Who is Ryan Giggs?
Ryan Joseph Giggs, who was born on 29 November 1973 in Cardiff, is a football manager and former Man United player. Former Wales international played his whole professional career for the Red Devils and briefly served as Man United’s interim coach after the sacking of David Moyes in April 2014. Ryan is regarded as one of the greatest footballers of his generation. Predominantly a left-winger, Giggs began his career with Man City but joined Man United on his 14th birthday in 1987. Ryan played his debut game for the Red Devils in 1991 and spent the next 23 years at Old Trafford. At the end of the 2013–14 campaign, Giggs was named as Man United’s interim player-manager following the sacking of David Moyes. Ryan was named as an assistant coach under David Moyes’ permanent replacement, Louis van Gaal, in May 2014. Giggs retired from playing the same day, holding Man United record for competitive games, 963. At the international level, Ryan played for the Wales national team 64 games between 1991 and 2007 and was also named as the captain of the Great Britain squad that played at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Giggs is one of just 28 footballers to have played over 1,000 career games.
All you need to know about Ryan Giggs’ manager career
Ryan was appointed as a player coach at Man United in July 2013, as part of the coaching staff under new boss David Moyes. When the Scottish tactician was sacked in April 2014, after less than ten months in charge, Ryan took over as the Red Devils’ interim player coach, compiling a record of two victories, a draw and one defeat in the last four matches of the 2013–14 campaign. After his last game in charge, a 1–1 draw with Southampton, the Welshman revealed to breaking down in tears, in part due to the stress of managing Red Devils, and also said he had struggled to sleep during the time. When Louis van Gaal was announced as David Moyes’ permanent replacement in May 2014, Ryan was also appointed as the Dutch manager’s assistant coach. However, following the appointment of Jose Mourinho, Ryan announced his departure from Man United in the summer of 2016. Giggs was appointed coach of the Wales national team in winter 2018, succeeding former boss Chris Coleman, who had left the place to take up the coach’s position at Sunderland the previous November. Ryan successfully led Wales to qualify for Euro 2020, following a 2-0 victory over Hungary in their final encounter in November 2019.
