When asked to highlight five pointers about a star Premier League player, it didn’t take me long to decide who to select.
For in the nearly 28 years since the formation of the Premier League – ‘A Whole New Ball Game’ – only one man can lay claim to have been the greatest of them all.
Perhaps not illuminating the stage as intensely as some of its greatest stars – for example Thierry Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo – but for his grace and longevity, this man was in a league of his own.
The most decorated player in English football history, he was around so long even his final appearance was as an acting player-manager!
I was fortunate enough to be at that match with my then 12 year-old son and can proudly say I witnessed the final moments of his stellar playing career.
I can also recall listening on the radio as a schoolboy when he came on the pitch for the first time as a 17-year-old against Everton at Old Trafford in March 1991.
Step forward, Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE.
Of course, you probably know already that he is the most decorated player in the country.
He enjoyed a glittering career at Old Trafford, amassing over 900 appearances for Manchester United during an illustrious 24-season spell.
The Welshman won 13 Premier League titles and was named PFA Players’ Player of the Year in 2009, while being selected in six PFA Teams of the Year.
But there is still plenty you probably don’t know about the now manager of his national team.
For example, did you know Giggs has been substituted more times than any other player in the Premier League (134) – perhaps not too much of a surprise given the amount of games he played?
Did you know that Giggs met Frank Lampard, who is now also a young manager, in 31 times on a football pitch with Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher facing the Welshman the same number of times?
Did you know that Giggs, along with Alan Shearer, was the first player to be inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame?
Giggs also assisted a Premier League goal for 45 different teammates during his Premier League career, more than any other player in the competition.
He is also the only player to play in each of the first 22 seasons of the Premier League and the only one to score in each of the first 21 campaigns.
Yet it is easy to get mired in statistics in the modern game, which can grossly oversimplify the role of players and can lead to lazy comparisons and accusations.
Giggs was the original wing wizard of the modern game as he is one of the original pin-up boys in English football in the early 1990s. It was a time when he or teammate Lee Sharpe were attracting attention from fans for both their looks as well as their ability.
His early career was characterised by his searing pace, trickery and his ability to get up and down the left touchline.
Into his 30s, his later years saw him modify his game as a central midfielder, where he showcased his ability to pick a pass, and boy, could he pick a pass.
Fittingly, he became the club’s record appearance holder in the grandest of fashions – stroking home the winning penalty to clinch the 2008 Champions League.
As well as being voted the Premier League’s best player in 2008-09, he was also voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2009, showing it wasn’t just the fans or fellow professionals who loved him but he had the admiration of men and women up and down the country.
And then there is the chant: ‘Giggs, Giggs will tear you apart again’, to the tune of Joy Division’s ‘Love Will Tear You Apart’ because he tore opponents apart for two decades and a half to become a true footballing legend in an age where the term is rapidly overused.
Sir Alex Ferguson secured his services as a 14-year-old from rivals Manchester City and that should be ranked as one of the finest pieces of management in footballing history.
What we witnessed time and time again was testament to that.
I’ll leave you with one moment away from the Premier League though. It was a night when he scored arguably the greatest goal in FA Cup history.
Footballing perfection from Giggs, that removal of the shirt, that twirling jersey aloft, that Fangorn Forest of chest-hair.
It was simply unforgettable. He was simply a man for all seasons.
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