Lopetegui avoids Bale, Ronaldo comparisons
Gareth Bale is under no pressure to be the new Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid, said head coach Julen Lopetegui.
Bale was on target in Madrid’s 2-1 International Champions Cup win over Roma after brilliantly setting up Marco Asensio’s opener in New Jersey, Fourfourtwo reported.
Ronaldo’s departure to Juventus has placed extra onus upon the Wales star ahead of the new campaign but, while Lopetegui is delighted by his 29-year-old attacker’s form, he is not in the business of placing extra pressure on his shoulders with an unhelpful comparison.
“It’s not about replacing someone or filling that role. It’s about being part of a team,” the former Spain boss told reporters.
“Gareth is obviously a great player. He has been and he will be, but it’s not for me to make comparisons. That’s for you guys.
“He doesn’t put the team on his back. He’s a great player that gives the best for his team, but the team has to play for each other.
“It’s not about him putting the team on his back. It’s about the team pushing everybody. He’s a great player and I’m convinced he’ll have a great season.”
Madrid faces city rival Atletico in the UEFA Super Cup in Tallinn next Wednesday before kicking off its La Liga campaign against Getafe. The Kenyan former world 400m hurdles champion Nicholas Bett died in a car crash at the age of 28.
Bett, the 2015 world champion, was killed in an early-morning crash on Wednesday in the country’s high-altitude training region, the Guardian reported. Bett had returned from the African championships in Nigeria on Monday. Bett died on the road between Eldoret and Kapsabet, two of Kenya’s famed distance-running training towns in the Rift Valley.
Bett’s Toyota Prado SUV hit bumps in the road and rolled, his coach, Vincent Mumo, said. Mumo said the accident happened around 6 a.m.
Bett became the first Kenyan to win a gold medal in a distance shorter than 800m when he triumphed in the 400m hurdles at the world championships in Beijing in 2015.
He also won bronze medals at the African championships in 2014 in the 400 hurdles and 4x400m relay.
Bett’s twin brother, Aron, was a member of the Kenya 4x400m relay team who won gold at the African championships.