Gareth Bale’s fast start should inspire optimism from Real Madrid fans
After a summer of major departures, Real Madrid’s biggest story after their first two games in La Liga involves a familiar face.
Gareth Bale has been Real Madrid’s best player through their first two games of the season. Bale has two goals and one assist in Real’s opening fixtures, a very promising start to the new year. With the departure of both Zinedine Zidane and Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid are in the midst of transition. A great season by Bale could help them make that transition much easier.
Bale has experienced ups and downs throughout his career at Real Madrid.
He was burdened with high expectations after coming to Spain from England, mostly because of the money spent to acquire him. Real spent a then-world record fee of €100.8 million on Bale’s transfer from Tottenham in 2013. He’s been instrumental in many of Real Madrid’s victories, including scoring in two different Champions League finals. Bale also helped Real capture the Copa del Rey in 2014 with a late goal against rivals Barcelona.
Bale’s time at Real has also been characterized by injury. The Welsh winger has found it difficult to stay fit for extended periods of time, missing 40 out of a possible 60 matches at one point. Bale has suffered injuries to his knees, back, ankles and thighs, but calf injuries have kept him out more than any other ailment. According to Transfermarkt, Bale has missed 30 games at Real for calf issues alone.
Because of Bale’s reputation as something of an injury risk, some fans of the club have lobbied for the team to acquire another attacking player to replace him. Bale himself was reportedly linked with a move to Manchester United before the English transfer deadline earlier this month.
Bale’s extended injury history has raised concern as to whether or not he can lead Real’s attack. Two games into this season, he seems to have put many of those fears to bed. It may be early, but Bale has shown a new sense of purpose and urgency in his play. In seasons past, he often looked to lay the ball to others or let his teammates make plays.
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Now he’s taken a much greater responsibility, using his speed to both create and finish opportunities on the counter. Both of his goals this season have come after spirited runs into the box, meaning that Bale is getting into areas where he’s more likely to score. Long shots have been a staple of his game even in his Tottenham days, but a more precise Gareth Bale is a much more dangerous player.
It’s important for attacking players to have good chemistry with one another, and Bale’s link-up play with Karim Benzema has been excellent in Real’s two early season wins. Both players seem to know where the other one is on the pitch at all times, and are able to adjust their runs accordingly.
Bale’s goal against Girona is an example of this. As he controls the ball on the wing, he sees that Benzema is running stride for stride with him up the middle of the pitch. There are two players positioned between them, and Bale realizes that any pass to Benzema would likely end in a turnover.
Instead of making the risky play, he continues on with the ball at his feet and eventually scores. Benzema, understanding the risk associated with a pass, doesn’t request one. This allows Bale to score and for Real to take a 3-1 lead in the game.
When healthy, Gareth Bale is one of the best players in the world. In his six seasons with Real Madrid, he’s scored 90 goals. He’s won 11 trophies in total with the club, including the Champions League on four different occasions.
A club with the stature and notoriety of Real Madrid wouldn’t have paid such a massive fee for a player if they felt he wouldn’t be able to live up to it. So far, despite the injuries, Bale has done exactly that.
If these two games are any indication, he may very well be able to surpass it.