Bale and Ronaldo show what future holds for Real Madrid

Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid

When Real Madrid began their pursuit of Gareth Bale, there were those who said that he would be too similar to Ronaldo and wondered why they needed a doppelganger, when they had the real deal. But after just playing together a couple of times, they look like they might fit in very well together and flourish.

On the face of it, it might look fairly straight forward. Gareth Bale is used to playing as an inverted winger cutting in from the right, from his Tottenham days and Ronaldo, doing likewise, from the left with devastating effect over the past few years for Real. So, put them there and get on with it, sounds easy.

But the fact is, whilst in theory at least, it looks fairly easy, but football tactics are not all about theory. It is about the application of it and to put them both on the wings, in a side which plays with just one proper holding midfielder, would be nothing short of suicide, at least in the defensive sense.

Whilst both these players are one of the finest in the world right now when it comes to attack, neither of them are known for their defensive side of the game. That is primarily because of the fact that both of them have been so good going one way that, their team has correspondingly adapted to their style of play. This might prove a little tricky now that both of them play for the same side.

Against Villarreal on the weekend, Bale started on the right, with Ronaldo on the left. But just a few minutes into the game both of them consistently switched sides and that was the case until the end of the game. Whilst Bale got all the plaudits for his goal, his combination with the Portuguese would certainly have encouraged Ancelotti, as he hopes to fit in the world’s most expensive and highest paid player, in the same line-up.

Against Galatasary on Tuesday, however, whilst Bale came on from the bench and slotted into the familiar right wing, Ronaldo played up front as the striker, and to deadly effect. The combination play between the two of them was evident right from the moment Ronaldo scored from Bale’s free kick. The two of them were instinctively trying to pick each other out and there might yet be a way to fit both in the same team.

The Welshman, who joked that Ronaldo was the boss and that he was first in line when it comes to taking free kicks, took the set piece that led to Ronaldo’s second goal and played a pivotal part in setting up the final few goals. After the game, Bale said: “It was great to be back in the Champions League again. It was nice to be able to contribute immediately, taking the free-kick. It was fantastic to be involved in all three of the goals at the end.”

The game against Galatasary, however, belonged to one man and one man only, Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese made all the headlines with a hat-trick just a couple of days after signing a contract extension at the Bernabéu, which made him the highest paid player in the world. The Portuguese attacker also said that he was happy with the past few days.

“The last few days have been great for me,” Ronaldo said. “I am very pleased. We did what we had to do, which was to win, and the others drew [Copenhagen holding Juventus 1-1] which is even better.” He also said that his understanding with Bale is growing gradually. On Bale, he said “He is steadily getting up to speed because he has been out of action for a while and it is all going well for him.”

Whilst all the column inches will no doubt be devoted to Ronaldo and Bale, it was another player, who was quietly making his Champions League debut that will decide if the two of them start in the same line-up. He is none other than the diminutive Spaniard signed from Malaga over the summer, Isco.

With four goals and three assists in nine starts in the competition, the Spaniard is the player who holds all the cards and will decide whether two of the finest attackers of this generation, or any other, will start in the same line-up. He has already fit in like a glove in the opening few games and his form will be key.

And, whether it is Nike versus Adidas off the pitch, Ancelloti would be hoping that both of them can feed off each other and combine with consummate ease as the season wears on.