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# Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs says losing the league title by one
point to Chelsea 'stays with you'
## If ever an image summed up the contrast between the dedication of Ryan
Giggs and the indifference of those who have fallen by the wayside during his
20 years in Manchester United's first team, it came at the DW Stadium on
Saturday.
![Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs says losing the league title by one
point to Chelsea 'stays with you'][1]
Image 1 of 2
Focused: Ryan Giggs watches United in action while Bebe and Gabriel Obertan
turn their attentions elsewhere
![Ryan Giggs interview][2]
Image 1 of 2
Living legend: Manchester United's Ryan Giggs takes the acclaim of the Old
Trafford crowd Photo: PA
[![Mark Ogden][3]][4]
By [Mark Ogden][5] 7:30AM GMT 01 Mar 2011
[Follow Mark Ogden on Twitter][6]
[Comments][7]
Giggs, nursing the tight hamstring which forced him to miss the 4-0 victory
against [**Wigan**][8], was pictured watching the game intently from the
directors' box. Alongside the Welshman, Bebe stared down at his mobile phone
and the headphone-wearing Gabriel Obertan fiddled with his iPod.
[**United**][9]'s two young wingers clearly wanted to be somewhere else, yet
it is impossible to imagine Giggs displaying such nonchalance at any stage of
his glittering career.
That career, which has seen Giggs acquire 32 senior medals, began 20 years ago
on Wednesday when a wiry 17 year-old replaced Denis Irwin as a second-half
substitute during United's 2-0 First Division defeat at home to
[**Everton**][10].
Against** [Chelsea][11]** on Tuesday night, Giggs will equal Sir Bobby
Charlton's record of 606 league appearances for the club, but at 37, success
has not sated his appetite.
His younger team-mates may be consumed by less-rewarding distractions, but
Giggs admits he will take to the field at Stamford Bridge still cursing
Chelsea's success in denying him a 12th league championship medal last season.
"We lost by one point last year and it stays with you," Giggs said. "You go
away on holiday, you're lying on the beach trying to enjoy yourself with the
kids, and you do, but then you have a quiet moment, it comes back to you what
happened and, I'll say it, you're ------ off.
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"You're on holiday and you're just pissed off. Last year, when Chelsea won the
Double … it winds you up, you don't want it to happen again. I don't want to
feel like I did last summer.
"You see footballers with the flash cars and lots of money, but the players
who win things, it doesn't come into the reckoning.
"There are also teams where avoiding relegation is success and there a lot of
players who care, but then again, there are probably players who go the other
way."
Giggs has undoubtedly gone the right way. Intensely protected by manager Sir
Alex Ferguson as a youngster, shielded from the media and perennially
withdrawn from international fixtures with Wales, Giggs admits he recalls
little from his debut in front of 45,656 at Old Trafford.
"What do I remember? Dave Watson going through the back of me!" Giggs said. "I
remember having a big cut on my knee for ages. It was a kind of 'Welcome to
the big league'.
"When you start out, you never think that [20 years] is going to happen, but
as it's got closer and closer you think about it a little more. But 20 years
at this club, yes, I'm really proud of that."
Having been plucked from [**Manchester City**][18]'s school of excellence as a
13 year-old, however, Giggs concedes that his career would almost certainly
have run its course by now had he been anywhere else but United.
He said: "It helps having good players around you. I've also played for Wales
and, playing for Wales and playing for United, I know the difference. It's a
lot easier when you have quality around you, especially when you become older
and rely on legs around you. If I didn't have that, I'm sure I would have
finished two or three years ago."
Eschewing the celebrity spotlight that curtailed the United careers of Lee
Sharpe and [**David Beckham**][19] has also contributed to the length of
Giggs's career, but he laughs off his reputation as football's Mr Clean.
"I never said that!" he said. "But it has changed throughout my career, from
first coming into the team, with the hype, celebrity girlfriends and
photographers following you home. I just made a conscious decision that I
didn't really like it and just wanted to keep a low profile.
"I remember in my first full season, the _Today_ newspaper did a week-long
sort of feature, delving into my family, my dad's family, the rift between my
mum and dad, it wakes you up quite quickly and toughens you up.
"Of course, I went out with a few girls who were famous, and you get
photographers following you. I was 18 or 19 at the time and didn't like it.
"It is probably harder now because the information is there on things like
Twitter and Facebook. As soon as something happens, it's there, around the
world. But still you can shy away from that. If you live a relatively quiet
life then you can concentrate on your football."
The future for Giggs remains unplanned, with suggestions that he will help
Wales manager Gary Speed prepare the quad for this month's Euro 2012 qualifier
against England are wide of the mark.
Ensuring that United regain the title is the priority, with incidentals such
as surpassing the joint record of 18 titles held with [**Liverpool**][20]
merely a side issue.
Giggs said: "The Liverpool thing? I'm a United fan, but you have got to detach
yourself from the emotions of it. I'm just trying to win the league this year.
Everything that comes after that - beating records, that sort of thing -- is
great for the fans.
"This is a test in the next few weeks, with big games coming up and, if we
come through that relatively unscathed, then confidence will be high for the
final push."
Twenty years on from his debut, though, the countdown on Giggs's career
continues to be on hold.
**I was there... memories of a skinny 17 year-old making his first-team debut
in the 2-0 home defeat by Everton on March 2, 1991 **
I had to come off with a hamstring injury, but my replacement was Ryan, so I
made way for him to make his debut. Of all the kids who came through at
United, Ryan was the stand-out. Having left United myself at 36, I know the
magnitude of his achievement in still being there now.
**Denis Irwin, team-mate **
Although Ryan has said that his only memory of the game is being clattered by
me, I don't recall that! I probably did do something like that in all honesty,
but it obviously didn't do him any harm. Maybe I should try it with the kids
in my youth team at Wigan, because Ryan has gone on to have a brilliant
career.
**Dave Watson, opponent **
I was in charge of the young ones when United signed Ryan at 14. He was with
City, but hadn't signed a schoolboy form with them, so we had a look at him at
a Christmas soccer school and took him on. Lots of boys show potential, but
Ryan always looked an absolute certainty.
**Brian Kidd, coach **
Ryan's debut was the only highlight of a drab afternoon. As a kid, he looked
like a stick insect - but I knew that it was a stick that would beat the
living delights out of opponents for years to come. Before I had even launched
my bid for the club in 1989, it was clear that here was a very rare talent
indeed.
**Michael Knighton, director **
My first memory was of Fergie nicking him from City and saying, 'We've got
this young kid coming, so just be careful with him'. We thought, 'Oh well,
he'll just join in'. But he took the mickey out of Viv Anderson, dribbled
round him three times. I just went, 'Wow'.
**Steve Bruce, team-mate**
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