The other side of the Bale saga

Real Madrid brought an end to a heart-stopping two months for their fans, finally luring Welshman Gareth Bale from Tottenham Hotspur for a fee reportedly ranging anywhere between 86.3 and 93 million euros. Even though the transfer does not violate UEFA Fair Play rules, is it a smart move? And what are the implications of such a deal?

Two days from the end of the transfer window, as this scribe struggled with integration problems in his tuition class, an excited whisper, almost tauntingly jubilant was heard.

‘Bale has finally arrived’.

Seeing the official confirmation of the same a few hours later made the Blaugrana in me smile. Since mid-July, Real Madrid’s transfer run mirrored much of Manchester United, the only difference being that Real mirrored a missile ready to home on its target, while United went around in circles, targeting players from Cesc Fabregas and Thiago, to Mesut Ozil and Leighton Baines, eventually pocketing Marouane Fellaini for a cool 27.5 million euros on deadline day. Both teams went about like jilted lovers doing everything to seduce their beloved, even as the clock ominously ticked down to September 2.

After Arsenal ended its pursuit of the enigmatic, though controversial Luis Suarez, the Bale saga had football fans the world over on tenterhooks. It was a script made for a masala movie, with the media seemingly assuming the licence to print anything to feed the gossip hungry fans. Numerous deals were floated by Madrid, from brokering Angel Di Maria or Fabio Coentrao plus cash for Bale, and other offers of outright cash for Bale as well.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy remained a tacit customer all through, cleverly holding off the Spanish outfit till he knew Bale wouldn’t stay for sure, and then cleverly spending the then accrued cash on various players from Christian Eriksen to Erik Lamela, to strengthen the side, at least on paper.

Finally, the deal did go through, even as Madrid had goof-ups with regards to erecting a stage for their new star’s arrival. But, did, or does, the deal make sense as Madrid gears up to battle bitter rivals, Barcelona? Here’s a look:

1. From a 3M euro nobody to the world’s most expensive. Well-deserved?

Gareth Bale always had the attributes of the blazing left winger he is today as a young teenager back in Wales. Known for his sprinting ability even back then, Bale, however, failed to impress upon joining Spurs from Southampton in 2007, eventually leading them to consider selling the then left-back to West Ham United for 3 million euros. Spurs manager Harry Redknapp intervened, got the man to play upfront on the left wing, and the rest is history.

Back to the present, it is to be understood how most players come to be valued as valuable ‘commodities’ over the years. Bale may be the best young player in the Premier League last year, however, the chances of international success are numbered due to the lack of equally talented individuals in the Welsh side.

Also, the previous season can at best be described as the ‘coming of age’ year for Gareth, in which he transformed those sporadic flashes of brilliance (Remember that hat-trick against Inter in a losing cause?) into a more consistent display. This season will test him long and hard, given the fact that the season after the coming of age is traditionally the hardest, and also because Bale no longer remains the sole offensive entity like he used to be in Spurs.

Even if Bale does enjoy an amazing run at the Bernabeu, it seems clear that Real paid 30 million euros a bit too much for him. Not that it’ll pinch Perez should Bale bring a slew of goals.

2. Market forces

The hullabaloo surrounding the Bale transfer reminds one of the ‘wow’ factor David Beckham exuded when he joined Real from United. It is widely acknowledged that Real intended to use Becks for his wide marketing reach in Asia, which resulted in astounding shirt sales predominated by the number 23.

In this one domain, Madrid might well have pulled off a coup, given that Cristiano Ronaldo may not last for long as a viable market force, turning 29 the coming February. Real also might see the continued interest of Manchester United for the Portuguese as another reason to shore up their left wing. Given that Ronaldo has admitted to not being really happy at the Bernabeu, one wonders if this is the proverbial lull before a stormy Perez sends Ronaldo back for a second sojourn at Old Trafford, and not lose too many shirts in the bargain.

3. Team impact

They say that history repeats itself. However, it says nothing of the same man going towards an old mistake. Perez should have learnt his lessons when David Beckham endured fraught ties with another Portuguese, Luis Figo. Bale and Ronaldo seem to be going down a similar path, the only difference being that it’s the left wing which hots up now, instead of the right flank a decade ago.

Some circles don’t predict such gloom, rather gunning for Bale to be put on the right wing to provide crosses to Ronaldo. Not only does this go against Bale’s tradition of cutting in and scoring, it also would wound his ego to be reduced to provide crosses to Ronaldo. The mirror image of this scenario poses the same problem.

With the sale of Mesut Ozil to Arsenal, the playmaker’s spot will be hotly contested by Isco and Luka Modric. It poses a special problem to Luka, given his history as Bale’s right hand man in the Spurs. Given that the Madrid partisan already don’t think much of him, can he take the risk of slotting the ball more often to Bale’s flank to cut in?

4. Conclusion

All in all, it remains an interesting proposition, a veritable headache to Carlo Ancelloti. It remains to be seen if Real learns from its mistake of the 2000s. Is the Bale deal really worthwhile, or just an attempt to answer the Neymar deal in a bigger, albeit worthless manner? That, my friends, remains to be seen. And we Blaugranas are surely going to enjoy it