When the news of Bale's retirement came, fans felt sudden and not too surprised. As many people know, the 33-year-old Bale doesn't have much nostalgia for football anymore.
He has enough championships and personal honors, and also left enough classic moments. Despite some regrets and controversies in his career, Real Madrid fans are still grateful for the contributions of key moments, and Welsh fans regard him as the greatest star.
"Bell is the shortest between two points" is destined to be etched into the collective memory of our generation of fans.
Introverted genius
Born in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, Bell showed outstanding athletic talent at an early age.
At the age of 9, he was picked up by Southampton in a six-a-side football match and joined the famous star-making factory; At the age of 14, he played in soccer, rugby, hockey and track and field teams at the same time in junior high school, and his best time in the 100 meters is said to have been 11.4 seconds; At the age of 16, he was required by his high school teacher to kick the ball and use only his right foot in physical education class to avoid dimensionality reduction to his classmates; After the game was lifted, he won the Welsh High School Championship with a group of seniors two years older.
It stands to reason that such explosive athletic talent coupled with youth hormones is simply the standard school bully level in film and television dramas. However, Bell had no idea about this word at all, because his personality often had only one label in the evaluation of people around him: introverted and shy.
Many relatives say that Bell's mother is like a strong woman who rules a large family, and he has been accustomed to hiding behind his mother since he was a child. Neighbors also once talked about in interviews that he was once hit by a ball kicked by Bell while basking in the sun in his backyard, and thought that the teenage child would come over to apologize for taking the ball, but he turned around and "fled" back home.
Such a personality may be innate, or it may be influenced by external circumstances such as family.
For example, the most obvious feature of his appearance is the pair of provocative ears, so he was nicknamed "pot handle" by his friends. Deeply disturbed, Bale wore a variety of strange hairstyles when he first played in the professional league, in order to cover his ears as much as possible.
Another example is that his career almost died before he even started. In the two years between the ages of 14 and 16, although he was crushed by various strengths at school, he had various injuries in the Saints Academy because his physical development could not keep up. When it came to the crucial period of deciding whether to sign, the club had planned to give up the young left-back, or Bale's mother ran to argue for the last chance to "watch one more game".
In that match against Norwich City U16, Bale shone brightly and dominated the entire wing and also bombarded a heavy shot from long range. The referee had just blown the final whistle, and the youth director was already waiting on the sidelines with his contract.
That supervisor certainly won't regret it. A few months later, Bale made his Championship debut, becoming the second youngest player in the team's history (after Walcott). In the following 06-07 season, he scored 5 goals (including 3 free kicks), provided 11 assists, and was named the best young rookie in the football league, that is, the Championship + League A + League Two.
Before the transfer window could open, Tottenham slammed a €14.7 million cheque onto Southampton's desk.
When he first arrived at Tottenham, Bale quickly fell silent after scoring three goals in the opening four games. On the one hand, the serious injury at the end of 07 directly led to the reimbursement of the season, on the other hand, including his previous goal and his return from the game, he played 24 consecutive games for Tottenham without a win, which was evaluated by public opinion as the "Bell curse".
Fortunately, two turnarounds followed.
The first happened in the 09-10 season. First of all, the emotionally intelligent manager Redknapp replaced Bale in the 85th minute of Tottenham's 5-0 win over Burnley, and no matter how much the BUG curse was concerned, there was nothing he could do about this scoreline. Secondly, Bale took advantage of the opportunity of the main left-back Hector to play the African Cup of Nations, and the elder Ray was reluctant to put any of them on the bench, shouting "I want them all" and pushing Bale onto the offensive line.
This transformation can be called a stroke of God, which not only covers up the shortcomings of "three bells can't prevent one bell", but also plays the advantages of "one bell can burst three bells". Six months later, he faced Inter in the group stage of the Champions League, and the two legs played a collection of famous scenes that others had only cut in ten years. First, he wore a hat in a single game and burst Zanetti; Two more assists and ate McCone raw.
The second turnaround occurred in the summer of 2012. Bale, who had already been selected for the historic "British Olympic team", chose to withdraw due to injury, but took the opportunity to undergo a microplastic surgery. As the new season began, it was noticed that the angle of his ear contours had been slightly adjusted, and he no longer needed a hairstyle to cover it. And Bell on the pitch has since become more confident.
That season, Bale scored 26 goals and provided 14 assists in all competitions, winning the Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year, Young Player of the Year and the Football Journalists' Association of England Player of the Year. This is the second time in history that someone has won three individual awards in the Premier League, and the last person to do this is Cristiano Ronaldo.
Then there's the familiar plot. Bale transferred to Real Madrid for 100 million, and Cristiano Ronaldo formed a real "200 million flying together".
Between the two points, Bell is the shortest
Playing for Real Madrid is not an easy task for any player, including those superstars. Bell is no exception.
Having just arrived in his debut season at the Bernabeu, he quickly felt the pressure to play here and not at the same level as elsewhere. Due to run-in and injury reasons, attendance was not stable, and he was immediately angry in a column by the famous Saigula: "This Englishman doesn't know how to play, he just runs forward." Soon there were untold revelations in the media, saying that Florentino privately said more than once that he wanted to sign Neymar the most, and Bale was just a spare tire that the Brazilian could not come by.
But Bale shattered all doubts in key games late in the season, especially in the final.
In the Copa del Rey final, he faced Barca for an extreme version of the outside overtaking. Since then, fans will be the first to think of the background board in this goal when they mention Baltra's name, and "pass to yourself in three seconds" and "Bell shortest between two points" have become classics.
In the Champions League final, it was Bale who scored the crucial goal against Atletico in extra time. The Bed Sheets were unable to recover, and in the end, Real Madrid won their tenth Champions League 4-1.
At the press conference when Bale joined Real Madrid, Galeries Lafayette repeatedly mentioned that the signing was for "La Décima". The word means "tenth" in Spanish, and in Real Madrid, it naturally means "tenth Champions League" 12 years apart. And in their first season with Bale, they did it.
The BBC combination gave Real Madrid fans a great time, while Bale won 3 La Liga, 5 Champions Leagues, 4 Club World Cups, 3 UEFA Super Cups, 2 Spanish Super Cups and 1 Copa del Rey.
In the harvest of these honors, Bell can be said to have made quite important contributions. But these years of white-clothed career have also left a lot of regrets.
Juande Ramos, who has been the manager of Real Madrid and Tottenham and has also personally managed Bale, has a very complete and accurate assessment: "Real Madrid is such a team, he is surrounded by Modric, Kroos, Isco and Benzema and other people have very good skills. Bell's technique is not bad either, but the biggest plus is certainly strength and explosiveness. ”
"To play his best, he needs a lot of passing and open space. But most teams that play against Real Madrid play very tightly and leave little space. Bale can't show his strength and speed, and he's not the most skilled player mentioned earlier, so the type of play often doesn't suit him. ”
In addition to technical style, another big problem is injuries.
"With such a powerful player, this energy can sometimes hurt himself. Because of his explosiveness, Bale is more prone to muscular injuries than injuries from accidents on the pitch. When a player possesses the speed and power of Bell's peak form, any type of contact has the potential to cause problems. ”
Such questions have been the case throughout his career. At the Saints Academy, he was almost dropped due to injury. In his first two seasons at Tottenham, he also lost his regular position due to injury. During his years at Real Madrid, Bale often suffered strains on his thigh, calf or groin again just after recovering from injury, which seriously affected his attendance and competitive form.
In such a dilemma, Bell's character does not play a positive role, and even makes things worse.
Modric once said that Bale actually speaks Spanish well and can joke in the dressing room, but he is just too shy to communicate in a foreign language in public. Many media have also revealed that Bale basically has no friends at Real Madrid, and his private interaction is basically only Tottenham's old teammate Modric.
Carlo Ancelotti also wrote in his autobiography about his first time in charge of Real Madrid: Bale wanted to play in the middle but did not talk to him, but went to Florentino through his agent, and then conveyed the idea from the chairman to the manager. Some people say that going around such a big circle is to overstep the level of complaint, but friends who know Bell well have made this explanation - this is really too much like the way Bell with strong self-esteem but some social fear would choose.
And when it comes to Bale's Real Madrid career, the manager who can't avoid it is definitely Zidane. Because of his frequent injuries, Zidane preferred to use Isco to play in the diamond-shaped midfield late in his first time in charge of Real Madrid, and Bale was more used as a backhand weapon to strengthen the impact. There is nothing wrong with such an option at the tactical level, it is just difficult for Bale to accept.
When Zizu returns to the second phase of Real Madrid, there will be no chance for Bale, whose physical fitness has declined. Hence the famous and controversial slogan that celebrated Wales' finalism for the European Championship in 2019.
Wales, Golf, Madrid
Bale has a deep affection for Wales, or for his hometown, and that affection is far greater than any club he has ever played for.
He grew up living in the circle of acquaintances. His parents still often live in the old house where he was born, and his sister moved not far away after marrying and starting a family. There is also the hometown of his childhood sweetheart's wife nearby, and a few more minutes away you will find Bell's uncle's house and aunt's house.
When he played for Tottenham, he had to call home every morning and evening. The washing machine in the London apartment broke, and instead of going to the laundry, he drove nearly 300 kilometers with a week's worth of dirty clothes and threw it all at his mother. Old Ray once gave him a vacation to find a beach to recuperate, but Bell decisively rented it out and returned to Cardiff's hometown.
So, you can understand why Bale's press conference to join Real Madrid in 2013 was so big that even the well-informed Lafayette was not used to this kind of scene.
Meanwhile, football isn't Bale's only interest. Of course, he must have a deep affection for football, otherwise he would not have practiced the most as a child. But as mentioned earlier, he also joined the football, hockey and track and field varsity teams when he was a student, and did not regard football as the only path he recognized in this life.
After becoming a professional footballer, his other big interest must be familiar to every fan - golf.
So, when Real Madrid's career was in trouble, Bale began to go to the golf course more and more to find happiness and relaxation, and also regarded playing for the Welsh team as his main spiritual sustenance. Within the Welsh team, he will undoubtedly find the most comfortable environment, including a dressing room that is more like a family, and team-mates and fans who see him as the absolute core.
He then led the team to a historic first European Championship tournament, all the way to the last four. And during the Euro 2016 match, teammates kept coaxing Bale: "Gareth, you made so much money, why don't you go back to Wales and buy a team?" Then we all went there and played and rushed into the Premier League together! ”
Gunter said Bell knew they were joking, but laughed especially happily every time.
Bale's contract with Real Madrid expired last summer, which may be a relief for both sides. Many people speculate that Bale, who has no more thoughts on football, will retire directly, but Wales reached the World Cup for the second time in 64 years, and he chose to go to the MLS to maintain his form.
At Los Angeles FC, Bale played only 14 games in half a year and played only 400 minutes. But just 128 minutes into overtime in the finals, substitute Bale headed a tie and dragged the game into a penalty shootout. In the end, Los Angeles FC defeated Philadelphia Union in a penalty shootout, winning the first MLA championship in the team's history and becoming the last trophy of Bale's career.
In the 2022 World Cup, although Wales did not qualify from the group in the end, there are no regrets for Bale. He scored five goals and three assists in qualifiers, produced a crucial own goal in the play-offs, and then said to the camera: "This is a great moment in the history of Welsh football and what I have decided to fight for my whole life since my first game for Wales. ”
When such a goal is achieved, whether it is MLA or football, there will naturally be no more attachment for Bale.
Bale in 2023 began to enjoy a new life that has nothing to do with football. He has already made sufficient preparations in advance, including opening a chain bar in his hometown Cardiff, taking a stake in the Welsh brewing business, participating in Woods' golf enterprise investment, and planning to try golf-themed bars across borders.
It is foreseeable that Bale's name should be mentioned less and less in football circles, and many stories will be slowly forgotten in the memories of fans. But when we hear it again, we will definitely remember that there was such a star who looked like a great saint, and once left the most extreme violent aesthetic in the green field.
And the name of this legend is called: Between two points, Bell is the shortest.