Gareth Bale

Gareth Frank Bale (born 16 July 1989) is a Welsh footballer who plays as a winger for Spanish club Real Madridand the Wales national team.

Bale began his professional career at Southampton, playing at left-back and earning acclaim as a free kickspecialist. He moved to Tottenham Hotspur in 2007, for an eventual £7 million fee. During his time at Spurs, managerial and tactical shifts saw him transform into a more offensive player. From the 2009–10 season, Bale became an integral part of the team, rising to international attention during the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League. In 2011 and 2013 he was named PFA Players' Player of the Year, and was named in the UEFA Team of the Year. In 2013 he was also named PFA Young Player of the Year and the FWA Footballer of the Year.

On 1 September 2013, Bale was transferred to Spanish team Real Madrid for an undisclosed fee. The Spanish press and Real Madrid TV reported £77 million (€91 million), while the English press reported a world record transfer fee of £85.3 million (€100 million), which would be above Cristiano Ronaldo's transfer record fee of £80 million (€94 million). He played an integral role in his first season at Real Madrid, helping the club to win the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League, scoring in both finals. The following season he won the UEFA Super Cup and in December 2014 scored in a third major final to help the club win the FIFA Club World Cup.

Renowned for his ball striking from distance, his free-kicks, and his ability to get past defenders with pace, Bale has received plaudits from his peers, who have described him as a footballer with "tremendous speed, great crossing ability, a great left foot and exceptional physical qualities".

Club career

Real Madrid


On 1 September 2013, Spanish side Real Madrid announced that they had reached an agreement for the transfer of Bale, signing a six-year deal for an undisclosed fee. The Spanish press (and Real Madrid TV) reported that Bale had cost £77 million (€91 million), while the British press reported a world record transfer fee of £85.3 million (€100 million), which would be above Cristiano Ronaldo's transfer record fee of £80 million (€94 million). Bale was assigned the number 11 shirt at Madrid.

2013–14 season


The first half of Bale's season was plagued by injuries; of Real's first sixteen games after his signing, Bale missed five and was substituted on or off in six others, playing only five full games.

Bale scored on his Real Madrid debut, a goal coming in the 38th minute against Villarreal, before being substituted later in the game for Ángel Di María. Bale's second appearance for Madrid came in a 6–1 victory over Galatasaray in theChampions League. Although Bale only played the final twenty-six minutes, his free-kick led to Cristiano Ronaldo's second goal of the game. On 28 September 2013, Bale made his home debut as a second-half substitute in a 1–0 loss to local rivals Atlético Madrid.

Due to a recurring thigh injury he suffered during pre-season, Bale missed the first two games of October, againstCopenhagen and Levante. Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti continued to gradually ease him back into action, as he played 14 minutes against Málaga on 19 October. He won a stoppage time penalty which Ronaldo scored to give Madrid a 2–0 victory. Following another brief appearance against Juventus in the Champions League, Bale made his El Clásico debut on 26 October, but was substituted in the 61st minute. Barcelona won the game 2–1, and Bale's performance drew criticism from certain sections of the media. Four days later, he scored two goals and assisted two in a 7–3 victory against Sevilla. Following his impressive performance the Spanish press nicknamed Bale "The Cannon".

In November, he assisted a further two goals in Madrid's 3–2 victory over Rayo Vallecano, before scoring in a 2–2 draw with Juventus in the Champions League. On 9 November, Bale assisted Sami Khedira's goal in a 5–1 win over Real Sociedad. On 23 November, Bale scored his fourth league goal in eight games as Madrid defeated Almería 5–0. He then scored a dipping free-kick against Galatasaray in the Champions League, a match which Madrid won 4–1 despite being a man down. On 30 November, Bale rounded off the month with his first hat-trick for Real Madrid, as well as assisting Karim Benzema, in a 4–0 victory over Real Valladolid. It was a "perfect hat-trick": one goal with a header and one with each foot.

On 26 February 2014, he scored twice in Real Madrid's 6–1 win against Schalke in the Champions League round-of-16 first leg. He then scored one of the team's three goals in a 3–0 quarter-final defeat of Borussia Dortmund on 2 April, taking him to five Champions League goals for the season. In La Liga, he scored four goals in three matches between gameweeks 31 and 33, as Real Madrid defeated Rayo Vallecano (5–0), Real Sociedad (4–0) and Almería (4–0).

On 16 April, Bale scored the winning goal for Real Madrid in the final of the Copa del Rey against rivals Barcelona. The goal was his 20th of the season and his first in a Clásico fixture.

On 24 May, Bale scored the second goal against city rivals Atlético Madrid in the 2014 UEFA Champions League Final in the 110th minute of the extra time period making him the first Welshman to score in a European Cup or Champions League final. He finished his debut season with 22 goals and 16 assists in all competitions.

2014–15 season

Bale started the 2014–15 season in good form, playing the full 90 minutes and assisting Cristiano Ronaldo's first goal in a 2–0 win at the Cardiff City Stadium against Sevilla to win the 2014 UEFA Super Cup. This was his third trophy as a Real Madrid player. After the match, his performance was described as "amazing" by his teammate Cristiano Ronaldo. Six days later, Bale scored his first goal of the season in a 4–2 away loss to Real Sociedad. Bale later recorded a brace in Real's 8-2 win over Deportivo La Coruna on 20 September 2014. In December 2014, Bale scored in a third major final, the second goal in a 2-0 win over San Lorenzo, to help the club win the FIFA Club World Cup. In a match against Espanyol on 10 January 2015, Bale was booed by a section of Madrid fans who adjudged him as being selfish in shooting for goal and not passing to Ronaldo. Bale was later defended by Carlo Ancelotti over the issue. Gareth Bale in excellent condition this time since early 2015.


International career
Wales
Bale was selected by Wales at the end of the 2005–06 season and made his international debut on 27 May 2006. He first appeared as a substitute in a 2–1 win over Trinidad and Tobago, making him the youngest player ever to play for Wales until his record was superseded by Harry Wilson in November 2012. Bale, who was just 16 years and 315 days, assisted the winning goal scored by Robert Earnshaw.

Brian Flynn commented that Bale was potentially a future star of the game, comparing his technical ability to that of Ryan Giggs. On 7 October 2006, Bale became the youngest player ever to score a goal for the full Welsh national team in theEuro 2008 qualification match against Slovakia with a free kick. He scored his second goal for Wales in a 3–0 win overSan Marino on 28 March 2007.

Bale was eligible to play for England through his grandmother, but he stated in 2007 that:

"It is an honour to play for Wales...Nobody ever got in touch with me personally from England, only through my agent."

After a long injury lay-off, he returned and started in the World Cup qualifier against Finland on 10 October 2009. On 14 October, he played a part in Wales' final World Cup qualifier by setting up David Vaughan to score the opening goal against Liechtenstein and won the free kick that led to the second, Aaron Ramsey's first at senior level.

In December 2010, Bale was awarded the BBC Cymru Sports Personality of the Year trophy. On 12 October 2012, Bale scored two goals in a 2–1 victory overScotland in a 2014 World Cup qualifier.

On 9 September 2014, Bale scored two goals, one with a header and another one with a free-kick, as Wales beat Andorra 2-1 in their first match of the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying campaign. In doing so, he became Wales' joint 10th all-time top-scorer with 14 goals, alongside John Hartson. Bale scored two goals on 28 March 2015, in a 3–0 win away in Israel.

Great Britain
Bale, who met the age criteria to play in the 2012 London Olympics, said he would "love to play in the Olympics" for the Great Britain Olympic football team, in defiance of the Welsh FA. On 28 October 2011 Bale became the first player to be photographed modelling the British 2012 London Olympics football supporters' shirt. In response, Football Association of Wales chief executive Jonathan Ford said: "Our position remains unchanged. We are not for Team GB. Gareth can make his own choices and make his own decisions. But we are not going to stop anyone playing." On behalf of Bale a spokesman said "while he is 100% Welsh, he is also British".

At the end of June 2012, Bale pulled out of the tournament with a back injury. On 29 June, he advised the Team GB football manager, Stuart Pearce, that he would not be available for selection as he had aggravated an old back and hip injury during a training run. In view of the short recovery time between the end of the Olympics and the start of the Premier League season, Bale had decided to withdraw rather than exacerbate the problem. Bale recovered from his injury in good time to be included on Spurs' pre-season tour of the United States, scoring against LA Galaxy on 24 July and against New York Red Bulls a week later. Between these matches, Bale also played against Liverpool when he was injured in a tackle by Charlie Adam.

Bale's appearances in Spurs' pre-season tour coincided with Team GB's Olympic matches, where they drew with Senegal before victories over United Arab Emirates and Uruguay took them through to the knockout stages, where they lost to South Korea following a penalty shoot-out. Bale's withdrawal from the Team GB squad attracted calls for sanctions against him including a ban from the rest of Spurs' pre-season tour but, in the absence of an official complaint by Team GB, these were not carried out. Spurs' manager, Andre Villas-Boas, defended the player insisting that Bale "had recovered quicker than expected". The club's stance was supported by British Olympic Association chairman Lord Moynihan.

Tottenham released a statement in relation to Bale's non-selection for Team GB, they stated that "Gareth sustained an injury as he built up his fitness ahead of joining up with Stuart Pearce's side. MRI scan reports were sent to the FA medical team on 29 June (2012). He was subsequently not selected on the basis of this injury and the inability to predict recovery time. This decision was not taken lightly and made only after consultation with Team GB's medical team, who were in agreement after seeing the medical reports".

Style of play

Bale started out as a left-back at the beginning of his career. It was at Tottenham Hotspur that Harry Redknapp decided to utilise Bale's pace and played him as aleft-winger, where he developed into a world class player. He is known for his physical fitness, pace, skill, stamina and agility with an ability to regularly get past defenders. Possessing excellent technique and ball control, Bale is also a free-kick specialist, as evidenced with his two bending free kicks against Olympique Lyonnais. As he moved further forward onto the wing, he began to score goals on a regular basis with strikes from outside the penalty box. A player hard to contain in one vs one situations, opposing managers have employed two players to stop him when he receives the ball.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/