Gareth Bale’s stock has been on the rise ever since he made his debut for Southampton as a left-back, with a reputation for taking fierce free-kicks. His subsequent move to Tottenham, and transformation from a much-maligned player to one of the world’s best wingers, that saw him become the most expensive transfer ever at the time, has been very well documented.
At the Santiago Bernabeu, he went from strength to strength, helping the Los Blancos to two Champions League titles in three years. While a player of his calibre makes headlines more often than not, there are quite a few facts about the Welsh wizard that have flown under the radar.
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Also read: Five reasons why Gareth Bale can never replace Cristiano Ronaldo
Here are 11 facts about the Welshman that you probably did not know.
#11 His Tottenham Hotspur jinx
While Bale went on to be a tremendous player for Tottenham, it’s fair to say that his beginnings at the club were humble, to say the least.
It took the winger an incredible 25 league games to end up on the winning side with Tottenham; a run of games that extended for two years, three managers and 1,533 minutes of football.
The unfortunate jinx was finally broken when he came on as an 84th-minute substitute against Burnley in September 2009 with Spurs already 4-0 up. They ended up winning the game 5-0 and Bale could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Needless to say, when his career at Spurs did come to an end after the 2012/13 season, not many could accuse the Welshman of being a ‘bad luck charm.’ Quite the contrary as the Welshman was arguably the sole reason the north-London club even managed to push the top-4 race so close that year.
#10 He made his Wales debut at the age of just 16
Bale earned his first cap for the Wales national team when he was just 16 years old. It shows how highly he was regarded in the national setup as he had only played around 180 minutes of senior football at that point in time.
During his debut season for Southampton the previous year, he became the second youngest player to ever play for the Saints, behind only Theo Walcott.
He was included in the Wales squad at the end of the 2005/06 season for a friendly against Trinidad and Tobago. In that match, after being brought on in the 55th minute, he proceeded to assist the winning goal in a 2-1 victory.
At 16 years and 315 days, he became the youngest ever to play for the Dragons, a record that was broken by Liverpool’s Harry Wilson in 2012.
#9 He has been an incredibly fast runner his entire life
When Bale was just a 14-year-old in high school, he managed to set a pace of 11.4 seconds in the 100m dash; a feat made all the more impressive when you consider that Usain Bolt’s current world record for the 100-metre sprint stands at 9.58 seconds.
While we all have been treated to his blitzing runs on the football pitch and it seems abundantly clear how quick he is with the ball at his feet – something then Barcelona and now Borussia Dortmund defender Marc Bartra learned the hard way in the Copa del Rey final of 2014 – it was made official when he was declared the fastest player in the world after a FIFA-endorsed study by Mexican club Pachuca, saw him clock a top speed of almost 26.9 kmph with the ball at his feet.
#8 He is a teetotaler
Bale is one of the few footballers who entirely shies away from any sort of alcoholic drink, claiming that he simply does not like the taste. “I just don’t like to drink, to be honest. It’s not the fact that I choose not to drink alcohol. I just don’t like the taste of it. I’ve obviously tasted it, but I just don’t like it so it doesn’t do anything for me to be honest.”
He has maintained that his favourite drink has always been a cold glass of water – a line I’m sure a lot of us can agree with. His lifestyle makes him a poster-boy for any aspiring young footballer.
#7 He’s talented at quite a few other sports too
While we all know of his talent in the beautiful game, it wasn’t the only sport he thrived at in school, as the Welshman excelled at almost everything he participated in.
Bale showed early potential in a wide variety of other sports such as rugby, hockey and distance running; he also claims he’s pretty good at tennis even today.
His favourite pastime outside of football, however, is golf. Bale is a big fan of the sport and he constantly uses his free time to improve his swing and in general, become an all-round better golfer. His passion and commitment to the sport also saw him play a few rounds at the iconic US Open course at Pebble Beach, California.
#6 He holds a unique record
After his incredible 2012/13 season saw him break the 20 goal barrier in the league and Tottenham break their then record points tally, Bale won both the PFA Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards. This feat was previously achieved only twice before – by Cristiano Ronaldo in 2006/07 and Andy Gray in 1976/77.
It was the season that saw Bale truly come into his own and stake his claim at being the best winger on the planet. His achievements and performances turned the heads of the Real Madrid board, who spent a record-breaking sum on the Welshman to lure him to the Santiago Bernabeu.
#5 His weird connection to Arnold Schwarzenegger
While this connection may seem a bit forced, it still has reasonable credence considering how Gareth Bale’s national career has panned out over the last decade and how his debut is arguably one of the more important events in the Welsh football team’s recent history.
The 27-year-old made his first appearance for Wales on May 27, 2006 as a substitute against Trinidad and Tobago. He made a telling impact in the match after replacing midfielder, David Vaughan, assisting the second goal as the Dragons claimed a 2-1 victory.
What’s not widely known is that the match was held at the Liebherr GAK Stadium in Graz, Austria as part of Trinidad and Tobago’s World Cup warm-up campaign and that the venue, with a total capacity of around 15,400, had previously been known as the Arnold Schwarzenegger stadium.
#4 He could have been capped for the English team
Due to Bale’s heritage – his grandmother being from England – he could have chosen to play for the England national team. However, the Welshman has gone on record to say that he never wanted to play for anyone but Wales.
Before Wales’ Euro 2016 clash with the 3 Lions, he was quoted as saying, “I wouldn’t care if I never qualified (with Wales) – I would never play for England.”
While there were similar rumours surrounding Manchester United legend, Ryan Giggs and how he could have turned out for England, it was never the case.
While Giggs’ national team tenure was characterised by accusations of him constantly shirking duty and not giving it his all, Bale has gone on to cement his reputation as arguably the greatest to have ever played for the Dragons.
#3 His favourite trick with the football
Bale has a wide assortment of tricks and flicks in his locker to make a defender look silly, but he has emphasised that his favourite is the side-step.
While talking to FourFourTwo Performance, he threw light on some of his favourite ways to bamboozle his opponents, saying, “The side-step is when you fake to take the ball with your left foot, but step across to the left and take the ball to the right with the outside of the right foot. Messi often keeps his eyes straight ahead. Not easy but give it a go!”
Some of the other tricks that he mentions in the interview are the scissors, the pull-push and the drag-back – each of which he uses in varying amounts to constantly terrorise defences.
(Video courtesy: F2Freestylers - Ultimate Soccer Skills Channel)
#2 His aversion to tattoos
Following the footsteps of his Real Madrid teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, Bale has admitted that he would never consider getting a tattoo, but for entirely different reasons compared to his teammate.
Ronaldo has abstained from getting inked because he’s a regular blood donor, and it’s a cause he’s widely supported over the course of his career. The Welshman, on the other hand, felt that he could never get a tattoo or wear over-the-top jewellery because of his father Frank, who is a school caretaker. He, however, did admit to giving his dad a shock by once wearing magnetic earrings for a family dinner back home in Cardiff.
“My dad walked in and I swear I thought he was going to kill me,” said Bale. “He looked at me with such disgust. I thought, ‘Oh my God!’ My mate was in and he felt proper awkward.”
Looks like even when you’re a millionaire, there are some lines you simply cannot cross in the Bale household.
#1 The reason behind his iconic ‘heart hand’ celebration
Bale’s meteoric rise to the top of the footballing landscape was accompanied by plenty of goals and of course, the celebration that came along with it – the heart shape he makes with his hand.
While the celebration itself is quite popular, the reason behind it is truly heartwarming. It was first incorporated into his celebration as a gesture towards his childhood sweetheart, Emma Rhys-Jones, to whom he is now engaged and has two daughters with.
In March 2013, Bale filed an application with the Intellectual Property office to register a logo based on his heart-shaped goal celebration along with his squad number (eleven). He now stands to earn £3 million a year from these alone; quite a tidy sum from something that was initially meant to be just a romantic gesture.
