Giggs the great to skipper Reds
Twenty years ago Sir Alex Ferguson eyed a 13-year-old spindly young winger rampaging down the left flank and knew one thing for certain: this boy was going to make it.
Two decades on and Ryan Giggs, the player Sir Alex was so adamant would live up to his expectations, will lead United out at Wembley, eyeing a fifth FA Cup winnersÂ’ medal, which would equal the record set by Arthur Kinnaird, a principal of the Football Association and a leading footballer in the late 1800s.
"Ryan will be captain," confirmed the boss. "And it completes a marvellous season for the lad.”
It certainly does. An English league record ninth title success came in a season where Giggs ticked over the 700 appearances mark. After Saturday, he will be just 45 matches off beating Sir Bobby CharltonÂ’s all-time club appearances record - hopefully with another FA Cup success to his name.
Sir Alex often describes signing a young Giggs as his first major coup as manager at Old Trafford, ensuring he did not go to local rivals Manchester City.
“We pay particular attention to local talent,” said the Scot. “You hope that when you run a youth programme you're going to produce players that play for a long time in the first-team and be successful.
“When Ryan came to us as a 13-year-old lad, he’s the only player we’ve ever had that I knew was a certainty to make it, even at 13. I said to Bobby Charlton, ‘you need to come and see this kid play’.
"It’s very difficult to see a 13-year-old boy and say he is a certainty to make, very difficult. I’ve never said it since, but he is the one player I did say it about. All our opinions were absolutely correct. "The contribution he has made to us since... it's an amazing thing that he carries on looking after himself and his fitness,” said Sir Alex. “Hopefully he has a very successful day on Saturday. But it doesn’t matter if you’re equalling someone else’s record, if you get five winners’ medals then that is brilliant.”
“He stands high [in the list of United legend], regardless of what happens on Saturday. The number of games he has played alone says that. For the last 15 or 16 years he has been going up and down that wing, and there is no player who has done that in the Premiership. It’s unbelievable.”
And the boss believes Giggs will be a vital figure in helping guide the likes of Wayne Rooney and Cristiano to even more success at the club in years to come.
“Players like Wayne and Cristiano are influenced by what he has achieved,” he said. “There is no doubt that, in a quiet way as he often does, he will give advice to all the players - the right advice as well.”