Giggs: Why I Quit Wales …
Sun: RYAN GIGGS decided to wave goodbye to Wales because of the soaring demands of performing at Manchester United.
Giggs yesterday confirmed he will make his 64th and final appearance for his country in the Euro 2008 qualifier with the Czech Republic on Saturday — as exclusively revealed by SunSport.
Now he has set his sights on a second Champions League medal and perhaps a 12-month extension to his Old Trafford contract.
Giggs, 33, admitted he has seen what international retirement has done for his United team-mate Paul Scholes.
The burden of League, European and Wales commitments were beginning to weigh heavily on the midfielder’s shoulders.
Welsh skipper Giggs said: “You’ve got to be at your best every game and it’s hard to find time to train.
“The last 10 or 11 weeks it’s been game-recovery-game.
“I’ve got a year left at United and I have a massive motivation to win the Champions League after coming so close this season.
“It’s the only competition I’ve won once and I want to win it again. I might have another season at United after this next one, I might not.
“I feel good this season but hopefully now I will feel better next season. Now I can get the rest and come back fresher.
“You can’t under-perform at Man United or go through the motions. There’s always someone snapping at your heels.
“You have to be at it every game and the Premiership is taking more out of me. I can just go on now and concentrate on my club football and enjoy it and improve. I’ve seen what it’s done for Scholesey who, along with Ronaldo, was our best player.
“He’s a similar age and getting those breaks helped. He ended the season very strong and hopefully it will benefit me too.”
Giggs decided a month ago this would be the perfect time to call it quits for Wales without causing too much hassle for coach John Toshack.
He added: “I don’t think I’ve been performing as well as I could have with the amount of football I’ve been playing.
“Wales, Manchester United and I will benefit from this. I spoke to Sir Alex Ferguson before I came away and he said he would support me whatever I did.
“Every season the Premiership gets quicker, the pressure on individuals and teams gets greater.
“Chelsea raised the bar in the last couple of years, Arsenal before that, us now and we’re up there to be shot at. You can’t stand still.”
Giggs has won a record- breaking nine domestic titles and four FA Cups — but never played in a major finals for his country.
Wales look unlikely to qualify for Euro 2008 but Giggs insists he would have retired whatever their position in the table.
He admitted: “I’ve had such a successful time at club level and it hasn’t been the case at international level.
“You want to play against the best in the World Cup and European Championships, so it’s disappointing not to have done that.
“But I’ve been fortunate to have such a successful career so I can’t grumble. I hope for a good send-off in Cardiff on Saturday by winning an important game.
“It will be emotional as it is my last game in the stadium I loved playing at and captained my country at — but it’s about Wales getting a result.”
Coach Tosh said: “Ryan came to see me last Wednesday in Chester before the New Zealand game and I could see he was a little bit disturbed so I had an idea what it might be about.
“It’s been a privilege to have him as my captain. We are talking about a very special person here. He’s had 16 years on the international scene.”
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Telegraph: As Ryan Giggs contemplated his decision to retire from international football yesterday he may have considered the implausible differences between his career at Manchester United and Wales. With his club, Giggs has achieved everything; for his country, his return has been negligible.
Like one of the many great heroes in Welsh folklore, Giggs has given much and received little in return; by his final game, against the Czech Republic on Saturday, he will have played in only 64 of the 114 games his country had been involved in since his debut as a 17-year-old in 1991.
Giggs leaves in an attempt to extend his playing career, leaving Wales as hostages to United’s power, as they have been for most of the 16 years he has represented his country.
Earlier this season, while on Wales duty, he admitted that all his many United winners’ medals were in the Old Trafford museum. The latest, the 2006-07 Premiership medal, will no doubt sit alongside the others, but there is no need to build a case to show his Wales’ successes - there have been none.
Giggs’ failure to become the first Welshman in history to win 100 caps is down to a hamstring injury that has troubled the Cardiff-born winger throughout his career. That, of course, and Sir Alex Ferguson’s determination to keep Giggs’ career in check.
Giggs has played under just one manager at Old Trafford, yet five have benefited from the talent which, at this present poor juncture in the Principality’s history, leaves the country without any star quality.
In truth, his form for Wales has failed to match the high standards achieved for United. That is down to the lack of quality around the player but also, at times, Giggs tried too hard to compensate for the lack of style around him.
Ironically, some of his better performances followed his elevation to the captaincy of his beloved country in 2005. With the retirement of Gary Speed from international football, John Toshack handed the captain’s armband to Giggs and he has responded with some thoughtful, intelligent displays.
More recently, however, Giggs has looked tired. At 33, and with his career at Old Trafford enjoying an Indian summer, the added demands of carrying the hopes of his country on his shoulders have taken their toll.
Welsh football is going through a metamorphism; during his time with Wales, Giggs has seen the departure of the likes of Neville Southall, Ian Rush, Mark Hughes, Barry Horne and, more recently, Speed. In their place have come hosts of youngsters, with the current crop including players as fresh-faced as Giggs himself when he came on as the youngest-ever Welsh cap as a late substitute for Eric Young in Nuremburg.
Giggs has taken his captaincy seriously; not the most vocal of players, he has carefully nurtured the likes of Gareth Bale, Lewin Nyatanga, Wayne Hennessey and Chris Gunter.
Giggs tires of the comparison with another United great, George Best, with the words ‘the best player never to have played at a major competition final’. As he does when uneducated critics suggest he rues the day he chose Wales over England; the fact that he was never eligible for England seems to be lost on many.
Had he been born in Salford rather than Cardiff, one can only wonder at what may have been. The thought of Giggs in a white shirt mesmerising defences from the left wing in the World Cups of France, Japan and South Korea and, more latterly, Germany, leaves a wonderful image.
