Gareth Bale admits he’s not ready to start for Real Madrid in the UCL final
By Alex McVey
The debate has been raging about who Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane should start in the Champions League final against Juventus: Gareth Bale, or Isco. Gareth Bale pulled up injured in El Clásico, and has been racing to try to get fit. Unfortunately, the player himself is now admitting that he probably won’t be able to start the UCL final.
Bale or Isco, Isco or Bale? This question is in the front of the minds of Madridistas and neutrals alike heading into the final preparations for the Champions League final in Cardiff.
Bale has been posting social media pictures of him training with the group. It’s exactly the kind of thing you’d expect from a player who’s working to try to convince fans and the coaching staff that he’s ready to play in the final in his home country. But he still hasn’t played any competitive minutes since going down with injury.
Back in training with the boys, all focus towards Cardiff ⚽ pic.twitter.com/hJl82sg9Qx
— Gareth Bale (@GarethBale11) May 26, 2017
Earlier this week, I wrote about why I think Isco should start over Bale. I said it would be too great a risk to start Bale, as it may require Zidane to waste a substitution early on if Bale pulls up lame again like he did in El Clásico.
It looks like Gareth Bale himself might agree with me. Bale spoke about his fitness, as quoted in a recent article by Sid Lowe in The Guardian:
"I am not 100%: I haven’t played for six or seven weeks: I obviously had my operation which still really hasn’t recovered… If I’m called upon to start, I will start obviously. But to last 90 minutes: I haven’t played a lot of football this year since my operation, so that would be difficult. Isco has been playing fantastically well for us, at the end of the season, so whatever the manager decides I will [accept it]."
That’s a stunning admission from a player who is trying to win his way back into the squad for one last final this season.
More from The Real Champs
- Manchester City hold talks over Real Madrid target
- Real Madrid player confirms he is playing with a fracture
- Real Madrid superstar rejected Premier League clubs confirmed
- Spaniard ready to join Real Madrid instead of Liverpool
- PSG want €100 million Real Madrid player to replace Kylian Mbappe
It’s good to hear him being honest, though.
I worry that one of the reasons Bale has had so much trouble this season is that he is attempting to rush back from injury before he is ever truly ready. By not allowing himself proper time to heal, Bale may be risking his long-term fitness.
By coming out and admitting that he is not quite fit and that he wouldn’t be upset if he was left on the bench, Bale may have taken some of the pressure off of Zidane to play him.
Isco is already in the form of his career, having carried Madrid through a tough tail-end of the season to become the La Liga champions for the first time since 2012.
Bale’s admission that he is not 100% fit should give the green light to Zidane to start Isco without a second thought. Having Bale on the bench provides Zidane with a powerful offensive substitution to throw on late in the game when the legs are getting tired.
It’s a shame that a player of Bale’s quality won’t get to start in his home country for a Champions League final. But Zidane cannot afford to be sentimental here.