As Wales’ Ryan Giggs jogged off the Millennium Stadium pitch on Saturday to deserved applause for a man of the match display, I couldn’t help thinking of all those friendly match tickets I had bought over the years when the Welsh star was pulled out of the squad at the last minute.
Giggs played 64 times for his country in 16 years and probably missed 50 more caps courtesy of Sir Alex Ferguson’s 'careful handling' of the winger's notoriously dodgy ham-strings at Manchester United.
Can it be true that he never appeared in an away friendly for Wales?
I recalled Paul Bodin’s missed penalty at 1-1 against Romania which hit the bar at the old Arm’s Park in 1993.
A few inches lower and we could have been off to the USA for Wales' first World Cup since 1958.
There was the disappointment of the 0-1 Euros play-off nightmare against Russia in 2003.
Even Jason Koumas’ free-kick on Saturday virtually hit the 'Paul Bodin spot' on the frame of the goal.
Ryan was always fated to earn legendary status at Manchester United, not in a major international tournament for Wales.
I just about understood John Toshack's decision to substitute Giggs with minutes left on Saturday, so that he could take the plaudits from a disappointing 30,000 crowd.
But I would rather he had stayed on - just in case there was that last second free-kick, right side of the penalty box.
1-0, four points behind the leaders with a game in hand.
It was always a Big Ask, just like expecting one player to carry the hopes of a nation.
For the fans, the dream has gone for another qualifying tournament, but for Ryan Giggs it is over.
