Winners rostrum: Jessica Ennis (left), Giggs
(centre) and Jenson Button (right)
A televisual event which confounds expectations more
times than not last night honoured Ryan Giggs as a surprise BBC
Sports Personality of the Year.
The Manchester United winger earned the viewers’ accolade for
his durability, honesty and loyalty, beating Formula One world
champion Jenson Button into second place by 55,000 votes.
Clearly surprised by the award, the 36-year-old Giggs said:
‘That is a big shock, as you can tell by the speech I’ve prepared.
As if I wasn’t nervous enough, my heroes Seb Coe and Michael
Johnson are sitting right here in front of me.
Wing wizard: Giggs is the most decorated player in
English football history
‘Liberty and Zach, my kids, you can go to bed now.
You’ve got school in the morning. ‘I’ve been lucky
enough to win a lot playing for the greatest manager who ever lived
and the greatest team, but this is up there with all of that. I
grew up watching this show.
‘It’s more special because I’m in my thirties. You don’t expect
to win things at this age. You expect to win them when you’re
younger and supposedly in your prime. ‘I might have to put the
award on the table when I go in and speak to the club about a new
contract.’
Button narrowly failed to follow motor racing’s great tradition
in the awards programme, instead emulating Lewis Hamilton, who
finished runner-up in each of the previous two years.
Button said: ‘At least I respect the people who beat me very
much. Ryan has achieved a lot in his career. Because of how long he
has been at the top in his sport he is the Michael Schumacher of
football in some ways.’
Fittingly in her home town, Sheffield’s world heptathlon
champion Jessica Ennis came in third place.
While the 516,473 votes cast for the main award were 200,000
less than last year, it nonetheless compared favourably with
previous years, privately pleasing BBC executives who had feared a
rout by ITV’s X Factor.