Steve Bruce knew Ryan Giggs was going to be a superstar when he saw him play as a 14-year-old.
Sunderland boss Bruce was an experienced central defender at Manchester United when the precocious Welshman emerged through the ranks to launch his glittering career.
On Saturday he will be in the dug-out at Old Trafford while Giggs, now approaching 36, will hope for another chance to demonstrate he has still what it takes on the big stage after scoring his 150th goal for the club in the 2-1 Champions League victory over Wolfsburg.
Bruce said: "I don't mean it disrespectfully to Gary and Phil [Neville] and to Nicky [Butt] and to Paul [Scholes] - and David Beckham was amongst them too - but the one absolute certainty when we first saw him play was Giggsy. He was the only one I could ever see, hand on heart, and say `He is going to be a superstar' because it was effortless for him, even as a 14 or 15-year-old.
"He was playing with us in training sessions and I remember him murdering Viv Anderson in one particular training session when he was a kid at 15, and Viv was England's right-back.
"He was such a natural runner, such a natural mover, such a wonderful dribbler with the ball. It was all so easy for him, so natural. It made him the outstanding player but there's also the mentality thing. To go and do what he has done from being a boy is nothing short of remarkable."
Comment 1 - 11 of 11
yes your right he is sad!
You are sad mate(FAO Tony K),
y' just a sad sad man (By the way who is sharing the family brain Cell), this article is about Ryan Giggs's acheivement and a testament to the fact that he is still playing at the age of 36, not about a player for all the goals he scoredonly brought himself 1 paltry league title winners medal.
By the way remind 'is how long it is since y's last won anything and which division y's are in again.
GET A LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!
tony k you not using a diff ID? thats strange
You cant compare Ronaldo to Giggs. Giggs has done the business for fifteen years plus season after season, Ronaldo was rubbish for his first two seasons at united, then he had a good run for a couple of years........no comparison, FACT. Gerrard, we'll have to wait and see if he's bossing games at 35 years old as for the rest of doughnuts selection, they played in a bygone era when the average standard of a top flight player was a lot lower than it is now
Giggs has played 18 years in the top flight, wion everything, been there, dioone that, got the t-shirt and all the medals. No-one else mentioned below, least of all Shearer, can say that. FACT, as T(otal) K(nacker) would say. If he hasn't been the best over the period I would like to hear who has. Man Utd have replaced many players during SAF's management but I suspect Giggs will prove much more difficult to replace. I just hope he doesn't play tomorrow!
Sounds like Brucie had a bit of a man/boy crush on Giggs back in the day..LOL
Giggs is awsome but not the best the prem has ever seen, i mean come on! Ronaldo,Torres,Cech,Cantona and many more! ooo Henry thats the one! we are lucky to have such a fantastic league with so much talent.
Giggs is one of the best players we are STILL seeing in the Premier League!
You can't count to 100 Tony K(nobhead) not even my brain cells!
FTM
supprise ,supprise, he's not as good as Dagliesh, Keegan or Clough, Best, Gerrard, Ronaldo to name but a few. But your'e right about one thing, he's better that She-arer.
Come now Tone, you're being a bit uncharitable. How about... no you're right.
Giggs is in my opinion the best player weve seen in the premier league, better even that the mighty Shearer. No mackem players even make my top 100
Please login to post a comment
Not already a Yahoo! user ? Sign up to get a free Yahoo! Account