查尔顿爵士赞扬吉格斯：他是名伟大的球员

Bobby Charlton leads plaudits for Ryan Giggs, a man for all seasons

查尔顿爵士赞扬吉格斯

Oliver Kay

奥利弗.凯

If it has been Cristiano Ronaldo’s year, it will be remembered as Ryan Giggs’s day. No one had been quite sure beforehand who would lift the Barclays Premier League trophy for Manchester United – the injured club captain, the vice-captain who did not start the game or the man who was captain for the day – but, by the time the drama of a tense afternoon had unfolded, it seemed that everyone at the JJB Stadium was there to pay tribute not just to the champions but to the legend that is Ryan Giggs.

这是属于罗纳尔多的一年，这是属于吉格斯的一天。谁也不知道谁会为曼联第一个举起冠军奖杯——受伤的队长，没有首发的副队长还是当天的场上队长——但当选年最终揭晓的时候，似乎JJB球场的每一个人都不光是把掌声送给冠军，更加是送给吉格斯的。

This was Giggs’s 758th appearance for United, a figure that puts him level with Sir Bobby Charlton in the Old Trafford record books. That alone would have made it a special occasion for the 34-year-old when he entered the fray as a substitute midway through the second half, but to do so on the day that United won the title – his tenth league winner’s medal of an illustrious career – then to score the 80th-minute goal that put the issue beyond any doubt put the icing on the cake for a man who, in the twilight of his career, has cemented his place among the immortals of the British game.

这是吉格斯为曼联出场的第758场，已经平了博比.查尔顿爵士的记录。光是这个已经足以使这天成为下半时替补上场的威尔士人的特别时刻了。而且曼联更加拿到了联赛冠军——吉格斯光辉的职业生涯中的第10个——他还在第80分钟打进1球。所以毫无疑问，这个已经进入职业生涯末期的男人将预定自己在不列颠足坛名人堂的席位。

As he prepared to collect his medal and to pick up the trophy, Giggs was embraced by Steve Bruce, the Wigan Athletic manager and a teammate in his early days as a United player, and, poignantly, by Charlton, who had left his seat in the directors’ box for this purpose.

在准备捧起奖杯的时候，维根经理布鲁斯上前拥抱了他。早年他们曾是队友。更具意义的是查尔顿爵士，为了这个时刻他早早的离开了行政包厢。

“He’s fantastic,” Charlton, 70, said. “He’s a great athlete, a great person and a great footballer. Nobody deserves to break records like he does. Ryan’s record with Manchester United is unbelievable and I’m really proud of him. I’ve forgotten about the record already.”

“他太棒了，”70岁的查尔顿说。“他是个伟大的运动员，伟大的人和伟大的球员。没有人比他更值得打破记录。瑞恩在曼联的记录令人难以置信，我真为他感到骄傲。我已经忘了记录的事了。”

So, too, it seemed, had Giggs, who said that “it’s championships, not individual records, that count”, but the significance of his achievements was not lost on his teammates or indeed the United supporters. As the postmatch celebrations took place in front of the North Stand – Wes Brown spraying the United fans with champagne while Anderson and Nani, neither of whom was involved yesterday, showed off their dancing skills – a chant to the tune of Sloop John B took hold, adopted by players and supporters alike. “He’s won it ten times, he’s won it ten times. That boy Giggsy, he’s won it ten times.”

吉格斯说“这是冠军，不是一个人的荣誉。”这个成就也不能没有队友或者球迷地支持。赛后庆祝就在北看台前——布朗把香槟喷向曼联球迷，安德森和纳尼昨天都没打，但给球迷们秀了一下舞蹈天赋。伴着Sloop John B的旋律，“他拿了10个冠军，他拿了10个冠军。那就是吉格斯，他拿了10个冠军。”

It was also the tenth league title for Sir Alex Ferguson, but the United manager had no hesitation in paying tribute to a player who first emerged as a 17-year-old in the final weeks of the 1990-91 campaign. “It was amazing,” Ferguson said. “As soon as it started raining, I was thinking how I was going to get Giggs into the game, because he is fantastic on soft ground with his balance, his ability to beat a man. But with Paul Scholes getting his booking, one loose tackle on a greasy surface and he would have been in trouble, so we waited and waited. I ended up making the change midway through the second half, with Ryan and Owen Hargreaves coming on, and it settled us down a bit.

这也是弗格森爵士的第10个联赛冠军，但曼联经理毫不犹豫的把赞扬给了这位17岁时1990-1991赛季的最后一个比赛日才参赛的球员。“太棒了，”弗格森爵士说。“开始下雨的时候我就想我要让吉格斯上。因为他有很好的平衡能力很擅长在软场上踢球。但斯科尔斯拿了黄牌，是因为在湿滑的场地上铲球没有掌握好，他会有麻烦的。所以我们得等等。我下半场做出了改变，吉格斯和哈格上了，这让局势变得稳定。

“It was fantastic for Ryan to get the goal that matters, but maybe it was fate. He deserves it. He’s been a credit to the game and, having known him for 20 years, for him to equal Bobby’s record on the day he scores the title-winning goal for us, well, it’s just fantastic.”

“吉格斯能达成目标太好了，但这就是命。他完全值得。他是比赛的保证，已经20年了，能平查尔顿爵士的记录又为我们赢得冠军打进1球，哦，这太棒了。”

As he made his way off the pitch, Giggs, who by this stage had wrapped himself in a Welsh flag, shared a moment with Gary Neville, who has not played a minute of Premier League football since damaging ankle ligaments in a match against Bolton Wanderers in March 2007.

下场的时候，吉格斯披上了威尔士国旗，与内维尔一起享受这个时刻。本赛季后者因为去年3月受的伤没有打1分钟的联赛。

Neville’s wretched injury problems and the retirement in August of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer serve as an unwanted reminder that time, ultimately, catches up with every footballer. Some day it will catch up with Giggs, too, but, as he held the Premier League trophy in his arms last night, serenaded by teammates and supporters alike, it was time to pay tribute to United’s man for all seasons.

内维尔的伤病和索尔斯克亚8月的退役是谁都不愿意看到却又不可避免的。有一天吉格斯也会一样。但就像他昨晚帮助曼联夺冠，享受球迷和队友的歌声，是时候向这个曼联人的赛季表示敬意了。