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It’s hard to digest the fact that Ryan Giggs has finally ended his 29-year association at Manchester United as he heads into new ventures in club management. Arguably the greatest one-club-man of all time, Giggs joined United at the age of 13 and leaves at the age of 42.
He was a player for most of it and won several major honours, before becoming Interim Manager post-David Moyes’ sacking, and later Assistant Manager, under Dutchman Louis van Gaal.
Amongst the wins, glory and trophies comes a special moment, a goal etched in history as one of the greatest ever: The winner against Arsenal at Villa Park in the last-ever FA Cup semi-final replay.
United met Arsenal at Villa Park in the FA Cup semi-final, only to play a dire 0-0 draw. They would meet again three days later at the same ground, and played the game of the season. United entered the game having rested most of their usual line-up, including Ryan Giggs himself. Jesper Blomqvist started on Giggs’ accustomed left-wing and was highly underestimated by Arsenal’s Lee Dixon:
“It’s funny, because in the dressing room before the game, all the players were saying how lucky I was because Ryan Giggs was on the bench. Blomqvist was playing left-wing, so Ryan didn’t play. I said: ‘What’s lucky about him coming on with 10 minutes to go with fresh legs when I’m really tired?’ And it panned out that way.” – Lee Dixon
“That game had everything, absolutely everything. I rested five players that night and Giggs was one of them” – Sir Alex Ferguson
The winner on the night would head to Wembley for the final. United, on course for a historic treble, scored first through David Beckham early in the first half. An end-to-end game saw constant attacks by both the teams.
The game had everything: flair, skill, intensity and a rivalry. Dennis Bergkamp scored the equaliser for Arsenal just past the hour-mark and to make the job harder for the Red Devils, Roy Keane was sent off for two bookable offences. The final ten minutes saw players tiring; while 10-men United were holding on for extra time, Arsenal were gunning for a winner.
They had the golden opportunity when Phil Neville brought down Ray Parlour in the box to give away a penalty. Up stepped Dennis Bergkamp to end United’s treble dreams, only to see his penalty saved by Peter Schmeichel. The game went into extra time.
“You look at those games and it is always the first goal. If you get that first goal you can go on and win the game. Roy Keane got sent off and we are thinking, ‘we are in control now’. It could have gone either way. I got brought down by Phil Neville and I would have had my house on Dennis Bergkamp scoring the penalty.” – Ray Parlour
The second half of extra time saw a moment that went down in footballing history. One of the greatest goals in English Football, scored by Ryan Giggs in that FA Cup Semi-Final replay.
It was made out of nothing. Patrick Viera, Arsenal’s engine and one of world football’s most enigmatic figures, loosely gave the ball away to the Welshman on the half-way line and the fearsome Giggs ran with in a way that only he could. Running through one of Europe’s meanest defences that consisted of Lee Dixon, Nigel Winterburn, Martin Keown and ‘Mr. Arsenal’ Tony Adams.
Giggs got into an area where it seemed impossible to score from, but he managed to do so, thumping a shot past the great David Seaman. Gary Neville sarcastically claimed Giggs had ‘no right’ to shoot from there, amongst the other plaudits Giggs earned that night.
“I still can’t understand why no Arsenal player fouled him when he was running 40 or 50 yards to score a goal. When you lose a ball on the halfway line you shouldn’t worry too much when you are up against 10 men. It’s amazing no-one fouled him. I would have just absolutely took him out. Smell that danger. You must know that a player like Giggsy has it in his locker.” – Roy Keane
“It was a fantastic sight from my position in goal. He snapped up the ball around the halfway line, then started to accelerate. He had four or five men in front of him, but he ran on with the intention of weaving himself in and out of what was the best defence in England.” – Peter Schmeichel
“If it was someone else with the ball, I don’t think he will go that fast and go to the end to score a goal. It was bad defending from all of us.” – Patrick Viera
The greatness of the goal saw a moment of madness after it. A jubilant Giggs took off his shirt and swung it up in the air like a madman, also revealing his hairy chest. It was an historic goal on the way to sealing a dramatic treble. The celebration, unlike the goal, received its fair share of dislike.
“As soon as I hear a word about that game, all I can see is Ryan with his top off, whirling it round his head in celebration of his amazing winner. I was the closest person to him as he set off on the run, dancing past not just any old defenders but the likes of Dixon, Keown and Adams, some of the best in the business – and even then he still had to beat Seaman, one of the finest keepers in the world. Someone said afterwards I should have bollocked him for not passing to me because I was in a better position, but after a goal like that, I’m glad he didn’t.” – Paul Scholes
“It was the worst celebration I’ve ever seen in my life.” – Lee Dixon
