Juventus were probably sick of the sight of Ryan Giggs by 2003 following the midfielder's heroics back in 1997, and, astonishing as it is to reflect on now, Giggs wasn't a popular figure with the United fans at the time, either. Prior to this Champions League encounter, much had been said and written about Giggs's future at the club, with some supporters believing the Welshman was undeserving of his role in the first team having put in some under par performances. Giggs responded to those criticisms in awesome fashion, scoring two first half goals against the Italian giants as United destroyed Juve 3-0 in their own backyard. The midfielder scored a superb solo-goal here, picking up a loose ball, dribbling to the edge of the box and dispatching low into the bottom corner as Juventus's defence was breached at home for the first time in 722 minutes of Champions League football. Speculation at the time had linked Giggs with a move to Inter Milan, but he instead went on put in a career-defining performance and stay at Old Trafford for another 11 years.
Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.
