The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 216 Touchstone

The FA Youth Cup is a touchstone for all clubs' youth training, and a championship often means that a team's potential has begun to explode. The youth team that won the 92 championship was the embodiment of Ferguson's ambition and expectations.

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On the journey of the Red Devils youth team to win the FA Youth Cup, Giggs was not the best performer of the team, but all Red Devils fans agree that Giggs is the strongest and most talented among this batch of youth training players.

Why didn't Giggs become the biggest leg in the Red Devils' FA Youth Cup victory? Because he had already become a rotation player in the first team and directly competed for the starting and core player positions. In other words, he was strong enough and capable enough to gain a foothold in the first team, and he didn't need to spend time fighting in the youth team.

Giggs really reached the peak as soon as he debuted. He shone in the English League One with his amazing skills and lightning speed. He refreshed the fans' cognition with his gorgeous dribbling and genius inspiration. This young man who became famous at a young age and soared to fame made the Red Devils fans full of eager expectations.

Giggs has been the big brother of the Red Devils' Class of 92 for a long time. He trained with his partners, debuted together, and became a star together. Ferguson brought him into the Red Devils' door, gave him the closest care, and made various heartwarming arrangements. In the Red Devils family, Harrison inspired his football wisdom and liberated them from the rigid and old-fashioned British football thinking. In addition to talking to Giggs frequently to solve his loneliness and loss, Ferguson also constantly encouraged him to train hard and become a talent as soon as possible. When he was about 17 years old, Ferguson began to let Giggs train with the first team and play warm-up matches together, constantly adding challenges and constantly urging Giggs to continue to improve.

Ferguson's training method was extremely difficult, especially for the Red Devils youth team players, who were simply in a nightmare when playing against the first team. Because of the huge difference in physical strength and experience, the young players were simply the objects of abuse. In this "cruel" environment, Gary, Scholes and Butt all left deep "humiliating memories".

But only in purgatory can diamonds be sharpened, not grit. Giggs was the first to adapt to Ferguson's training method, because he had already tried to play against the youth team on the first day he came to the Red Devils. He was only 13 years old at that time and was able to win a big victory. For Ferguson's mixed training, he was even more eager to try. In the group stage, whether he played against Irwin or Parker, the skinny little Giggs always won with speed and feints, and against players like Lee Martin, Donaghy, and Bruce, it was no problem.

Giggs quickly stood out - the brilliance of genius can never be concealed, and Ferguson did put a lot of effort and resources into him.

While the Red Devils' Class of 92 was still sweating and training hard in the youth team, Giggs had been promoted to the reserve team by Ferguson and entered the first team in 1991. On March 1991, 3, when Giggs replaced Irwin in the face of Everton and made his first appearance for the Red Devils' first team, he was just a slender and strong 2-year-old boy.

This was the first time that England and even the world of football got to know this football phenomenon. At the end of the 1990/91 season, Giggs started for the Red Devils first team in the league for the first time, against Manchester City.

These two games showed Giggs' rapid progress. In the first game, Giggs had no performance as a substitute, but in the second game, he had a very eye-catching performance. Giggs began to frequently test the opponent on the left, and tried various feints and speed-changing breakthroughs. He succeeded in 4 one-on-one dribbles, and began to create opportunities on the left, and began to really threaten the opponent's defense. Giggs's excellent feints and changing rhythm surprised the opponent's defenders, and his shots also made the opponent's goalkeeper nervous. Giggs also won a goal in this game. After passing the opponent's right back on the left, he cut into the penalty area and shot from the corner of the penalty area. Although Colin Hendry tried his best to block it, the result of his contact with the ball was a large angle of deflection, and the ball flew into the goal.

With his first start and first goal, Giggs conquered the Red Devils fans.

The Red Devils fans are now cheering for this little guy. Giggs is a genius - a perfect winger with speed, technique and rhythm. The media has been praising him. He is called a magical attacker on the football field. He can create space like a magic trick. He can not only create opportunities, but also create assists. He is a sharp knife to break through the opponent's defense system. The BBC commentator praised: "Giggs's attack is dazzling. He is best at breaking through the wing. From static to starting, from changing direction to accelerating, his posture is very beautiful, with a magical rhythm. The ball seems to be an elf surrounding him, flexibly changing his dance steps at his feet, and it is like a light and erratic butterfly."

The Times focused on Giggs's other shining point besides his delicate ball control and extraordinary skills, which is his amazing speed. The Times said: "Giggs's change of direction will create an illusion in the eyes of the defenders, thinking that there are three people in front of them. Giggs can constantly change the center of gravity through the power of his lower limbs, and flexibly combine it with the shaking of his upper body, making it impossible for people to judge his next move, or even to keep up with his rhythm, and be completely deceived by his fake moves. What is even more amazing is his speed, which is faster than a galloping horse. As long as he pushes the ball and starts to accelerate, the opponent's defenders often have to eat dust behind him."

"Giggs can make you vomit blood," Ferguson once commented, and newspaper reporters also wrote so.

Arsenal star Keown was surprised by Giggs's rise. He said in an interview: "Giggs was very thin when he made his debut. He looked like a skinny kid. He had been famous for a long time. Norman Whiteside talked to me about Giggs when he was at Everton. He was very optimistic about this lad and said he would surpass his achievements. Even some people in our team said Giggs was very good. Of course, I didn't agree, because going to Old Trafford to play at that time would not be as scary as it is now."

Keown said: "That day at Old Trafford, I finally saw Giggs' talent. Giggs was wearing a No. 14 jersey, which was obviously too big for him, but he didn't care. He shuttled across the grass with confidence, pouring out his enthusiasm for changing direction at high speed in the frontcourt, enjoying the joy of precise pass assists and single-handed goals."

In the 1990-91 season, Giggs got two chances to play, and in the following 1991/92 season, he became a regular starter on the left wing. Giggs's appearance order has suppressed Lee Sharpe, Webber and Phelan, and he has become the sharpest knife in the Red Devils' double flying wing tactics.

In this season, Giggs played 41 games for the team in all competitions, including 26 league starts and 6 substitute games. The 16th round match between the Red Devils and West Ham United at home was Giggs' masterpiece. When McClair dribbled the ball directly into the opponent's right penalty area and made a cross, Giggs keenly spotted the opportunity, got in position in time, and directly shot the ball into the dead corner. In addition to this goal, Giggs also contributed a back-heel pass to help Robson score easily.

Giggs's game against Crystal Palace was also very exciting. Giggs ran out of space on the left and received a long pass from Schmeichel, then accelerated to the edge of the penalty area and shot a powerful volley. Although the shot was touched by the opponent's goalkeeper and hit the crossbar, it was finally scored by a teammate in front of the goal. Giggs then showed his power again, this time dribbling on the left and then making a precise cross to assist McClair to score. In the final stage of the game, Giggs launched a counterattack on the left and quickly passed the ball to Irwin, who crossed the ball to the end line and Kanchelskis easily scored in front of the goal.

In the 18th round of the league, when the Red Devils played against Coventry, Giggs was so brilliant that he even became the protagonist of the stadium, leading a 4-goal victory. Giggs first assisted Bruce with a set-piece, helping the Red Devils open the door to victory, and then sent a sharp corner kick to cause chaos in the opponent's penalty area, helping McClair to score in front of the goal; in the second half, Giggs passed a precise short-distance half-high ball from the bottom of the left penalty area, helping Mark Hughes to lean forward and head the ball into the goal. With three assists in one game, Giggs' performance completely conquered the fans.

Giggs' outstanding performance for the Red Devils earned him a direct call-up to the Wales national team. One month after his debut for the Welsh national team, Giggs played for the Red Devils in the European Super Cup final against Red Star Belgrade in November 1. Against the best team in Europe at the time, Giggs showed no fear and performed well on the left. It was his free kick from the left that was the key to the Red Devils' victory, forcing the opponent's defense to make a mistake, and McClair scored the only goal.

Giggs finally achieved the following statistics: 41 appearances and 7 goals in the season. Giggs was full of confidence, had many feints, was very fast, and had a lot of fun passing the ball. His statistics were applauded. He ran freely in the front court of the Red Devils, was omnipresent and varied, full of energy, and possessed incomparable sharpness.

Giggs emerged as a regular starter, and his performance completely overshadowed the performances of the Red Devils' former forwards Webber and Phelan, as well as the earlier brilliant Lee Sharpe.

Giggs not only played well in the league, but also made great achievements in the League Cup. In the two big games against Leeds United and Middlesbrough, Giggs not only scored goals, but also made sharp breakthroughs and assists. In the League Cup final, Giggs bravely overcame the opponent's rough foul and made a wonderful assist for McClair to score the winning goal.

Giggs reached the peak of his career as soon as he debuted. His performance in the league was very dazzling and he directly won the Busby Cup of the Red Devils Club. It was a dream season for him.

In addition to the first team, Giggs did not abandon the youth team's responsibilities. As the big brother of the Red Devils youth team, he naturally went all out when the team needed him. The Red Devils youth team won eight games in the FA Youth Cup, and Giggs played in the final and helped the team win the championship.

For Giggs, this season was a success. In addition to winning many honors with the team, including the European Super Cup, League Cup and FA Youth Cup, he also won many personal honors, including the Red Devils Busby Award, England's Best Young Player and so on.

Giggs recalled, "This was a crucial season for me. I got a lot of playing time and performed well. The League Cup championship made many of us proud and proud, and made us more eager to win the league championship."

The best talent in Manchester United's youth training, the winner of the Busby Award, the best young player in League One, the member of the FA Youth Cup champion... These are the honors Ryan Giggs has won. In the eyes of the English media, Giggs is the best winger in English football for many years, and a rare talented player in English football for many years. His sudden emergence this season has directly shone the football world of the British Isles.

Giggs' growth and progress inspired the class of 92. Nicky Butt also emerged early. He made his first substitute appearance for the Red Devils in November 1991, replacing Ince who was injured.

In the 1992-93 season, the Red Devils youth team began to explode. Gary Neville started to play for the Red Devils and won the first Premier League title with Giggs. Butt gradually became a midfield substitute, and Beckham's first appearance for the Red Devils senior team soon came. Scholes and Phil Neville were also ready.

Giggs's appearance and brilliance were a preview of the Red Devils' Class of 92's debut.