Giggs: We're still individually better than City
Published 23:00 14/08/10 By Simon Mullock
Ryan Giggs has seen it all in his 19 years at the top with Manchester United.
Eleven Premier League titles, four FA Cups and two Champions League triumphs make him the most successful player English football has ever seen.
During the era of United’s unprecedented success, their dominance has been tested in turn by Leeds, Blackburn, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea – and every time they have responded.
That’s why Giggs, as he approaches his 37th birthday, refuses to be fazed by Chelsea’s latest title – or the new challengers to United in the mega-spending shape of arch-rivals Manchester City. In fact, he relishes it.
“I grew up as a United fan and in football you always want the challenge,” said Giggs as Sir Alex Ferguson’s men prepare to open the new campaign with the visit of Newcastle to Old Trafford.
“It’s the biggest club in the world as far as I’m concerned and I still get a buzz when I play for United. We’ve experienced this kind of thing before.
“When I first got into the team, we experienced it with Blackburn when they had a lot of money, and we overcame that.
“Chelsea were similar. They won two leagues, but then we won three when they were spending a lot of money, so we overcame that as well.
“Now it’s City who are spending. But it all depends on whether their team gels.
“They’ve got good players, but I still think we’ve got better players individually – and I think we’re a better team than all the other teams in the Premier League.”
Giggs, speaking to CNN in an interview that will be screened at 8pm tonight, added: “You always get expectations when you’re with United.
“You’re expected to win every game and every cup you enter – that’s just how it is. But I think we have a good balance of experienced players and young players coming through.
“We had a bit of a disappointment last season, not winning the Premier League or the Champions League.
“Hopefully disappointments like that will help the younger players, like they helped me. Hopefully it will make them stronger.”
Ferguson has spent £25million this summer adding youngsters like Chris Smalling, Javier Hernandez and Bebe to a squad that will again rely heavily on 30-somethings like Giggs, Paul Scholes, Edwin van der Sar and Gary Neville.
Van der Sar, who will be 40 in two months, says the disappointments rather than the successes drive Fergie’s old boys on.
He said: “I’ve won a few things in my career and people always ask, ‘Is that not enough?’
“But there can always be more. I don’t think about the things I have won, but about the things that I’ve lost.
“Like the Champions League Final I lost in Rome in 2009. I don’t think about the won I won in 2008.”
