Gareth Bale: A force to reckon with

Gareth Bale leaps after scoring the winner against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final

Following an impressive season with Tottenham, Gareth Bale was signed by Real Madrid to muscle their squad this season. Kudos to the 24 year old Bale who carried forward the responsibility of winning matches for his newly signed club. Focused to clinch back the silverware from their arch rivals, Madrid has utilized Bale quite well. The young man has showed tremendous character in front of the goal and also when he slits the pass through the legs of his opponents. An incredible pace and an awesome ball control accentuates Bale’s characteristics.

Bale was signed for a world record transfer fee by Madrid, overshadowing Ronaldo’s signing back in 2009. Plagued by injuries in the first half of the season, Bale was back with a bang with two goals and two assists in a 7-3 victory over Sevilla. He was nicknamed “Bale: The Cannon”. Bale started his career as a left back with Southampton. Later, Tottenham manager, Harry Redknapp played him as a left winger to utilise his tremendous pace. The experimentation paid off and the cannon is ready to fire now.

The change over from a left back to a left winger meant that Bale had to transform into a middle-weight boxer over a day’s time. His developed upper-body strength makes it difficult to muscle him past the ball and his pace compliments to this by making it hard to keep up with him for the ball. It might be quite surprising to hear that Gareth Bale is faster than his Madrid mate (Ronaldo) only to be left behind Robben and Ribery. A classic example would be “extra-ordinary solo goal” that he scored in Copa del Rey final against Barcelona where he destroyed Marc Bartra for pace. The latter had tried to foul the Welshman to derail him, but those efforts landed in vain against the cannon.

The fastest man on Earth, Usain Bolt showered praise on the Welshman for the above mentioned goal and said that he could only dream of scoring such a goal. He further added that Bale showed his pace when he swept past the defender and kept his cool when he artistically slid the ball through the keeper.

Bale, a proven star now has clearly emerged from the shadows of Cristiano Ronaldo. He has proved that the responsibility of a million dollar signing fo Real Madrid is not about individual talent but to deliver that brilliance when it matters the most.

With Copa del Rey already won, Bale should now eye for a Real treble this season. With the Champions league match against the German giants (Bayern Munich) and La Liga title in contention with Athletico Madrid, Bale should look forward to deliver his brilliance in the absence of talisman Cristiano Ronaldo to lead Real to the treble.