As Giggs Celebrates His 40th Birthday, Here's Chat212 Memories Of United's Majestic Midfielder

Chat212 Sportsmail's Report...

Two days on from playing the entire 93 minutes of Manchester United's record-breaking 5-0 Champions League win against Bayer Leverkusen, Ryan Giggs turns 40 today.

To round off our week celebrating the midfielder's extraordinary career, Sportsmail takes a look at the United man's most memorable moments.

From that goal against Arsenal in 1999, to tucking away a penalty in the Champions League final almost a decade later. Giggs has seen and done it all.

Chat212 is celebrating Ryan Giggs's 40th birthday all week, and here's a taste of what he has done so far...

Relive some of the standout games, goals and off-the-field events of the Welshman's 23 years at Old Trafford. Who knows, there could still be a few more to come...

Matt Lawton

I was at Villa Park when Giggs scored that astonishing goal against Arsenal in the FA Cup; a goal that not only secured Manchester United’s place in that season’s FA Cup final but really set the tone for an incredible few weeks that concluded in the '99 treble.

But one of my favourite memories dates back to a piece I subbed when I was working for a local paper in Bristol back in the early 90s.

One of our reporters was sent to The Cliff to write a profile on this new wonder kid at United, and I remember how flash we all thought it was that he drove a Golf GTI. How times have changed in football.

Matt Barlow
A distant and incomplete memory of a fabulous flash of skill from a game against Arsenal.

Seemingly trapped by defenders (I’m not sure who but one might have been Lee Dixon, it often was) in the corner of the pitch at Old Trafford in front of the Stretford End, he threw a couple of step-overs and wriggled free with a flick of his left foot and an explosion of pace. It was fresh and seemed to say this was a winger with extra magic in his feet.

Dominic King

I have two distinct memories of Ryan Giggs. The first was when he showed what a special talent during a 3-3 draw with Liverpool at Anfield in January 1994, he scored a spectacular goal, nonchalantly chipping Bruce Grobbelaar from the edge of the area. To think he is still going strong nearly 20 years later is quite remarkable.

The second came after a national schools final at Old Trafford in May 2000. I was a young reporter, covering the game for the Manchester Evening News, Giggs was there to present the trophy. It was the same day Manchester City won promotion to the Premier League.

Giggs spoke to me about the schoolboy final but he also gave me some words on City’s promotion, which provided me with a page lead in the following day’s paper and was gratefully received by my sports editor. Giggs didn’t have to speak but he was a consummate professional - as he has been throughout his career.

Lee Clayton
I was there for the rapid, mazy dribble and finish that won the FA Cup semi against Arsenal at Villa Park, but that’s too obvious.

I remember the sheepish look on his face in Tokyo when he won a Toyota car at the now-defunct Intercontinental Cup against Palmeiras of Brazil (Champions of Europe v Champions of South America) in 1999 for being the best player, when he obviously wasn’t. Mark Bosnich was outstanding but the Japanese wanted Giggs to win, because of his global popularity.

I’m not sure what he did with the car but the hosts were very happy with their choice. Lots of smiling faces. Giggs has been doing that all of his career. I’d like a picture of his trophy cabinet.

John Edwards

For all the times Giggs has dazzled on the biggest stages, one of my favourite memories is of a gangly 18-year old – only just 18, at that – going on as substitute for Bryan Robson at the start of the second half against Oldham Athletic at Boundary Park on Boxing Day, 1991.

His very first touch was to miscontrol a pass from Mark Hughes and allow it to bobble into touch for an Oldham throw, to guffaws all round from home fans who actually began taunting him with cries of ‘ee-aw, ee-aw.’

Clearly oblivious to the fresh-faced youngster’s endless capacity for answering such mockery, they were made to pay, as Giggs proceeded to run Oldham’s defence ragged before finally rounding off a 6-3 win with an early example of how he could make beating a keeper in a one-on-one look the simplest of tasks.

After latching on to a Paul Ince through ball, a dip of the shoulder took him gliding past a wrong-footed Jon Hallworth for a left-foot finish into an empty net. It was effortless, with each touch of the ball executed to such perfection, his stride didn’t seem to vary by so much as an inch from start to finish. Ee-aw indeed…

Alex Kay

One of my earliest memories of going to White Hart Lane was with my dad and granddad to watch Tottenham face Manchester United. It was a tight match, decided by one of Giggs’ most famous goals, a waltz through the defence, a dance round goalkeeper Ian Walker and a neat finish. He even had cool, floppy hair back then too.

Mark Alford

‘Giggsy wiggsy hmmm…. Ryan Giggsy wiggsy. Is George Best the old Ryan Giggs?’ Comedy gold on the Fast Show.

It says everything about Giggs’ place in the national consciousness that his name featured in the cult TV series. That he was not the butt of the jokes in the show which ran between 1994 to 1997 and that the United winger is still performing at the highest level 16 years on… shows Giggs is as much a part of the fabric of football in this country as jumpers for goal-posts down the park.