Ups and downs of champions

Ryan Giggs' effort on the weekend, to score the goal that ultimately won Manchester United the Premiership title, is proof that while form may fade, class is permanent.

The veteran midfielder, who equaled Sir Bobby Charlton's record of 758 appearances for United, was his usual cool, calm and collected self as he put away the goal that all but ended one of the most dramatic Premiership races in recent history.

If I may take a trip down memory lane, I can remember a freezing, cold morning down in my garage watching Manchester United play Juventus in the 1998-99 Champions League semi-final, just a few weeks before the club achieved an historic treble.

At the time, my Dad, a rabid Juve fan if ever there was one, declared he was worried sick about that man Giggs, despite the fact the Italians were 2-0 ahead within the first 10 minutes and playing at home.

His concern proved prophetic as Giggs proceeded to fire in a series of crosses from every angle imaginable as United scored twice to level by half-time, before adding a third for good measure after the break.

Now a lot of water has gone under the bridge since that day and Giggs is now in the twilight of his career. But, he still has 10 English titles to his name, a Champions League winner's medal and the possibility of earning a second tilt at Europe's highest club prize when the Red Devils take on Chelsea in Moscow next week.

If any player deserves such accolades, then it is Giggs, the highly skilled left midfielder who has always quietly gone about his business and never made a big thing of himself.

This is in complete contrast to two other players over the last few weeks, in Inter Milan's Marco Materazzi and Barcelona's Samuel Eto'o. Indeed, their poor form could end up seeing them leave their respective clubs over the summer.

According to Italy's Gazzetto della Sport, Materazzi has been living a dream existence since scoring during Italy's 2006 World Cup triumph. His header saw the Azzurri draw level with France after Les Bleus had gone ahead on the back of a cheeky chipped penalty from Zidane.

More importantly, Materazzi, a combative presence at the best of times, said something to Zidane that caused the French champion to completely lose his head - literally - as he planted it firmly into Materazzi's chest.

The image of a forlorn Zidane trudging past the World Cup trophy on his way into retirement is one of the great iconic images of the game, while, for Materazzi, life just kept on getting better. He scored in Italy's penalty shoot-out victory, while also firing in the winning penalty at Siena last year that secured the 2006-07 Scudetto for Inter Milan.

Last Sunday, it looked as if history would repeat itself as Inter were awarded a dubious penalty late in another clash at Siena with scores at 2-2. Victory for Inter would have given them an impregnable lead over Roma and this season's Italian title and, under normal circumstances, Julio Cruz would have taken the spot kick as the team's designated penalty taker.

Not so this time. In this case, Materazzi, who admittedly has had a terrible season with injury, ran all the way from defence to grab the ball and refuse to let it go. Cruz was so upset he had to be physically restrained by Javier Zanetti as Materazzi went to take the kick.

But, with the travelling support urging their hero on, Materazzi blew the chance, going from hero to villain in an instant. Within minutes his coach, Roberto Mancini was slagging him off and demanding to know why Cruz hadn't taken the penalty, despite being suspiciously quiet on the sidelines before the kick was taken.

Now, with one Serie A match remaining, Inter needs to win at relegation-threatened Parma to ensure that Roma does not pinch the title from them. The capital club is also facing a relegation-threatened club in Catania Calcio, but it is only one point behind Inter, is playing better football and does not have the dressing room divisions that look like costing the Milan side dearly.

But, for all his faults, Materazzi at least had the guts to take a shot. The same cannot be said for Eto'o over the last week.

Within the context of the hatred that Real Madrid and Barcelona have for each other, Eto'o's actions a few years back were unclassy in the extreme. At the end of each season, an opposition team is meant to provide a tunnel of tribute to the team that won that season's title. But, Eto'o, never one accused of being the sharpest tool in the shed, had to take it one step further, grabbing a microphone and gleefully singing at the Bernabau crowd something along the lines of, 'Come on Madrid, salute your champions!'

But, with Barca in a dreadful slump this season, Eto'o scoring minimal goals and Real Madrid winning the title a few rounds back, what does Eto'o do when faced with the prospect of returning to the Bernabeau to provide a tribute tunnel for the championship-winning team?

He shows a distinct lack of guts and, one suspects, gets himself a yellow card in Barca's win over Valencia, ensuring that he had enough cautions to warrant a week off and miss the medicine the Madrid crowd would have dished out.

In the end, I guess it takes all types to play the game and football would certainly be worse off without the outlandish characters and the stories they bring. But, at the same time, a man with the class of Ryan Giggs should be remembered just as fondly too.