Hodgson stands by Torres

Roy Hodgson says Fernando Torres' crisis of confidence has not returned after the striker's killer instinct appeared to desert him at Spurs.Torres twice hesitated when clean through either side of half-time while the visitors were leading at White Hart Lane in the 2-1 Premier League defeat on Sunday. That allowed Sebastien Bassong to snuff out the danger and keep Spurs in a game that was in danger of slipping away from them. Hodgson admitted last month that Torres was mentally "a bit low" following an injury-hit spell and a poor World Cup. He looked back to his best in Liverpool's victory over Chelsea but has now drawn a blank in his last three matches. "I think 'crisis of confidence' may be too strong," said Hodgson after Torres'...

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Ryan Giggs : Personal life

Personal lifeGiggs has featured in adverts for Reebok, Sovil Titus, Citizen Watches, Givenchy, Fuji, Patek Phillipe, Quorn Burgers, ITV Digital and Celcom. According to an article by BBC Sport: "In the early 1990s, Giggs was David Beckham before Beckham was even holding down a place in the United first team. If you put his face on the cover of a football magazine, it guaranteed you the biggest sales of the year. Why? Men would buy it to read about 'the new Best' and girls bought it because they wanted his face all over their bedroom walls. Giggs had the million-pound boot deal (Reebok), the lucrative sponsorship deals in the Far East (Fuji) and the celebrity girlfriends (Dani Behr, Davinia Taylor) at a time when Beckham was being...

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Ryan Giggs : Records

RecordsOnly player to have won 11 league titles, and only Manchester United player to have played in all eleven Premier League-winning teams. Most Premier League appearances for an outfield player. Most Premier League assists (accurate records are only available from 2002 onwards). Only player to have scored in all 19 Premier League campaigns since its inception. One of two players to have played in every Premier League season since its inception, Sol Campbell being the other. . Only player to have scored in eleven consecutive Champions League tournaments (1996–97 to 2006–07). Only Manchester United player to have scored in fourteen different Champions League tournaments. Most goals by a British player in the Champions...

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Ryan Giggs : Honours

Honours Manchester UnitedPremier League (11): 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09 FA Cup (4): 1993–94, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2003–04 Football League Cup (4): 1991–92, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10 FA Community Shield (8): 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010 UEFA Champions League (2): 1998–99, 2007–08 UEFA Super Cup (1): 1991 Intercontinental Cup (1): 1999 FIFA Club World Cup (1): 2008  IndividualBBC Sports Personality of the Year: 2009 PFA Player of the Year: 2009 PFA Young Player of the Year: 1992, 1993 Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year: 1997–98 Bravo Award: 1993 BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year: 1996, 2009 Overall Team...

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Ryan Giggs : Career statistics

Career statistics Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Europe Other Total Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Manchester United 1990–91 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 1991–92 38 4 3 0 8 3 1 0 1 0 51 7 1992–93 41 9 2 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 46 11 1993–94 38 13 7 1 8 3 4 0 1 0 58 17 1994–95 29 1 7 1 0 0 3 2 1 0 40 4 1995–96 33 11 7 1 2 0 2 0 0 0 44 12 1996–97 26 3 3 0 0 0 7 2 1 0 37 5 1997–98 29 8 2 0 0 0 5 1 1 0 37 9 1998–99 24 3 6 2 1 0 9 5 1 0 41 10 1999–2000 30 6 – 0 0 11 1 3 0 44 7 2000–01 31 5 2 0 0 0 11 2 1 0 45 7 2001–02 25 7 1 0 0 0 13 2 1 0 40 9 2002–03 36 8 3 2 5 0 15 5 0 0 59 14 2003–04 33 7 5 0 0 0 8 1 1 0 47 8 2004–05 32 5 4 0 1 1 6 2 1 0 44 8 2005–06 27 3 2 1 3 0 5 1 0 0 37 5 2006–07 30 4 6 0 0 0...

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Ryan Giggs : Discipline

Giggs had received relatively few bookings early in his career. He has never been sent off when playing for Manchester United and only once when playing for Wales, on 5 September 2001 in a World Cup qualifier against Norway; Giggs received a second yellow card in the 86th minute. In November 2003, he was found guilty of improper conduct by the FA due to his behaviour following the Battle of Old Trafford against Arsenal. In the same week, Giggs received a two-match suspension from international football for deliberately elbowing Russian player Vadim Evseev in the face during the first leg of the Euro 2004 play-offs. The offence was missed by referee Lucílio Batista, but Giggs was later charged using video eviden...

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Ryan Giggs : International goals

International goals # Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 31 March 1993 Cardiff, Wales  Belgium 2–0 Win World Cup 1994 qualifying 2 8 September 1993 Cardiff, Wales  Czech Republic 2–2 Draw World Cup 1994 qualifying 3 7 September 1994 Cardiff, Wales  Albania 2–0 Win UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying 4 2 June 1996 Serravalle, San Marino  San Marino 5–0 Win World Cup 1998 qualifying 5 11 November 1997 Brussels, Belgium  Belgium 2–3 Loss World Cup 1998 qualifying 6 4 September 1999 Minsk, Belarus  Belarus 2–1 Win UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying 7 29 March 2000 Cardiff, Wales  Finland 1–2 Loss Friendly 8 29 March 2003 Cardiff, Wales  Azerbaijan 4–0 Win UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying 9 8 October 2005...

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Ryan Giggs : International career

International career Giggs captaining Wales in the friendly against Brazil in September 2006 Born in Cardiff with Welsh parents, Giggs represented Wales at international level. As a youngster, Giggs captained England Schoolboys. Contrary to popular belief, he was never eligible for the full England team (eligibility at the schoolboy level depends solely upon the location of the school, in Giggs' case Moorside High School in Salford). He has stated that he would have chosen to play for Wales anyway. When he made his international debut in 1991, he broke the record as the youngest debutant for Wales and held it for some seven years when it was broken by Ryan Green in June 1998. He went on to win 64 caps, and scored twelve goals...

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Ryan Giggs : Manchester United first team

Manchester United first teamGiggs made his first appearance for the club during the 1990–91 season and has been a regular player since the 1991–92 season. He holds the club record for competitive appearances, and the club record for team trophies won by a player (23).Since 1992, he has collected 11 Premier League winner's medals, four FA Cup winner's medals, three League Cup winner's medals and two Champions League winner's medals. He also has runner-up medals from the Champions League, three FA Cup finals and two League Cup finals, as well as being part of four United teams to have finished second in the league. In recent years, Giggs has captained the team on numerous occasions, particularly in the 2007–08 season when regular...

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Ryan Giggs : Early years

Early yearsRyan Joseph Wilson was born at St David's Hospital in Canton, Cardiff, Wales, to Danny Wilson, a rugby union player for Cardiff RFC, and Lynne Giggs (now Lynne Johnson). As a child, Giggs grew up in Ely, a suburb of western Cardiff, but spent much time with his mother's parents and playing football on the roads outside their house in Pentrebane. In 1980, when Giggs was six years old, his father switched rugby codes and signed for Swinton RLFC, forcing the whole family to move north to Swinton, a town in Salford, Greater Manchester. The move was a traumatic one, as Giggs was very close to his grandparents in Cardiff, but he would often return there with his family at weekends or on school holidays. Giggs is mixed race – his...

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Ryan Joseph Wilson : Introduction

Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE(born Ryan Joseph Wilson on 29 November 1973) is a Welsh footballer who has played for Manchester United for his entire professional career. He established himself as a left-winger during the 1990s and continued in this position well into the 2000s, but he has been increasingly used in a deeper playmaking role in his later years. Giggs holds a host of football records, including that of being the most decorated player in English football history. On 16 May 2009, he became the first footballer to collect 11 top division English league title medals. Giggs was the first player in history to win two consecutive PFA Young Player of the Year awards (1992 and 1993) and is the only player to have played and scored in...

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Ryan Giggs : Footballer

Ryan Giggs Personal information Full name Ryan Joseph Giggs Date of birth 29 November 1973 (1973-11-29) (age 36) Place of birth Canton, Cardiff, Wales Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) Playing position Midfielder Club information Current club Manchester United Number 11 Youth career 1985–1987 Manchester City 1987–1990 Manchester United Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 1990– Manchester United 595 (109) National team 1990 Wales U21 1 (0) 1991–2007 Wales 64 (1...

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Ronaldo confident of win over 'strong' Barcelona

MADRID (AFP) - – Barcelona are a tough proposition but Real Madrid will gain the upper hand when the Spanish giants clash in the first classico of the season on Monday, Real's Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo predicted Thursday. "Barcelona is still a very difficult team. Barca is a very strong team, especially when they play at home. They are there to fight for the league title," he told reporters on the sidelines of a promotional event. "We know they are playing at a good level and for this reason it will be an important and beautiful game. May the best team win. And the best team will be Madrid," the 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year added. Ronaldo rejected suggestions that the match would be decisive like a final, claiming...

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Rooney apologises to Manchester United fans

GLASGOW (AFP) - – Wayne Rooney has tried to make his peace with Manchester United's fans by saying sorry for the way his contract talks were concluded last month. The England striker appeared to question United's desire and left open the possibility he might move to local rivals Manchester City. It left a sour taste with many United fans who, when Rooney did extend his Old Trafford contract by five years, felt he toyed with their emotions in the hope of getting a better financial deal. Rooney, before scoring his match-winning penalty in United's 1-0 Champions League victory over Rangers at Ibrox here on Wednesday, said: "I feel like I have apologised to the fans but everyone keeps saying that I haven't. "If that is the case, then...

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Wasim wants fresh faces in PCB

Wasim wants fresh faces in PCB The former Pakistan captain believes that the change of guard could start with the appointment of a "youngish" chief selector in place of Abdul Qadir, who has recently resigned from the position. "What Pakistan need is the involvement of younger men, people in their thirties or forties who have played cricket in the modern era because they are the ones who will have the capability of make things right for the game," Akram told 'The News' at Lord's on Tuesday. Without criticising Qadir, Akram said that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) should appoint a chief selector from his (Akram's) age bracket. "It's important for Pakistan cricket that the chief...

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Jayasuriya, Dilshan overpower WI

Jayasuriya, Dilshan overpower WI NOTTINGHAM: Sanath Jayasuriya and Tillekeratne Dilshan hammered an opening stand of 124 as Sri Lanka beat the West Indies by 15 runs in the World Twenty20 here on Wednesday. The duo lifted Sri Lanka to 192-5, a total the West Indies chased bravely despite the absence of explosive opener and captain Chris Gayle, who missed the Group C match due to a knee injury. The West Indians ended at 177-5, fired by a spectacular counter-attack by Dwayne Bravo and Ramnaresh Sarwan, who put on 77 off 59 balls for the fifth wicket. Bravo hit a 38-ball 51 that included five fours and two sixes, while Sarwan remained unbeaten on 28. The match, watched by a sell-out crowd...

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