Gareth Bale's Return Underlines Why Some at Real Madrid Are Wrong to Doubt Him

It’s probably ten years since we saw as exciting, dangerous and complete a Real Madrid as the Carlo Ancelotti side that currently stands top of this season’s La Liga table.

After a long, drawn out, transfer wrangle that meant Gareth Bale effectively missed out on last season’s pre-season training, the Welsh wonder who scored 22 goals in 36 starts last season (15 in La Liga, six in the Champions League—and 16 further assists) was always going to be more effective this time around.

He already has six goals, the latest coming in Saturday's 5-1 home victory over Rayo Vallecano.

But in the great theatre that is the Santiago Bernabeu, the Real Madrid fans are a notoriously fickle audience. It is never about just winning, but about how you win as much as the final scoreline. Before last weekend, an injury to Bale has seen him out of action for three league games, and just over one and a half Champions League games (returning in the win over Liverpool).

In his absence Isco had stepped up to the plate in some style, playing superbly at Liverpool in the Champions League as well as in the league matches against Levante, Granada and, of course, Barcelona. He had also changed the way the side played.

This was the Real that the Madrid public love, with a possession based, dominating type of game reminiscent of what rivals Barcelona and Spain brought to the height of footballing fashion over the past year.

What we have here is a clash of football cultures. Different ideologies slightly lost in translation, and when a "whispering" campaign began that Bale should not be an automatic starter, it was swiftly and unceremoniously kicked into touch by Ancelotti.

“Bale deserves to play. He is one of the best players in the world and a very important player for this team,” the Italian told the press before the Rayo Vallecano game, after someone had suggested that he might start on the bench.

The "problem"—and what club wouldn’t like such a problem?—is that Bale basically changes the style of football that Real Madrid play with a more direct and counter attacking type of game. For some reason this style has, more often than not, been greeted with a slight "sniffiness" by the public and press alike, who see it as a representation of the ugly way to play the beautiful game.

This was certainly evident in the Rayo game where the home side—who this season have maintained an average of 58.6% possession during games—only managed 46% compared to Rayo’s 54%.

Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images

Some might even say this is also an opinion held by the LFP who run the game, something borne out by the fact that despite winning the league last year with precisely this type of counter attacking game, Atletico Madrid had players like Gabi, Godin, Miranda and Courtois singularly blanked when it came to handing out individual gongs at the recent annual league jolly.

Ancelotti, of course, couldn’t care less. When asked to comment on the awards given to some of his players rather than to some of the Atletico side he added dismissively, “I’m never surprised when any (Real) Madrid player wins an award. It doesn’t come as a surprise when [Sergio] Ramos or [Luka] Modric receive an award—or Cristiano because he is the best player in the world."

The Madrid coach can afford to be blase because he knows better than anyone else that what he has now is options. It was wonderful to see expansive, exciting players like James Rodriguez and Isco coming inside, playing between the lines and generally enjoying themselves. But that’s just part of the picture.

What Bale brings to the table is a more direct approach which looks only one way: Forward.

There is no perfect team, no perfect system and, in truth, with Bale in your line-up you will occasionally lose control of the game. This is, however, more than made up for by the danger that Madrid will always present quite simply because they have so much firepower up front.

The other accusation levelled at Bale is that he doesn’t track back enough, doesn’t defend. This is probably true and probably happens because he now, much like Cristiano Ronaldo, thinks like a forward.

What is more, the truth is that he only really needs to track back in about four or five games over the course of a season and when it’s a case of rolling up his sleeves and putting in a shift at the "sharp-end"—as in the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona last season, and the semi final and final of the Champions League against Bayern and Atletico—he’s there.

I’m not sure that Bale and his people are aware of the sotto-voce whispers going around the chattering classes in Madrid at the moment, although I’m fairly sure they know that some people would like to see him work a little harder.

What they forget is that his presence in the side means a Madrid side with more layers to it than your average Spanish onion. In Benzema they have, currently, the best No. 10 in the world and in Ronaldo, almost undoubtedly the best player in the world. Goalkeeper Iker Casillas, although rested for the Rayo game, has also regained his confidence having conceded just one goal in his last six appearances.

Everything is working; this Real Madrid side is going to take some beating.