Giggs finally on the threshold of promised land

Euro 2004 qualifiers: Welsh hero forever hamstrung in his pursuit of true greatness is close to fulfilling dream

It is hard to muster much pity for Ryan Giggs. He has the money, he has the looks and, of course, he has that left foot that most players would give, well, their left leg for. But, however fleeting, spare a thought for Giggs because the one thing he does not have is the recognition his talent so richly deserves.

For nigh on a decade this quietly spoken 28-year-old has had to grin and bear it as less talented club team-mates have returned to tell him of promised lands known as "major championships". And then there have been the occasions when his, how can we say, more glory-grabbing contemporaries were nominated for awards that he was not even considered for. It would be enough to embitter the mildest of manners. And it has.

"The likes of World Footballer of the Year?" Giggs said with a shake of the head last week. "Roy Keane is a perfect example. How he hasn't been involved in World Player of the Year or European Player of the Year I don't know. The only thing I can think of is that he plays for Ireland and not, say, Brazil or England. Maybe that's a factor with me as well."

But all this may soon change and Giggs may not yet be eternally stranded in an international wilderness that has claimed the likes of George Best and Jimmy Johnstone. After a 2-0 victory in Finland last month in their opening Euro 2004 qualifier on the road to Portugal, Wales play Italy at the Millennium Stadium on Wednesday and belief has never been higher. In a place such as Cardiff, where expectation is sold by the bucketload, this is quite a statement, but they can all but smell the piri-piri by the Taff.

Far from advising a modicum of realism, Giggs is happy to join in the hype. "We can win," he said at the Welsh golf club retreat, a few miles from his Cardiff birthplace. "We're the underdogs but we've got a definite chance and if we do we're in a great position. It's good we've made people finally sit up and notice."

Making people notice has long been a habit to Giggs. He made his full debut for his country as a 19-year-old – just months after doing likewise with Manchester United – and a free-kick that would have made a future golden-balled club-mate wince was good enough to humble Enzo Scifo's Belgium. The Welsh never need an excuse to dream, but in Giggs they had one and although Terry Yorath's side fell despairingly short of qualifying for USA 94, with such a genius in their ranks surely the big time was waiting in the next valley.

But then Yorath was dismissed, Ian Rush retired and with Dean Saunders and Neville Southall clinging on to past glories, Giggs was left to carry the can. Ultimately, it was a can too heavy for even Giggs' vast talent to shoulder. Major championships came and went as rapidly as Giggs' hamstring did, usually snapping around friendly fixture time. So cynical became the Welsh supporters to a Giggs withdrawal that when he did line up they would say: "Bloody hell, it must be important." A relationship that began in heaven was in danger of ending in a Salford treatment room.

But then Mark Hughes arrived and very quickly so did a new Wales, one that still couldn't score but which wouldn't let them in quite as often. After six draws in 10 games in their World Cup qualifying group came a row of friendlies in May in which Wales, plus Giggs, excelled. A 1-1 draw with Argentina was good, a 1-0 defeat of a full-strength Germany was better. By the start of this campaign – with the emergence of such creative entities as Simon Davies and Craig Bellamy to lend Giggs a hand – Hughes had effected a remarkable transformation.

And it was not simply the players who were converted. "My manager [Sir Alex Ferguson] was not surprised at all by the Finland result," Giggs said. "He has seen us a few times and he's been really impressed by Sparky."

Hughes is the first to acknowledge the influence his former United manager has had and although there has been the odd skirmish – mainly over that hamstring – Giggs can see the similarities. "Sparky and Alex are both winners. No matter what they play – snooker, cards, golf, football – they're winners and that feeds down to the players."

It is this mentality, Giggs believes, for which Wales were desperate. "Confidence is everything and once you've got that and the ball starts rolling it's very hard to stop. We lacked that confidence and that's only natural. You get used to losing just as you get used to winning. At the moment we are getting used to playing well and getting results."

For his part Giggs is playing as well as he has ever done, hitting a seam of form that he credits to an injury-free start to the season. Such was his frustration at the frequent sound of his hamstring going pop, he was ready to try anything. Giggs even forsook buying a new car every month. "I've not changed my car for the last 18 months. I've listened to the medical team and covered every depart-ment: cars, beds, massages every day. I don't know what it is, but it's worked."

The proof is in six goals already this term and the fact that his new sturdy frame has allowed him to play "14 or 15 games in a row this season, something I haven't done since I was 19". Wales remember that 19-year-old and the promises he brought. "It has always been my goal to help my country qualify for a major championship," Giggs says. On Wednesday, 70,000 Welshmen will confirm that it is their goal to see it.