Gary Neville gives his opinion on playing against the best players in the world
and how this Saturday will be strangely difficult for him.
and how this Saturday will be strangely difficult for him.
"I will have to be on the absolute top of my game.
"Ryan Giggs is a fantastic player, one of the best United have ever had. And he
seems to have been going for ever.
"He has fantastic ability, a terrific mentality and a desire to improve his game
year-in, year-out.
"That is a rare quality among wingers, that incredible work ethic. That's what
makes him such a great player.
makes him such a great player.
"The most difficult opponent I ever faced was Alessandro Del Piero when he
played on the left side for Juventus.
"I could never seem to get near him and he kept dragging me all over the place.
"Zinedine Zidane was another one who gave me problems in the Champions
League quarter-final against Real Madrid a couple of years ago.
"When you're playing against an out-and-out left winger it's quite straightforward and you pretty well know your job.
"It's the ones who don't stay on the touchline who are the most difficult and Ryan drifts inside all the time and mixes up his game very well.
"I've played against him in training hundreds of times. But it will be a totally
different proposition playing him in a World Cup qualifying match.
"The first thing is to stay on your feet and not dive in at him. I hope that we will
have a lot of the ball — which means he will spend time in defensive positions
and the service is cut off to him.
"But there will be occasions when he gets the ball and that's when I'll have to
defend in the best way I know how, the way I've done in the past 10 years."