Happy Birthday Ryan Giggs

Happy Birthday Welsh Dragon aka Ryan Giggs

It is Manchester United's one man club's birthday. This blog post pays a tribute to the longest serving Red Devils. His name shall be associated with United's one of the greats like George Best, Eric Cantona, Sir Bobby Charlton, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, Roy Keane, the list goes on and on.

"I think of a hero as someone who understands the degree of responsibility that comes with his freedom. "
-- Bob Dylan

The above quotation by Bob Dylan is well suited to Ryan Giggs' cause. He's a man of material, a born leader and an outstanding performer. 

At 37, you would still argue he's atleast 10 years younger, that's Ryan Giggs for you. Giggs is the first player in football history to win two PFA Young Player of the Year awards (1992 and 1993) and is the only player to play and score in every Premier League season since its inception 1992. 


Giggs recent form

Ryan has recently come from a hamstring injury and scored thrice so far this season. Previous season was one of the most remarkable for him where he helped United demolish arch rivals - Manchester City not once but twice. He delivered a killer pass to Michael Owen who very cool-ly dispatched the ball behind the net. 


His by far the best goal came against Arsenal in an FA Cup Semi-Final Tie in 1999 where he took the goal past Arsenal defence alone and utterly demolished the back four including the goalie. True Legend. The goal can be found in the video below (Thanks to British Broadcast Corporation) 

A tribute to (Sir) Ryan Giggs paid by BBC

A summary of his honours (Source: wikipedia)Manchester Unite

• Premier League (11): 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09
• FA Cup (4): 1993–94, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2003–04
• Football League Cup (4): 1991–92, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10
• FA Community Shield (8): 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010
• UEFA Champions League (2): 1998–99, 2007–08
• UEFA Super Cup (1): 1991
• Intercontinental Cup (1): 1999
• FIFA Club World Cup (1): 2008

Individual

• BBC Sports Personality of the Year: 2009
• PFA Player of the Year: 2009
• PFA Young Player of the Year: 1992, 1993
• Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year: 1997–98
• Bravo Award: 1993
• BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year: 1996, 2009
• Overall Team of the Decade – Premier League 10 Seasons Awards (1992–93 to 2001–02)
• Wales Player of the Year Award: 2006
• FA Premier League Player of the Month: September 1993, August 2006, February 2007
• PFA Team Of The Century: 2007^[2]
• PFA Team of the Year: 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2007, 2009
• Goal of the Season: 1999
• English Football Hall of Fame: Inducted in 2005

Orders and special awards

• OBE for services to football: 2007^[1]
• Honorary Master of Arts degree from Salford University for contributions to football and charity work in developing countries: 2008^[55]
• Freedom of the City of Salford: 2010 

Records

• Only player to have won 11 league titles, and only Manchester United player to have played in all eleven Premier League-winning teams.
• Most Premier League appearances for an outfield player.^[57]
• Most Premier League assists (accurate records are only available from 2002 onwards).^[58]
• Only player to have scored in all 19 Premier League campaigns since its inception.
• One of two players to have played in every Premier League season since its inception, Sol Campbell being the other. .
• Only player to have scored in eleven consecutive Champions League tournaments (1996–97 to 2006–07).
• Only Manchester United player to have scored in fourteen different Champions League tournaments.
• Most goals by a British player in the Champions League/European Cup proper history, and 14th overall (not including preliminary rounds).^[59]
• Most appearances by a Manchester United player.
• First player to score 100 Premier League goals for Manchester United.
• Second midfielder to have scored 100 goals in the Premier League for a single club (first being Matt Le Tissier).

What can you do to celebrate Ryan Gigg's birthday?

Please raise your voice through this online petition which is determined to inform the Queen of the United Kingdom about how many people want Ryan Giggs to be knighted by Her Majesty the Queen.

http://www.sirryangiggs.com/

Nothing like a home grown manager, Giggs will easily fit in Sir Alex's shoes

Who knows, Giggs may end up being a successor of Sir Alex Ferguson. I think the name Sir Ryan Giggs well suits to be the next successful successor of Manchester United. 


GLORY GLORY MAN UNITED!

Chicharito attracts Salsa artist to sing a song about him (Song + Lyrics)

Javier Hernandez has gained enough fame after joining Manchester United that people start praising and compiling songs about him. 7 goals in 20 odd appearances is indeed marvellous. This is just the beginning, the Mexican looks promising enough to achieve what Dimi Berba couldn't reach against Blackburn Rovers: 6 goals in a single game! Your day shall come one day Chicho!

Here is a tribute paid by famous Mexican Salsa artist "Choco Orta" Check out both the song and the lyrics. Any questions or comments? Please feel free to write in the comment box below.

Chico Chicharito he’s the man that came from jalisco
Chico Chicharito hes got the passion, skill and latin beat
and he flew from mexico… put on the greatest football show
and he scores from any where don’t you know!!!!
Chico Chicharito I know we'll win coz chico is the man

Chico Chicharito he’s got the gift of god from up above
Chico Chicharito he’s the man that came from jalisco
and he flew from mexico… put on the greatest football show
and he scores from any where don’t you know!!!!
Chico Chicharito i know well win coz chico is the man
I know we'll win coz chico is the man-

l nombre que debemos todos recordar,
Chicharito de Jalisco no se va a rajar,
Chicharito representa mucha novedad,
no solamente en Mexico, lo admira el mundo en general.

Chicharito came from Jalisco, Chicharito representa mucha novedad.
Chicharito came from Jalisco a jugar,
es el primer mexicano que vino a Inglaterra a jugar, a anotar.
Chico is the man man man… todos vamos a ganar
Chico is the man man man… pues el nunca fallara.
Que viva Jalisco!
Que viva Chicharito!
Que viva la vida!
Nos representara, no nos va a falla

Review Match Day 15: Berbatov revvs past Rovers (Video)

“Christmas came about a month early to Old Trafford.”

And indeed it did, the atmosphere was festive with the full capacity crowd enjoying Berbatov’s moment of magic. His performance was fabulous or to say, Berbalicious.

It was never going to be easy for a Blackburn side to play against a rejuvenated Manchester United at Old Trafford which was ready to welcome its star striker Wayne Rooney, his first start at Old Trafford after his contract saga. And what a reception it was. The fans put all their bitter memories behind and welcomed their favorite with loud and continuous chants of “Rooney Rooney”.

If the game was important for Rooney, it was even more important for his strike partner, Dimitar Berbatov. The Bulgarian had not scored since his match winning performance against Liverpool and with all the rumors that the manager had finally lost his faith in the “lazy” striker and was ready to sell him flying around the pressure on his was immense.

Living a dream: Dimitar Berbatov

UCL Review: An unbeaten and yet to concede United proceed to next round

Glasgow Rangers 0-1 Manchester United

Wayne Rooney 87 ' (pen)

Booked: Whittaker, Naismith (RAN)

Ibrox

7.45 PM GMT KO

The much anticipated "Battle of Britain" began with Berbatov being challenged by S. Davis inside the penalty box which was indeed a clear cut penalty. The 31 year-old controversial Swiss Referee got it completely wrong yet again.

Fabio set up Berbatov perfectly who couldn't find the back of the net through his head.

40th minute saw another inch perfect cross by Fabio which was finely dispatched by Rooney's head only to hit the cross-bar. The first half saw Dimitar Berbatov getting frustrated everytime United attacked. Perhaps the best chance for United was missed by Michael Carrick who was one on one with the goalie but couldn't find the goal.

Kevin Miller produced the best bit of football for Rangers (and United to some extent) in the 42nd minute when Miller's shot was easily saved by Van Der Sar.

Van Der Sar made a critical save after Johnny Evans let Foster have a shot in the second half

Dimitar Berbatov really looked disappointed at himself and rightly so, he hadn't scored for 9 freaking games! That's after his first hat-trick with United against Liverpool. Overall, Berbatov looked impressive with his quick pace and communication with other players - both of which qualities are rarely found in everyday Premier League games.

The tempo of the game picked up in the final half an hour of the game as Rangers actually started to attack rather than depending on Kevin Miller up front all the time.

Manchester United Turkish Airlines Advert

Last bit is awesome where Rooney nearly kicks Sir Bobby Charlton in the face, but VDS comes to the rescue!!

Check out the awesome advert below:
 

If you noticed, there is no Javier Hernandez (Chicharito) in the advert!

Chicharito to ditch his pre-match Catholic prayer at Ibrox

Javier Hernandez will skip his usual pre-match Catholic prayer at Ibrox where there are plenty of anti-Catholics

Javier Hernandez maybe forced to abandon his pre-match Catholic prayer when Manchester United face Rangers in Glasgow on Wednesday week.

Deeply religious Hernandez – nicknamed Chico – kneels on the centre spot and prays before kick-off in every game he starts. But it is believed United boss Alex Ferguson – a former Rangers player – will advise the 22-year-old to ditch his ritual at Ibrox.

Rangers fans have already vowed on websites to target Hernandez if he goes through his normal routine and that will worry Ferguson who is anxious for United’s visit to pass peacefully.

Javier Hernandez aka Chicharito is devout Catholic

Rangers officials say there is no question of them banning Hernandez from his usual pre-match routine, which he started in his native Mexico.

But he runs the risk of antagonising anti-Catholic Rangers supporters if he is included in boss Ferguson’s line-up when the teams meet at Ibrox.

Hernandez played against Rangers at Old Trafford but Ferguson realises the atmosphere is far more volatile in Glasgow, notorious for religious sectarianism.

Does this indicate that Sir Alex aims to start with Rooney and Chicharito up front and ditch Dimitar Berbatov?

We will find out soon enough tonight!

Danny Welbeck continues to lure Steve Bruce to sign him permanently

Danny Welbeck is an asset for Sunderland, he recently scored against Chelsea. And if you thought that was a fluke, then get ready to change your views

Will he consider Permanent offer at Sunderland?

Sunderland 2-2 Everton
Both Sunderland goals were scored by Danny Welbeck, the Manchester United loanee doing a great job at Sunderland right now. The second goal, a header reminded me of Chicharito's first goal against Sunderland (Back Header). This one was from a greater distance and oh my, what accuracy! 








Here is Welbeck's two goals (brace) against Everton
22nd November, 2010



Great job Danny Welbeck! You're doing a great job, just come back to United and emulate your superb form for the Red Devils - You are the future!


Till Danny returns back (hopefully in Summer 2011) sing aloud GLORY GLORY MAN UNITED!

Wayne Rooney ready to feature in the Battle of Britain

Rooney training ahead of the Rangers Champions League outing

Glasgow Rangers vs Manchester United
Ibrox Park
7.45 PM GMT  KO 
Where to watch it live on TV: ITV 1 
FREE VIEW

Rooney is all set to return to United after his last first team start back in September. Incidently, Rooney's last Champions League game was at home against Rangers too, the very game where we witnessed Antonio Valencia's horrific injury forcing the Ecuadorian on the sidelines. Watch the injury tribute. Click Here.


Team News:  
1) Rio Ferdinand, Nemenja Vidic and Darren Fletcher have been given a much deserving rest and they have not travelled across the border to Scotland.


2) Johny Evans and Chris Smalling would most likely be in the central defence.


3) Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs are expected to start. 


4) Anderson and Park are set to feature in the Midfield.


5) Park Ji Sung reckons the game is nothing like Japan - South Korea derby games where there is massive pressure on the players. "When South Korea play against Japan the fans tell us that if we lose they are going to throw the players into the sea. Without doubt, they are the biggest thing for us."

VIDEO: Birthday boy Nani destroys Ronaldo goal

Portugal took on Spain last week in an International fixture dated 17.11.2010 and won convincingly by a big heavy margin of 4 goals to nil. Critics say this was one of the worst defeats of Spain at the hands of Portugal.

But there was to the game than the Portugal dominance:

It was Luis Nani's birthday that day and he ruined Cristiano Ronaldo's day by heading his marvellous chipped shot which was already going into the net EASILY. To add an insult to an injury, the goal was not allowed as Nani was offside!

Nani later apologised to a furious Cristiano Ronaldo.





Watch the video here:

Bebe's wonderful goals against Wigan

Bebe scored two goals against Wigan Reserves on 18th November, 2010

Check out both the spectacular goals below and leave your lovely comments:


Bebe goal vs Wigan Res


Bebe cracker against Wigan res 3:0

A terrific week ends, A glorious season beckons

If you are a die-hard United fan, things can’t get better than this. We are the joint league leaders after dropping unnecessary points against Fulham, Everton and West Brom, still UNBEATEN and now, we have almost completed the signing of a Van der Sar replacement.

Match 14 Review: If there is a Football God, He is with us at the moment (Video)

Lucky 7: Chicharito's 7th goal for United this season was the second in the game

Manchester United 2-0 Wigan Athletic

Attendance: 74181

Match Week 14: It was an important week for the “Top 3” as the top place was up for grabs for all of them, not so much for United practically speaking because of the massive goal difference from Chelsea, but then again, this is football, we have seen teams winning 9-1 or 9-0!! 

First, it was the London derby that had all the thrills and spills of a breathtaking match. Arsenal, who were leading comfortably by 2 goals to nil at half time, surrendered their lead and lost 3-2 to Tottenham. Three brilliant goals in the second half from the man-in-form, Bale, the master signing Van der Vaart and the giant defender Younus Kaboul gave Spurs fans something to brag for the next few months until the two teams meet again. So, Arsenal were to remain at No.2 at least for the next 90 minutes. The game was epic by nature with Spurs breaking the 17 year deadlock of winning at the Emirates Stadium. Arsene Wenger failed to keep his cool after Arsenal conceded the late 3rd goal as he threw the water bottle on the floor. Oh what a sight! Let the whiners whine!!

Then came the match the Red Devils were looking forward to. United's games against the Latics (Wigan Athletic) have always been an opportunity to increase the goal difference massively in the past. Much more than the match, the team sheet was the talking point among the Reds as the highly anticipated return of Wayne Rooney was further delayed by the manager, who decided to start him on the bench. United XI included VDS, Rafael, Rio, Vidic, Evra, Obertan, Fletcher, Carrick, Park, Nani and Macheda. A decent line up with a surprise inclusion of Rafael who was supposedly suffering from a dead leg. To be honest, the United bench looked much stronger with the likes of Scholes, Rooney and Giggs ready to come on at any moment.

United haven't started THAT bad this season

Manchester United continue their undefeated run in the premier league after their 7th draw this season at Aston Villa on Saturday and oh boy, what a game of football it was! However, the worrying sign is they've had a really poor form away from home this season drawing 6 of their away Games (at Fulham, Everton, Bolton Sunderland, City and Villa) which means they've dropped 14 points. Ugly! Looking at a brighter side, United are yet to lose in the 13 games they've played in the Premier League so far and just when they looked to lose at the Villa park, they roared back with 2 goals and earned a valuable point. That's truely Manchester United for you!

 Meanwhile, Chelsea were epic-ly crushed by Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on Sunday with a final score of 3-0. On loan at Sunderland at the moment, Danny Welbeck scored the 3rd goal in the 86th minute and it was quite a cool finish. Check out Danny Welbeck's goal against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge

Match 13 Review: A tired United manage to "make" a point (VIDEO)

For most of us United fans, it was an unfamiliar sight at the Villa Park to see an injury depleted Aston Villa dominate most of the match. True, United have had slip-ups this season and have played unlike the Manchester United of the past, but a team was yet to take a 2 goal lead against them prior to this match.

Sir Alex’s men were playing their third match within six days and with most of the players down with the flu they brought back from Turkey, he had to play with almost the same squad that faced Manchester City midweek in a goalless draw. Scholes, who was suspended, was replaced by Hernandez and Rafael who got injured(dead leg) battling against Tevez and Silva was replaced by Brown. All in all, a tired United XI faced an injury hit Aston Villa XI.

Match 12 Review: All money, No play makes CITY look like an IDIOT (Video)

“If Sir Alex is given 170 million for transfers, he will probably create an invincible team.”

These were the words of the commentators when they calculated the net worth of players in the City starting XI. Add to that 90 millions on the bench and you can see why everyone hates them. 260 million worth of players and still no trophy to show.

The build up to this derby was intense with players and manager of both the teams coming out in the media to taunt the other.

Both the teams started with a full strength squad that was available to the managers for selection with United opting for a 4-3-2-1 formation to tackle City’s somewhat similar formation. United had a full strength defense with Rafael, Vidic, Rio and Evra along with a strong midfield that consisted of Fletcher, Carrick and Scholes. The hero of the last match, J.S. Park and Nani started as wingers with Berbatov alone up front.

It hardly took one minute for the game to heat up with Paul Scholes committing a foul when the clock read just 35 seconds. This was the first of many challenges from the midfield maestro. It seemed that the game would just get more intense from here but that was not the case to be. The first half of the highly anticipated Manchester derby had nothing much to excite the noisy crowd of 47000 present in the stadium apart from a Tevez free kick which was managed pretty awesomely by our “Flying Dutchman”. Apart from that, there was a chance for Evra, when the left back took the ball into the penalty area with a delightful footwork only to see his shot hurled right at Joe Hart.

In the 42^nd minute, Scholes was given a long due yellow card for his rash (for us, awesome ;)) challenges.

Rafael, the Brazilian left back who “tamed” Gareth Bale a few days ago against Tottenham certainly had Tevez and Silva “in his pocket” for the entire first half, matching Silva in terms of pace. The main highlight of the half, or rather the entire match, came when Rafael and Tevez had an intense war of words just before the end of first half. The Argentine “twat” was probably frustrated by the lack of chances his team had created. The referee had to intervene along with a few players to separate them ending the first half with a promise of a fiery second half.

Watch the Rafael Tevez fight incident video 

But again, the crowd was disappointed as both teams concentrated on defending rather than scoring. United were forced to make an early substitution in the second half when Rafael, who entered the ground limping slightly in the II half, had to be substituted after just 5 minutes of play. Wes Brown took his place at the Right Back.

Evra too had to be substituted for John O’Shea because of an injury he picked up in the first half. The story of the second half was similar to the first, though United enjoyed a bit more possession in the second half as compared to the first. A creative move saw Wes Brown's cross to Berbatov whose shot went straight into the hands of Hart. Just an inch to the right or left of the keeper and surely Berba would have celebrated in style. City had a chance later when a slight defensive error from O’Shea led to a strike by Zabaleta which went over the post. Both teams made changes with City bringing on Adam Johnson for Milner, Kolarov for Boateng and Adebayor for Tevez and United bringing on Chicarito for Berbatov. Though, none of them had much of a chance to make an impact on the game that ended in a goalless draw.

Analyzing the performance of the players, one has to agree that when Rio and Vidic combine at the heart of the defense, it becomes impossible for the opposition players to break through.

Rafael was excellent before being substituted by an injury and so was Evra who was a constant threat for City denfense with his fast runs to the other end of the pitch. Scholes was as-ever at his best with Carrick performing slightly better than in his previous outings. Fletcher was outstanding in the second half giving away everything when United were defending on the break. Berbatov didn’t have much to do and Park and Nani did enough to get a draw out of this tricky fixture.

This is what the BOSS had to say after the match: "City are very difficult to beat on their own

ground,that's obvious from the way they set their stall out in the second half. But I think there was maybe too much tension for the game to be as open as people thought it was going to be. I was pleased with the control we had of the game and some of our football was very good. We were very confident, we had good composure on the ball but we needed to make chances and we needed to win the match. In that sense we only had two openings, two

chances, one in the first half and one in the second half from open play. So that's a bit disappointing for us."

Next up for United is Aston Villa, away from home on Saturday. Till then sing it loud “GLORY GLORY MAN UNITED”

Manchester City 0-0 Manchester United (Quick highlights)

Preview: An injury plagued United all set for an epic Manchester derby

Match 12: Manchester Derby!!

Manchester City vs Manchester United

8 PM K.O (GMT)

 Derby games don't get bigger than this. It's gonna be an epic derby because of the following reasons:

1) Manchester United haven't lost a single game so far this season, so maintaining this at Eastlands would be a big task.

2) Manchester City have started off brilliantly. They sit at a comfortable 4th spot with only 3 points away from United.

3) Tevez is in great form and he is back from Argentina fully fit for the derby. On the other hand, there is no Wayne Rooney for United - which means there is a lot of stress on the Bulgarian striker - Dimitar Berbatov.

4) Chelsea host Fulham in a West London derby tomorrow and if Chelsea lose at Stamford Bridge and United win at Eastlands, United will be top of the table!!