An unidentified footballer has been named as the new Wales manager and the successor to Chris Coleman, signing a four-year deal. Wait, he hasn’t put an injunction out? I’m allowed to mention he who shall not be named? It’s Ryan Giggs. God that feels good to say.
The Welsh FA have decided it’s time to “give it Giggsy till the end of the Euro qualifiers”. This move has been hit with a lot of controversy from fans as the ‘Welsh Maestro’ wasn’t exactly known for his commitment to the national team.
Giggsy managed to make an incredible 672 appearances for Manchester United over a 23-year club career. He is the most decorated Player in Premier League history. He has won an impressive 13 Premier League medals, four FA Cups, three League Cups and nine Community Shields (Do they Count? even Moyes has a Community Shield medal).
However, for his country, it’s a different story. Giggs only managed 64 appearances, a small sum for someone who had an international career which spanned 16 years. During this time the Welsh legend repeatedly pulled out of friendly matches and never led his country to an international competition. I wonder if anyone’s told him that managers can’t skip friendlies or pull out with injury. His commitment has also been called into question after Giggs retired from international duty a full seven years before his last club game.
Giggs managed to bag himself Sports Personality of the Year in 2009, yet he ironically has as much personality as Paul Scholes commentating. A recently leaked team talk from his time at United showed him giving his team an inspirational talk to the squad on the last game of the season, this motivated the troops to go out and get an impressive 1-1 draw with Southampton… a point no one was expecting to get.
It’s safe to say that not all great football players make great managers, just look at Maradona. His two years in charge of Argentina are possibly the worst the country has ever had. However, it’s refreshing to see someone new take the reins rather than a Sam Allardyce or a Mark Hughes who get sacked every two years then somehow still get top division jobs six months later. As long as the Welsh FA can get him up to concentrate on the football, get him to friendlies and keep him away from the staff and players’ wives, he might be able to finally reach an international tournament.