Illustrious playing career comes to an end after 23 trophy-laden years

After 13 league titles, two Champions Leagues, 963 appearances and many more amazing memories, Ryan Giggs brought an end to his incredible 23-year playing career at Manchester United on Monday to take over as the club's assistant manager.

British soccer's most decorated player made the announcement in an open letter on United's website, just an hour after he was named as the No 2 for new manager Louis van Gaal.

"For me, today is new chapter filled with many emotions - immense pride, sadness, but most of all, excitement towards the future," the 40-year-old Giggs said.

Giggs will go down as one of the greatest players in the Premier League's 22-year history. He is certainly its most durable, playing in every season since the league inception in 1992 - first as a flying left winger before refining his game to play deeper in midfield.

His match-clinching solo goal in the FA Cup semifinal replay against Arsenal in 1999, where he set off from inside his own half, ran around three defenders and slammed a shot into the roof of the net, has gone down as one of the greatest goals in English soccer. His famous shirt-swinging celebration as he sprinted, bare-chested, along the touchline at Villa Park is also part of FA Cup lore.

That will probably be his career highlight on a personal level but he was always more of a team man, one of the most valuable players in United's successful, trophy-laden era under Alex Ferguson, who protected Giggs as a youngster after poaching him from neighbor Manchester City and allowed him to thrive.

In an era where players chase money and loyalty counts for little, Giggs remained a one-club man after making his debut against Everton on March 2, 1991, as a lithe 17-year-old wearing a baggy shirt and hitched-up shorts.

"I am immensely proud, honored and fortunate to have represented the biggest club in the world 963 times and Wales 64 times," wrote Giggs, who never played in a World Cup but was a member of Britain's squad at the London Olympics.

"My dream was always to play for Manchester United, and although it saddens me to know I won't be pulling on a United jersey again as a player, I have been lucky enough to have fulfilled that dream playing with some of the best players in the world, working under an incredible manager in Sir Alex Ferguson, and most of all, playing for the greatest fans in world football."

Giggs also won four FA Cups, three League Cups, one UEFA Super Cup, an Intercontinental Cup and a Club World Cup. Last season was the only one in his career in which he failed to score a Premier League goal, leaving his career haul at 168 in all competitions.

Ferguson, who retired last year, once said Giggs - as a 13-year-old - seemed to float across the ground "like a cocker spaniel chasing a piece of silver paper in the wind", and that description remained true to his last playing days.

Toward the end of his career, when his hair became speckled with gray, he relied on speed of thought rather than the speed of his legs, with his games carefully selected in Ferguson's final seasons. Under David Moyes last season, Giggs was used sparingly with more of the Welshman's time taken up by his role as coach.

His last game came at Old Trafford against Hull two weeks ago, when he came on as a late substitute to set up one goal and almost score another with a curling free kick that was tipped over the bar.

After Teddy Sheringham, Kevin Phillips and Gordon Strachan, Giggs was the fourth outfield player to have played in the Premier League in their 40s.

"Remarkable career by a loyal, legendary (United) entertainer," FIFA president Sepp Blatter said on Twitter. "963 games. 34 trophies. 1 club."

Giggs is being groomed by United as a future manager and he had a brief glimpse of life in the dugout at the end of last season, when he took interim charge for the final four games.

FERGIE DOFFS HAT TO RYAN

Alex Ferguson saluted Ryan Giggs' "fantastic career" after the Manchester United icon announced his retirement to concentrate on his new role as assistant to Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal.

Former United manager Ferguson signed Giggs on his 17th birthday in 1990 and saw him become the most decorated player in the club's illustrious history.

The Welsh midfielder is well established as one of European soccer's all-time greats after making 963 appearances for United, scoring 168 goals and winning 13 Premier League titles, four FA Cups, four League Cups and two Champions Leagues.

And Ferguson, who retired at the end of the 2012-13 season, was quick to pay tribute to the 40-year-old in a video message on United's official website: "What a fantastic career - the number of games you have played, the trophies you have won, the help you have given young people and the help you have given me and all the coaching staff."

Former United midfielder David Beckham, who emerged from the Old Trafford youth academy at the same time as Giggs, paid tribute to his teammate's remarkable loyalty and longevity.

"Amazing servant to the game of course, but more importantly, an amazing servant to Manchester United," he said. "We are all proud of you - Manchester United fans love you."

Giggs, who finished this season as United's interim manager for four matches following David Moyes' sacking, will now concentrate on assisting Dutch coach van Gaal, whose appointment at Old Trafford was confirmed on Monday.

Gary Neville, another of Giggs' former youth team and first team colleagues at United, said he doubted whether the star's trophy haul would ever be beaten.

"Well done for everything you have achieved at the club," Neville said.

"It is wonderful what you have done and I don't think your achievements will ever be surpassed."

Manchester United's Ryan Giggs attends a news conference at Old Trafford in Manchester in March. Stefan Wermuth / Reuters

(China Daily 05/21/2014 page23)