Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Ryan Giggs' Top 10 Greatest Goals Part 2 (2002-2013)

Ryan Giggs celebrated the 1,000th appearance of his career when he played for Manchester United against Real Madrid in the Champions League three weeks ago.

During his career of unprecedented success spanning 22 years, Giggs has scored 181 goals in those 1,000 appearances: 168 for Manchester United, 12 for Wales and one for Great Britain.

After last week's first five from the first half of Giggs' career, here are the remaining five from the last 11 years.

There were even reports he was booed by a frustrated Old Trafford crowd when he was substituted in a League Cup tie in January 2003, and then a month later, he embarrassingly missed an open goal as Arsenal knocked United out of the FA Cup.

But Giggs always reserved his best for games against Juventus, and with one exhilarating run against the Italians at the Stadio Delle Alpi, he shrugged off this slump and announced he was back.

Giggs picks up the ball near the halfway line before effortlessly gliding his way past three defenders and finishing with his weaker right foot past the stationary Gianluigi Buffon.

There was concern in the Manchester United ranks that with the departure of David Beckham to Real Madrid in the summer of 2003 they would no longer pose such a threat at free kicks.

But on the opening day of the 2003/04 season in United's first Premier League game without Beckham, Giggs reminded us of his own brilliance at free kicks by scoring this one from 30 yards.

Ryan Giggs celebrates one of Wayne Rooney's three goals in United's 6-2 win over Fenerbahce.Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

This goal was inevitably overshadowed by the fact that it was followed by Wayne Rooney's stunning hat-trick on his Manchester United debut in the Champions League.

The Welshman wins the ball in his own half, feeds the Brazilian Jose Kleberson before running in to the penalty area and expertly glancing a header beyond the goalkeeper to give United the lead.

Ryan Giggs had to wait until he was 35 to win his first senior personal award, and it was goals like this that convinced his fellow professionals to vote him as their PFA Player of the Year for this season.

Giggs broke the deadlock in the 62nd minute to win the game for United when he received the ball wide on the left wing before cutting inside, beating two challenges and firing a low shot past West Ham goalkeeper Rob Green.

This brilliant strike saw Ryan Giggs extend his own record as the oldest goalscorer in the history of the Champions League to 37 years and 289 days.

Benfica had taken the lead in the first half, but Giggs equalised three minutes before half-time when he collected a pass from Antonio Valencia and arrowed in a strike from outside the penalty area.

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