Gareth Bale was once one of the most spectacular and most sought-after footballers in the world. But during his time at Real Madrid, he transformed himself from a brilliant, fast-paced footballer to the most prominent clown in the world. He has always delivered for his country Wales – now too?
If you mean ill with Gareth Bale, you could argue that the Welsh star’s career is long over. In fact, however, this is wrong. The 33-year-old is still lacing things up. Also at the World Cup in Qatar. In his homeland, they hope for one last great service from the lightning-fast winger, who is revered in Wales and critically viewed internationally. It is undisputed that Bale is one of the best players that the small country has ever produced. In addition to Manchester United’s record player Ryan Giggs, whose legendary status has been badly damaged by serious allegations of abuse, and cult mustache Ian Rush.
The euphoria in Wales is great. Gigantic even. For the first time in 64 years, the national team has qualified for a World Cup. And the lots mean well with the hungry “Red Dragons”. The group in Qatar is not only feasible, but also very explosive. On the one hand, because the old rival, the great England, is there. On the other hand, because with the USA (first opponent of the Welsh in the evening, 8 p.m. in the live ticker on ntv.de) and Iran, two major enemies of world politics are clashing. For Wales, that’s just accompaniment. The chances of reaching the round of 16 are great – is it enough for more? Everything depends on Bale. He is the key player, the X-factor, the football genius who has been hiding behind a clown mask, even behind a sleep mask, in recent years.
What was once the most expensive footballer in the world is not lacking in motivation for the desert trip. It was he himself who shot his country to Qatar. He scored both goals in the 2-1 win over Austria in the playoffs before hammering the decisive free-kick into Ukraine’s penalty area in the qualifying final. What would have become of Bale without those winning moments? Perhaps he would have been a golfer long ago, because in the autumn of his career he had pursued this passion much more extensively than his job as a table football player.
And so the gifted man of world football became a provocateur, a clown. You have to differentiate. When Bale wore his national team jersey, he gave it his all, he was a revered role model, a legend. If he took off the clothes (he wore the jersey less and less) from his employer Real Madrid, who had once made him the first 100 million euro transfer, he mutated into an atmospheric lethal injection. In the winter of 2020, he grotesquely made it clear how much he had finished with the club, where he was becoming less and less relevant in sport. “Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order,” read a Wales flag he carried after the European Championship qualifier game against Hungary for his own amusement and the amusement of his teammates.
Bale found it particularly funny a few months later when he finally taunted Real Madrid. At one game, the Welshman in the stands (where the players sat in the ghost games due to the pandemic restrictions) pulled the protective mask over his mouth and nose for minutes over his eyes, pretended to be asleep and made himself comfortable in his comfortable reserve chair. A “shameful behavior”, headlined the newspaper “Marca” succinctly. A few days later, the next escalation followed: instead of following the game with interest like his teammates, he held his hands and a toilet paper roll shaped like binoculars in front of his face and did his own thing again. Real and Bale – that had become an embarrassing number.
In those moments you had forgotten just how much of a legend the Welshman was with Royal. Always in the shadow of superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, who, on the home stretch of his great career, tears down everything he has built up over two decades with a merciless reckoning via interview. But as the Portuguese’s ‘wingman’, Bale was always there when it mattered. In the debut season of 2013/14, he won the ‘Royal’ the Copa del Rey when he scored the winning goal against hated rivals FC Barcelona. He also played his part in the Champions League triumph in the same season, in the 110th minute he made it 2-1 against city rivals Atlético (4-1 in the end). His influence on the title in the premier class in 2018 was even greater. He best remembers his spectacular overhead kick from 13 meters against Liverpool FC with the injured goalkeeper Loris Karius. Bale has won 26 titles with Madrid, more than Zinedine Zidane, who was the central figure in the rift between player and club.
In the summer of 2019, the Frenchman suggested a change for the Welshman, but that didn’t happen. And Bale was hardly considered anymore. The short, glorious BBC era – that’s how the offensive with Karim Benzema (B), Bale (B) and Cristiano (C) Ronaldo was celebrated – was long forgotten. His time under Zidane was up and down. The sensational rate in the 2018/19 season, in which he scored 19 goals and 11 assists in 23 league games, did not change that. The season in which Bale was hardly considered was the one in which he mutated into a clown.
Wales remained his footballing lifeblood. And the World Cup dream. He got form in the 2021/22 season on loan from ex-club Tottenham Hotspur, where he had become a great fascination in European football. His comeback was a good one, backed by his top performances for Wales. The loan ended and Bale had to go back to Madrid. He was in the starting lineup three times, then he got injured – hardly played and went to Major League Soccer. An adventure? Rather not. Bale was looking for a place to play his way into the last major form of his career. And also won a title with the Los Angeles Galaxy. Not without a Bale hit, of course. In the final, he saved his team extra time in the 98th minute. The final player had struck again. Now let’s go to Qatar. With all the hopes of the Welsh on Bale.
But also with worries. It is far from clear whether the fitness level of the now 33-year-old will be sufficient for a starting XI in all three group games. “That’s the million-dollar question. We don’t know,” said national coach Rob Page when announcing his squad: “He’s not 100 percent fit at the moment.” But the situation is also like this: “He has proven over and over again that he delivers as soon as he puts on the national jersey.”