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Taking a look at arguably the best left sided players the world has seen in the past two decades or so..
‘When I were a lad, we painted the touchlines and didn’t sell our own weddings…’
Who would have guessed it that the Player who painted touchlines, would himself be the epitome of the left touchilne at Old Trafford for nearly two and a half decades now! Yes, this is in short, the incredible story of the incredible man himself – Ryan Joseph Giggs
Ryan Giggs first took to the field in his school in Salford, where he played for his school team – Deans FC. The team was coached by Man City scout, Dennis Schofield, who wasted no time in recommending him to Man City’s school of Excellence. But fate were to have it differently! It so spanned out that, later Alex Ferguson with his chief scout visited Giggs personally, and offered him an United contract.
We all know what happened next, don’t we?
Manchester United, down the years, has provided a perfect platform for young and talented individuals to express themselves on the world stage, and it was no different back then – and the ‘Fergie’s Fledgings’ provide ample testimony to that.
Young Ryan, who had till then been painting touchlines, had got his breakthrough.
“And, although he has never taken my breath away – Kaka has impressed, Zinedine Zidane was brilliant but without a doubt, Paolo Maldini has been my favourite. He has a wonderful presence, competitive spirit, athleticism, and although not the world’s greatest technically, he has influenced all the Milan teams during his wonderfully successful era.” - Sir Alex Ferguson
The story of Young Paolo Maldini is no less than a fairytale. Coming from a family, which had the Rossoneri ingrained deep within its roots(Paolo’s father was a Milan icon in his days – a total of 412 appearances which saw him win 4 Scudetto’s and 1 European Cup) , Maldini was scouted by AC Milan‘s academy, where he eventually grew up into one of the finest defenders of his age.
The Evolution of Maldini
The journey towards becoming legends Ryan Giggs signed a professional contract on the 1st December 1990. Giggs made his senior debut in 2nd March 1991 against Everton, coming on for the injured Dennis Irwin. Alex Ferguson’s search for a left sided midfielder ended prematurely as the Young Welsh Wizard had finally arrived. Giggs was not thrown into the scene at once, but was slowly blooded and embedded into the first team setup at Old Trafford. Meanwhile, Ben Wallace and others were tried on the left wing, but with no success.
Meanwhile, being the captain of the famed youth side of 92 – which had the likes of Beckham, Scholes, Nicky Butt and Gary Neville – he ran rings around the opposition defences, leaving defenders with twisted blood. The whole of Britian was set into a frenzy by the amazing talent which the Welsh boy possessed, and much expectation and hope was pinned on the young shoulders of the boy – who played with the brain of a man.
The famed team that won the Youth Cup.
In another part of the World, Arrigo Sacchi had already unearthed a new jem, which would soon be the symbol of his team, which was filled with stars, right from the Custodian of the Defence to the Goal Scoring Enigma . Paolo Maldini had made rapid strides in a Milan jersey – as a part of the Milan youth team, and then the reserves. In fact, if statistics are to be believed, Maldini played for the Milan Reserves at the tender age of 14. The famed youth factory had produced yet another diamond, which was to glitter up the Rossoneri as well as the Il Calcio for the next 2 decades.
Maldini joined the Milan youth academy at the age of 10, and the composure shown by the boy( in fact, Composure is the last thing you would expect from a 10 year old) was monumental – to say the least. After spending 6 years in the reserves and youth, Maldini took the big step forward, when he made his debut for the Rossoneri at the senior level, replacing Sergio Batistini at the tender age of 16.
Importance to their teams
“Giggs Single-handedly revolutionised football’s image… with pace to burn, a bramble patch of black hair bouncing around his puppy popstar face, and a dazzling, gluey relationship between his impossibly fleet left foot and a football.”
This is just one of the innumerable testimonies, that were showered on the curly hair of the Welsh Wizard. By now, Ryan Joseph Giggs had established himself firmly on the bigger picture – as one of the brightest prospects of World Football. The combination he formed with the then left back, Dennis Irwin was one to always look out for. Often, one would see the curly haired Giggs taking on the opposition right back, with the Irish finesse of Dennis Irwin making an overlapping run in the outside and delivering an inch perfect cross, which would be duly put in the back of the net.
Or, you could also see some pure Welsh Magic tearing apart the defence and simply rolling it into the back of the net, or maybe squaring it for his team-mate to tap the ball into an open net.
I could, in a subtle manner put it across like this -
“Giggs was a player, who had the feet of a ballet dancer, the Vision of an eagle, and the accuracy of a hunter.”
Jean Tigana tells us that :
Giggs is the detonator,the man who can make Manchester United explode”
Giggs after winning the 1999 FA Cup
Maldini is the symbol of Milan. He brings continuity and he has represented the antique and the modern,” – Gianni Riviera
Coming from Gianni Riviera – the former Rossoneri and the Golden Boy of Il Calcio, we come to know – in a nutshell, the importance of Maldini to Milan. Maldini cemented his spot in the XI From the onset of the 90-91 season, and shortly became an almost immovable figure. He was an ever present figure at Left back in the undefeated Milan side of 91-92 which won the Scudetto. The back four of Tassotti, Baresi, Costacurta and Maldini formed the core of Milan, and the foundation on which Milan achieved success after success.
‘Il Calcio’ had seen many greats already in the past decades. John Charles, Claudio Gentile and Fachetti – among others.Maldini, after his early promise, had a lot to live up to, but the heavy weight of those expectations did not weigh down the young defender. In England, Giggs terrorized Defences, but in Italy, Maldini terrorized Attacks. Flipping through the pages of the History books, one would rarely find such defenders. Maldini was one of the prototypes of the rare breed of defenders, whose very look tormented attackers.
Wait, I am not done yet. Maldini also was a very astute player going forward, and along with Colombo formed an indomitable partnership of the now defunct left wing of the San Siro.
Veterans of the game
In the last phase of his career, Giggs has transformed himself – from a player who used to run defences ragged, to a player who split defences into two with his needle eyed passes. From a player who used to run riot down the left flank, terrorising every right back of the country and continent, Giggs has become a willy old customer, who can out-think and outwit opponents with his guile and experience. Infact, such is the experience of the Welshman that he actually deputised as a left back against West Ham in the 2010-11 season, and he did make a good fist out of it!
Irregardless, the most striking fact about the Wizard is the way he has transformed himself. Since Scholes lost a yard of pace and suffered a dip in form, Giggs was entrusted with the ‘Scholes Role’ in the United setup, and wasn’t he efficient! Giggs and Carrick formed the core of United’s successful Champions League campaign last season, in which they stumbled in the final hurdle.
Matured in his game, as he matured with age.
Maldini’s career can easily be divided into two phases : Maldini – The Left Back, and Maldini – the center back. Maldini at Left back was a ferocious animal, who would kill danger even before it got any time to inflict a wound. The Maldini at Center Back was a subtley ferocious creature, who killed off any potent danger with his finesse, his grace, elegance and class. The Maldini at Left Back romped past attacks. The Maldini at Center Back – tamed attacks.
Yes, that is how the immortal legend of red half of the San Siro transformed his game at the ripe age of 33. As we all say – “Age no bar!”
Maldini was not any ordinary defender. His tactical awareness, sense of positioning and awareness of what was around him is second to none. One would never see Il Capitano make a rash tackle or a last gap challenge. In fact, if statistics are to be relied upon – Paolo Maldini made an average of 1 Tackle per 180 Minutes of football. Shocking, isn’t it?
As Xavi says – “Thinking fast is more important than playing fast.”
Il Capitano!
When the legends met
Giggs on Paolo Maldini :Paolo Maldini is a legend. He played at the highest level for 25 years, I ask myself why a person like Maldini, who has so much experience, still hasn’t got an important role in football? I remember that during Euro 1996, people said that Maldini was old, but yet his career lasted until 2009.”
In this celebration of two immortal legends, I – an armchair follower of these two cult heroes, have nothing to express except that, World Football will never see the likes of them, ever again.
