Coleman – Bale sings from same song sheet as his Wales mates

CHRIS Coleman has revealed a story about Gareth Bale which perfectly underlines the unique team bond that helped Wales march to the semi-finals Euro 2016.

It is almost a year on from the moment when Coleman’s aces kick-started the greatest summer Welsh fans have known by defeating Slovakia in their Euro opener.

And Coleman outlined how the Bale factor was just as important off the pitch as it was on it as Wales embarked upon their never-tobe-forgotten Euro adventure.

He says the lack of any ‘I am’ about the man who became the world’s most expensive footballer has been key to every player buying into the Welsh ethos, which Coleman hopes can still get his team to the World Cup in Russia next year.

And the Wales manager gave a particular example of what makes Bale so special at a Cardiff Breakfast Club event sponsored by the Western Mail.

Asked how employees could be motivated and how Bale could be used as an example, Coleman told business leaders: “You need motivation for the group.

“But when you have someone like Gareth Bale, who is at the top of his game and is such a good character who buys into the team, it becomes easy maintenance.

“There is no ego to Gareth, or our other top players like Ashley Williams, Aaron Ramsey, or Joe Allen.

“It becomes easy to deal with someone like that.

“Let me tell you a story about our Euro qualifier in Israel, which we won 3-0. We were back at the hotel after the game and had a couple of beers. It’s rare that we do that, but there were no games for a week, so the players just relaxed.

“My abiding memory of the night is Owain Fon Williams, our reserve goalkeeper who was playing for Tranmere then, playing his guitar and Gareth Bale sitting down next to him to sing.

“Owain was with Tranmere Rovers, this was Gareth Bale of Real Madrid. Yet they stayed together pretty much the whole of the evening having a good old laugh. No barriers, just two teammates for Wales.

“When you have the team ethos that evening demonstrated, it’s very special.”

Coleman continued: “There is no ego to Gareth, he just wants the same as everyone else in the squad which is Welsh success.

“He and the other senior players lead what we are doing. If Gareth was a difficult character, and said: ‘This is Wales, I’m Gareth Bale, one of the best players in the world, I need different things to everyone else,’ then that could cause me a problem.

“But that’s not the case. The only things Gareth wants to know is ‘Am I doing it right’ and ‘Do you have a game plan that is right?’

“If it’s not correct he will ask why, in a professional manner. When you have good people like that you just let them get on with it themselves. Empower people.”

In his fascinating Q&A at the event held at the SWALEC Stadium, Coleman also revealed how he wrote down his preferred Wales team on a piece of paper – and hid it in a drawer for a couple of years before finally picking it and inspiring the Euro success.

The reason, he reveals, is because he was wary of pushing his own methods upon the players after taking over from the popular Gary Speed.

“I was taught a huge lesson in the first 18 months and almost lost