Leagues POSTS
Just who is Gareth Bale?
Published by Ian John on October 21, 2010
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When you travel to the home of the European Champions, your team is reduced to 10 men early on and 4-0 down, yet you score a second half hat-trick to pull your team back from the brink, you would probably be lauded by critics and placed in the same bracket as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. But this is Tottenham Hotspur’s flying left winger Gareth Bale we are talking about and he is about to become arguably the hottest property in European football.
Forget the Rooney saga, which is expected to reach some kind of completion today when Sir Alex Ferguson and David Gill meet to discuss Rooney’s situation at Old Trafford, there is no question that if there was a UK based football talent to be listed as the most in demand by European football’s top clubs, then at the moment, the unlikely name at the top of that list would be Gareth Bale.
The Bale story is an interesting one. Born in Cardiff, he was snapped up by Southampton at the tender age of nine and made waves in their youth ranks before becoming Southampton’s second youngest ever player (behind Theo Walcott) at 16 years 275 days old. His elevation into the Welsh national team followed swiftly and he became the youngest ever Welsh player when he came on as a sub against Trinidad and Tobago in May 2006. In October that year he became the youngest goalscorer for Wales when netting against Slovakia with an eye-catching free kick. Bale was quickly making a name for himself.
After 43 appearances for Southampton over two years, Bale was finally snapped up by Tottenham. Joining for an initial fee of £5m, that can and most likely will rise towards the £10m mark, Bale was signed by Spurs with an eye towards becoming a regular left back. But Bale struggled to make an impact in that position early in his Tottenham career and he spent most of the time on the bench.
It was at this time that the “Bale Jinx” struck Spurs. In his first 24 games for the club Bale never experienced victory for Spurs. The turning point came when Bale came on as a late substitute in an away victory over Burnley.
Even at the start of 2010, Bale’s place in the Spurs side was hardly guaranteed. With a very talented and packed squad to pick from, Bale had to impress manager Harry Redknapp to keep his place in the side and the young Welshman has done that and more over the past 12 months.
As he has developed and matured Bale has moved from being a solid defender, into a marauding left midfielder. Equally adept at defending, or breaking quickly from deep into the box, possessing a fantastic left foot and the ability to strike the ball cleanly at pace as well as great stamina, an ability to throw the ball long and not to mention dead ball specialities. Bale’s form since the turn of 2010 has been nothing short of magnificent.
Not so long ago Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho mentioned he would be interested in Bale. He is not alone. Even before Bale’s astonishing virtuoso performance against Inter Milan in the Champions League last night, his performances for Spurs has seen him become their key player. Earmarked by opposition managers as THE man to stop if you want to stop Spurs in their tracks.
It’s all a bit of a culture shock for the quiet and unassuming Welshman from Cardiff. What is without doubt is that in the current market, signing Gareth Bale is going to cost any side a great deal more than the £5m Tottenham paid Southampton for his services four years ago.
But whatever the cost, if he continues to put in performances like he did against Inter Milan last night, he will be worth it. It was Messi-esque in its decisiveness and brilliance and Gareth Bale cannot be paid a higher compliment than that.
Image Courtesy of ***Neilly81*** on Photobucket.com
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