The expanded format of Euro 2016 has had to endure no small amount of criticism, some of it valid, some of it tinged with elitism. The presence, however, of one of the world’s superstar players, Gareth Bale, has been made possible by minnows Wales’ inclusion, and this can only be a good thing.
Only a handful of British footballers have thrived playing outside of England; Gary Lineker, Owen Hargreaves, Steve McManaman, Paul Gascoigne, perhaps David Beckham. Gareth Bale, despite suffering through more than his fair share of rocky patches at Real Madrid, must now also be added to this list. This season he has been, in spite of a spate of injuries, a hugely effective and potent force for Real, with the best goal/assist to minutes ratio in La Liga. 19 league goals, 10 assists, in just 23 games. Naturally, he is, by a huge distance, Wales’ most important player.
Role in the team
Chris Coleman, the Wales manager, will make no attempt to hide the fact that his side is built almost completely around Bale, nor should he. Bale is Wales’ most devastating attacker, and from his advanced central position – similar to the one from which he eviscerated the Premier League in his final Spurs season – the Welsh star carried his team through qualifying. Wales only scored 11 goals throughout the qualifying campaign; Bale scored seven of those, and provided two assists. At times, the plan was thus: defend stolidly, and get Gareth the ball. It wasn’t a particularly fluent system – the three teams that finished directly below Wales in their qualifying group all scored more goals the the Welsh – but it worked.
Coleman will need to come up with something a little less rudimentary if his side is to find fortune in France, but the plan of basing whatever system he devises around a centralised Bale is a sound one. In his second season at Real Madrid, Bale was the target for a largely unfair swathe of criticism; his waning form was mainly due to him being marginalised out on the right wing. Of course, Bale can cut in from the right and let fly with that diamond left boot of his, but the carnage he causes when at the heart of the play, in the central corridor, is too compelling to ignore.
Recent Form
Ex-Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has come out recently claiming that Gareth Bale’s agent went behind his back to arrange a change of position for his client, hoping to move him into a more central area. As underhanded as that is, the fact the current Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has enjoyed a hugely potent and refreshed, centrally-positioned Bale of late goes some way to justifying the attempted relocation.
The Welshman has scored 11 goals and laid on five assists in his last 11 league games. He is now preparing for a starring role in this seasons Champions League final, and will hope to skewer Atletico Madrid much like he did in the 2014 Copa del Rey final.
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