Giggs warns Jose stars they must bridge gap
RYAN GIGGS says that Manchester United’s stars must learn to close the gap on Juventus – just like his generation did.
United legend Giggs will be watching with interest when Jose Mourinho’s men, outclassed in last month’s 1-0 loss at Old Trafford, visit Turin tonight.
But Giggs, who won a record
34 trophies at United, admits Sir Alex Ferguson’s men initially had the same problem dealing with the Italian giants.
They lost to Juventus in 1996 and
1997 when they faced stars likes Zinedine Zidane, Alen Boksic, Edgar Davids and Alessandro Del Piero.
But they found a way beat Juve memorably in 1999, on their way to the treble, and again in 2003 when Giggs scored twice in Italy.
He said: “United were second best the other week. Juventus were fantastic and United didn’t turn up.
“But United have the players and I think it will be closer. It is about realising you have to get to that level.
“How do you do that? You have to perform week in, week out, training every day and realising what it takes to be the best club in Europe and be part of that as an individual.
“We faced the likes of Zidane, Boksic, Davids, Del Piero but we had players who were capable of doing it too – and they did.”
United head to Juventus after successive victories in the Premier League over Everton and Bournemouth.
Giggs admits it is a concern that Mourinho’s men only seem to be turning it on in the second half of matches.
He added: “I’ve been really impressed with United in the last four or five games, especially second half.
“Bournemouth on Saturday were brilliant in the first half but United were brilliant in the second half.
“It’s just putting that 90 minutes together. I don’t know why that is – as a United fan you are scratching your head.
“They have proven they can give anyone a game.
Tough
“If you don’t turn up against Juventus or play for 45 minutes you will not win. You have to turn up for 90 minutes.”
Giggs has fond memories of battling Juve, including the 3-0 away triumph in 2003 when his double helped send United into the quarter-finals.
The Wales manager added: “I do remember it for a number of reasons. I was going through a tough spell at United. I’d missed an open goal against Arsenal and the Juve game was a few weeks after and I was sub but came on.”