckoned to be home to the greatest bunch of players, certainly higher than England at the time. Also to be considered is that he's never been tested in an international finals competition, but can his nationality be held against him in this respect? Alfredo di Stefano never played in the World Cup finals either.

 

[revol68]

Also to be considered is that he's never been tested in an international finals competition, but can his nationality be held against him in this respect? Alfredo di Stefano never played in the World Cup finals either.

you'd have to count out George Best too then.

 

[stavros]

I wasn't saying discount Giggs on either factor I mentioned, merely raising them as considerations people might think about. I agree that Giggs is the best British/Irish player of the last 15 years or so. He loses out to Maldini in my eyes if we include the rest of the world though.

Semi-interesting fact that I've stated before on here; Ryan Giggs played in the first ever game I went to, for Wales U17s against England U17s at Huish Park in about 1991. He was a complete unknown but for some reason I remembered his name when he burst on the scene a couple of years later. England won that day though.

 

[Liveist]

Has to be: