The Curious Case of Gareth Bale: The Rise of The Welsh Samurai

It has been a long journey for Gareth Bale. The impatient fans of Real Madrid wanted to eat him alive for the mediocre performances he has showcased in his second season at the club but he has proven them wrong.

Gareth Bale was the hero. He made his name on a lot of teams’ radars with his outstanding performance against Inter Milan in 2010-11 Champions League campaign. Poor Maicon nearly mowed the grass just to keep up with the speedy winger.

It was Gareth Bale’s night. A night in which he scored his first hat trick. Despite the fact Tottenham lost the match, Gareth Bale made his name to the world. From then on, he built a reputation for himself as one of the world’s elite players.

In 2013, Gareth Bale had his breakout season. He showcased his talent to the world through his incredible performances. He mastered the astonishing knuckleball technique by studying his hero Cristiano Ronaldo and legendary free kick taker Juninho. That year, Gareth was able to terrorize defenders and midfielders in his new found position playing as a central attacking midfielder.

One of his best performance in 12/13 was against Manchester United. A game in which he put one of the all time English great defender and Manchester United legend, Rio Ferdinand, in his pocket. He ran through their whole back-line and scored the second goal in Tottenham’s 3-2 win away from home. Their first win against Manchester United for more than 20 years. He was the main man and everything ran through him.

Welcome to Real Madrid Gareth Bale

Debut Season

Due to Gareth Bale incredible season and Zizou (now Real Madrid coach) gush of praises about him, on September 1st 2013 Real Madrid put pen to paper. During that same year, Barcelona signed Neymar (a controversial signing which saw their president resigned from his post). It was a battle between the two superstars. A battle between fans and  between the two clubs to see which player will succeed the most. Gareth Bale was Winning.

The Welsh Wizard was a hit from the get-go. He didn’t needed time to settle in or learn the new language and the culture. He didn’t needed time get used to his new teammates. He didn’t needed time to know who the main man on the team is. Gareth started performing from get the get-go. His debut was away to Villareal. It was a game in which he opened the score in a thrilling 2-2 draw. He made his home debut against Sevilla. He scored 2 and assisted 2 in 7-3 goals galore.

For the remainder of the season Gareth was flying like a kite high in the sky. He was outstanding in the league, and in the Champions League. He helped us won the Copa Del Rey at the hand of our nemesis FC Barcelona by scoring the winning goal. What a goal it was! Gareth ‘Speedy’ Bale turned on the turbo charged in the dying minutes of the match and put Marc Bartra on a pedestal. The poor defender was trying to catch the wizard’s ghost, but the magic was too strong.

La Decima Triumph

Gareth Bale was instrumental in our La Decima triumph. Before he came to Real Madrid, the club tried so hard to win La Decima (the 10th Champions League). Countless times Real Madrid came close only to be kicked out in the semi-final by penalties or on away goals.

Gareth Bale helped Real Madrid trumped Bayern Munich with an aggregate scoreline of 5-0 in the semi-final. He was Real Madrid’s savior. He was the man who led Real Madrid to la Decima. A trophy that had alluded Real Madrid for 12 years.

Despite the fact he wasn’t phenomenal in the final against Real Madrid rival Atletico Madrid, Gareth Bale was able to score the winning goal. He helped Real Madrid achieved what they failed to obtain in 12 years. Fans were delighted by Bale and they wanted to see more from him in the coming seasons.

Second Season

Second season was possibly the worse season in Gareth Bale’s career. Not only because of his performances on the pitch, but the way the fans had treated him. Gareth Bale was abysmal on the pitch. It seems like teams had studied him and exposed all his weaknesses.

Gareth could barely dribbled past an opponent. Everything he did right in his first season, he seems incapable of replicating. He missed chances he could bury in his sleep. He misses chances that were vital. He had numerous chances against Juventus in the Semi-final of the Champions League. He fluffed every single of one of them.

Real Madrid fans do not forgive any players for bad performances. Bad performances is Real Madrid’s fans kryptonite. They do not want players that perform below par anywhere near Santiago Bernabeu. Fans “boo” him every single games. His confidence was down. The love he had earned from the fans and the media had vacated him. Gareth Bale was alone. He had to once again prove to the fans he is good enough to be at Real Madrid.

Third Season

After the awful second season he had endured, Gareth Bale is ready to prove to the fans and the club what he can bring to the table. Carlo Ancelotti was let go and Rafa Benitez was appointed. The new coach decided to move Gareth Bale centrally instead of playing him on the wing. Gareth Bale began to find his feet again on the pitch.

Gareth started to put in performances week-in and week-out. Despite the fact Rafa was let go 7 months later, Gareth Bale did not cease to perform under the new manager Zinedine Zidane. The fans were in love with Gareth again.

European Championship

Gareth Bale was able to bring his Wales team, a team nobody expected to perform into the semi-final of the European Championship. Gareth bale was the leader and instrumental in every game for his national side.

Due to his great showing during the regular season and in the European Championship, Gareth Bale made the final 3 for the European best player of the year. Despite not winning the award, Gareth Bale is officially the third best player in Europe behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Antoine Griezmann.