Harrison hails United’s millennium man Giggs
Including his 64 Wales caps and four appearances for Team GB which began with a friendly against Brazil at Middlesbrough, Giggs’ next appearance will be his 1,000th.
It is a quite staggering figure no one could have predicted, even if, like Harrison, your first glimpse of the player was like that of United manager Alex Ferguson, who famously described Giggs as being like a “cocker spaniel chasing a piece of silver paper in the wind”.
Yet, a quarter of a century on, Harrison’s memories remain fresh.
“We watched him playing schoolboy football for Salford Boys at Old Trafford. He would have been about 15,” he said.
“It was unbelievable. He was a genius. It is very rare you can identify someone at that age who you just knew was going to make it. He was one. He simply took my breath away. He had such pace and balance it was astonishing.”
Harrison says Giggs is one of the lucky ones, for whom talent just comes naturally.
“People have asked me many times what I did with Ryan Giggs,” said Harrison.
“The answer is not much, really. We did teach him how to play in a team and how to defend as well as attack.
“Also, whilst it is fairly obvious to say Ryan’s greatest quality was running with the ball, we got him to concentrate on running with it in the opponents’ half rather, than his own.
“It was just little things like that because when you have the ability he has, you are just tinkering.”
Even back then, Giggs showed character traits that have helped him to achieve the staggering feats now accepted as commonplace. A desire for knowledge and a need to look after his body were two of the most obvious.
“The overriding point was that he wanted to play for Manchester United’s first team,” said Harrison.
“He wouldn’t let anything get in the way of that. I still feel an immense amount of pride when I see him play.
“No one could have guessed he would go on to achieve what he has though. That is simply unbelievable.”
It is also a truism that a player of Giggs’ ability would be spotted these days long before he was due to the proliferation of academies and the age at which clubs trawl for young talent.
Alex Ferguson:
“I remember the first time I saw him. He was 13 and he floated across the ground like a cocker spaniel chasing a piece of silver paper in the wind.”
Alessandro Del Piero:
“Only two players made me cry when watching football, one was Diego Maradona and the other Ryan Giggs.”
Brian Kidd:
“His talent is God-given. He will have wonderful skill even when he’s got his bus pass, because that sort of ability never deserts you.”
Johan Cruyff:
“Eric Cantona is a great player, but he’s not as good as Ryan Giggs.”
George Best:
“Maybe one day people will say I was another Ryan Giggs.”
Paul Scholes:
“There have been so many outstanding players I’ve had as team-mates, but if I had to choose I’d choose Giggsy, he can do anything.”
Tom Cleverley:
“I can’t remember exactly how old I was but I remember pretending to be Ryan in the back garden.”
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