Giggs chosen to lead Wales into Euro 2020

– Manchester United great Ryan Giggs (right) has been appointed the manager of Wales, the Football Association of Wales (FAW) announced yesterday.

The FAW confirmed Giggs’ appointment via its official Twitter feed with a short film of a Wales shirt having the name “Giggs” pressed into it, with an accompanying caption of #CroesoGiggsy (Welcome Giggsy).

It will be Giggs’ first permanent managerial post and he succeeds Chris Coleman, who bowed out after the national side failed to qualify for this year’s World Cup finals in Russia and now manages Championship side Sunderland.

“I am so proud to have been given the honour of managing the national team,” said Giggs in a FAW statement.

“The challenges we have ahead of us with the Nations League and qualification for Uefa Euro 2020 excite me a great deal.

“I can’t wait to start working with the players as we prepare for those crucial games later in the year.”

Giggs’ first fixture in charge will be in the China Cup against the hosts in Nanjing on March 22.

This will be Giggs’ first fulltime job as a manager, although he was in caretaker charge of United for four games at the end of the 2013/14 season after David Moyes was sacked.

Giggs, 44, has been the clear favourite for the Wales job since he declared his interest last month, saying: “I’ve played for Wales and I’ve said I want to go back into coaching.

“Obviously that is one of the top jobs.”

Giggs was interviewed last week along with former international team-mate Craig Bellamy and Osian Roberts, Coleman’s former assistant who is also the FAW’s technical director.

Former Wales defender Mark Bowen was also interviewed after leaving his role as Stoke’s assistant manager a few days earlier.

Giggs’s contract, which will reportedly take him up to the 2022 World Cup, was tied up over the weekend.

The FAW was keen to make the appointment before the Uefa Nations League draw, which takes place in Switzerland on January 24.

Giggs, who won 64 Wales caps between 1991 and 2007, has been out of football for 18 months since leaving the coaching staff at Manchester United. – AFP