Gareth Bale: The Rising Star

Wales haven’t been blessed with footballing talent over the past few decades with the exception of the late-great John Charles, Ian Rush and Ryan Giggs, however it seems that over the horizon there is a new player on the lips of every Welshman.

Gareth Bale has gone from an unknown quantity to Premier League superstar in less than ten months, ever since he replaced Benoit Assou-Ekotto on Tottenham’s left sided position in January this year he has grown from strength to strength and was the undoubted reason why Spurs achieved fourth spot last season, and the mega-riches it brings along with it, Champions League football.

Ever since his early days at Southampton great things have been expected of this 21 year old, who signed for Tottenham back in May 2007. He caught the eye of Daniel Levy (Tottenham chairman) and co when he put in a series of outstanding performances for the South Coast side in the Coca-Cola Championship, but their financial background meant they had to part with their most prized asset, and it certainly seems a great piece of business by the North London club.

His Spurs career couldn’t off started any better than three goals in his first four starts, including a sublime free-kick against North London rivals Arsenal, however this was as good as it got for quite a while for the young Welsh lad. He was tainted by a record which read: 24 appearances, 0 Spurs wins and that certainly halted his progress.

An injury suffered in a game against Birmingham City in December 2007 ruled the young Cardiff-born player out for over a year, however Tottenham kept faith with their man and they were right to do so.

Ever since Bale broke that record of not being on a Spurs winning, against Burnley in 2009, he hasn’t looked back, a huge amount of pressure was lifted off his shoulders and enabled him to express himself a lot more and start enjoying his football.

After starting in the 4-0 FA Cup win over Peterborough at home in January, Bale was a regular in the side and was elevated from left back to the left side of midfield, a masterstroke from Tottenham boss, Harry Redknapp.

The move has seen Bale frighten defences every time he gets the ball, weaving in and out of defenders riding tackles, crossing the ball with minimal effort and popping up with a few goals himself. A talent that England would love to call upon but it’s a shame he is Welsh.

However it wasn’t until early April that he entered himself into Tottenham folklore with two goals in as many games against their fierce London rivals, Arsenal and Chelsea, in what was two impressive victories and six vital points in their quest for Champions League football.

And the win away to Manchester City in May which confirmed their place in the biggest European domestic tournament ensured that Bale had gone from a bit part player in late 2009, to one of Tottenham’s most prized assets in  May 2010.

If Bale was one of the Premier League’s ‘ones to watch out for’ (published in FourFourTwo magazine in July) then he is now one of the superstars of the best league in the world. He has made an immediate impact this season, which is only three months old.

After a majestic volley away to Stoke City in August, Bale has taken the Champions League by storm. A hat-trick in the 4-3 defeat away to Inter Milan came with a host of deserved praise from around the world. In particular Arsene Wenger calls him a “cannonball.”

“He was exceptional against us and then against Chelsea in the space of just three days (last season). He made the difference in those games. I’m not surprised he’s an exceptional player.”

And after he turned in another outstanding display in the 3-1 home win over Inter Milan on 2^nd November it sparked widespread interest in his services from all over the world. And after watching the Welsh magician tear apart his defence in both games, Inter Milan president, Massimo Moratti, stated that he would do ‘all he could’ to prize away the Welsh left midfield player and Spanish Champions Barcelona were rumored to be planning a £50m bid to acquire his services next summer.

However is it too early to be calling him a superstar, when he has only been playing at this standard for ten months? Certainly £50m seems an obscene amount of money to pay for a player who is still developing, but the truth is he has taken not only the Barclays Premier League by storm but also the Champions League and that in its own right is an achievement in itself.

And with renowned publicist, Max Clifford, predicting that Bale will earn up to £20m in image rights and endorsements in the next five years, you can see what a talent he is, however he will have to keep his feet firmly down on the ground, which is something he has certainly thought about: “ It’s obviously nice to get people talking about you, saying nice things, but I know I have to keep working hard and keep improving and that’s all I want to do”.

And who better to do that than his manager, Redknapp, who has a glowing reputation at being able to control players. Ever since his days at West Ham and Portsmouth, the 63 year-old has managed some big names including Paulo Di Canio and Kanu. His wily knack at being able to install self belief, calmness and will to win into his players has earned him lots of plaudits in the game.

The only problem for Tottenham right now, is not just to keep him away from injury, but also those rumored to be interested in signing him. The fans will certainly hope that the former days of selling their best players, Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Carrick to Manchester United and Robbie Keane to Liverpool are behind them.

And after Harry Redknapp’s comments after the stunning 3-2 win away to Arsenal on November 20 which suggested he thinks the club can win the Premier League, surely that signals the end of the ‘selling tag’ that the club have bestowed on themselves in recent times.

Gareth Bale and Tottenham certainly have reason to be optimistic, a win against their fierce North London rivals, their first away win there since 1993, the Champions league Knockout round getting ever closer and the likes of Holland’s World Cup Runner Up Rafael Van der Vaart plying his trade at White Hart Lane things certainly look rosy for Tottenham Hotspur. And the only way to continue their good on-field fortunes is to keep the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan quiet.