Euro 2016 special: Wales
They couldn’t... could they? We ask if Gareth Bale and friends can ‘do a Greece 2004’, and speak to Ben Davies, Joe Ledley and skipper Ashley Williams
1 THEY HAVE GARETH BALE…
Well, let’s start with the obvious. Wales’ frontline boasts one of the world’s best players; a forward who makes opposition defenders nervous, knowing they can’t switch off for a second. Bale can create something from nothing. Remember his ridiculous solo goal in the 2014 Copa del Rey Final, when he took a detour through Barcelona’s technical area? He’d done the exact same thing for Wales against Iceland six weeks earlier.
Moreover, he’s at the right age, loves playing for his country and is in decent form: despite Real Madrid’s inconsistent La Liga campaign, the 26-year-old directly contributed to 26 goals in 20 games up to April 19. That’s a better ratio than Cristiano Ronaldo. But don’t tell Ronaldo that, for God’s sake.
2 …BUT THEY DON’T RELY ON GARETH BALE
Speaking of Ronaldo, Portugal basing their entire game around him is one reason they’ve not reached a final in the decade they have had Europe’s best player. Doing that puts pressure on your star – although it’s unlikely Ronaldo feels daunted – and limits the team tactically. Wales, though, don’t revolve around Bale. While Chris Coleman recognises his star’s suitability to the counter-attack, and has used that against quality opposition, he prefers a patient possession game. Wales register creditable results without Bale because he is essentially another cog in a well-oiled machine. He just happens to be a big cog.
At the same time, Bale is most dangerous in a free role. His finest qualifying performance came when he and Aaron Ramsey created goals for each other in the 3-0 win in Israel, Bale drifting behind the striker. He is given space by Hal Robson-kanu’s speed, strength and hard running, while reserve striker Simon Church offers good movement off the ball (and arguably little else).
3 WALES HAVE THE ELEMENT OF SURPRISE
It’s a fair guess that Russia and Slovakia know little about Fulham’s George Williams – to be honest, not many in the England setup will, either, unless they’ve been following the 20-year-old winger’s loan spell at Gillingham – and being an unknown quantity is why he has looked dangerous against teams as good as the Netherlands, on debut, and Belgium. He and the similarly off-radar Jonny Williams, 22, are skilful dribblers who can win free-kicks in dangerous areas, which is helpful when Wales have you-know-who around to take them.
4 THEY’VE NOTHING TO FEAR
Nobody knows how Wales’ players will handle tournament football, least of all themselves. This is new territory, so there’s no fear factor from past mistakes; in fact, most of the squad is too young to remember the pain of Wales narrowly missing out on USA 94. Don’t underestimate the confidence of youth.
5 WALES’ RECENT RECORD IN FRANCE IS 100 PER CENT
You have to go back 63 years for Wales’ last defeat in France. Admittedly they’ve played there only once since then, in 1982, when they arc-de-triumphed 1-0 over a team led by Michel Platini. It was in Toulouse, too, where Wales face Russia in their final Euro 2016 group game. The stars are aligning… possibly.
6 THERE’S THAT DEFIANT DEFENCE
Clean sheets win tournaments. Wales don’t score many but then neither did Greece at Euro 2004, winning each knockout game 1-0, as did Spain at the 2010 World Cup. Coleman’s European Championship debutants are actually set up perfectly for tournament football: they keep things tight and have a match-winner at the other end. And he isn’t a one-dimensional threat, either – of Bale’s seven goals in qualifying, two were headers, two free-kicks, two smart left-footed finishes and one a right-footed poacher’s effort.
Meanwhile, the Ashley Williams-led defence conceded only four goals, keeping two clean sheets against a Belgium side that scored 24 in their eight other games, including 17 at home. Indeed, Belgium have drawn a blank in just five of their 40 matches in the four years leading up to Euro 2016; their opponents were France, Colombia, Argentina, Wales and Wales again.
Former defender Coleman has established an organised backline that repeatedly plays above its natural level. If you want to know why Eden Hazard has gone missing this season, he’s been in Jazz Richards’ pocket since June last year.
7 THE EGOS HAVEN’T LANDED
Coleman doesn’t pick troublemakers, so gone are the days of big names sniping behind the manager’s back, or the star player turning up for his first friendly nine years after his debut (not that we have anyone specific in mind).
These guys have been playing together for years; every international break is virtually a family reunion, with less arguing over the inheritance. The squad is young, its average age 25.9, but very experienced. Chris Gunter is now one of the 10 most capped players in Welsh football history and is likely to be in the top five by the end of 2016. He’s 26 years old.
8 ROCK GODS ARE ON THEIR SIDE
Welsh music loves its sport – the Super Furry Animals (below) are pausing their summer tour to watch Euro 2016 – so Wales weren’t lacking options for their tournament anthem. If anything, FFT is disappointed it isn’t a Tom Jones and Shirley Bassey duet backed by Catatonia and a Welsh male voice choir.
Instead it’s the next best thing. The Manic Street Preachers are kings of the anthemic chorus and they’re proper Wales supporters, too, having promised in 1999 to pay a hefty chunk of Terry Venables’ wages if the FAW hired him as manager. The Manics also sung “Bobby Gould Must Go” at Cardiff Castle when he was in charge of the nation (read more about that on p94). They even have a song called Underdogs, for goodness’ sake.
Squad-featuring anthem Together Stronger, named after the team motto, is released on May 20, with proceeds going to the Princes Gate Trust and Tenovus Cancer Care. No news yet on whether the B-side will be called If You Tolerate This James Chester Will Be Next.
9 CHRIS COLEMAN IS TACTICALLY FLEXIBLE
This team is comfortable switching systems between and within games, playing everything from 5-3-2 to 3-4-2-1 to 4-4-2 to 4-3-3 with left-back Neil Taylor in the frontline. They’ve options on the bench, too, which is a relatively new phenomenon – Welsh squads usually have as much depth as a Michael Bay flick.
10 THEY’RE DOING IT FOR SPEEDO
Gary Speed’s influence on Wales’ resurgence cannot be underestimated. More than once, players and staff have attributed part of this team’s success to their former manager, who died in November 2011 aged 42.
11 WALES TURN IT ON AGAINST BIG TEAMS
Coleman’s men fare better against football’s big guns than they do against defensive minnows. They’re natural underdogs, and should embrace the role. It’ll help that they play England in Lens’ Stade Bollaert-delelis, which isn’t much bigger than the Cardiff City Stadium that Wales often call home, while the Three Lions are accustomed to playing in front of 80,000-plus crowds at Wembley.
12 THEY’RE FIT AND THEY KNOW IT
Wales press to the final whistle and suffer few injuries, whatever Arsene Wenger
might think. Just look at Ashley Williams. His debuts for Wales and League One Swansea City came two weeks apart in the spring of 2008. In the eight years since, he has missed just nine league games for Swansea, playing 90 minutes in virtually every other match and dropped only for an occasional rest.
13 THIS IS OSIAN’S 11
Anglesey-born assistant manager Osian Roberts has been the unsung driving force behind Welsh football since 2007, when he was made technical director with the team ranked 117th in the world. Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry are among those to have taken their coaching badges through Roberts’ FAW scheme, with Henry saying: “I could have had an easier path with the French FA but I spoke to Osian Roberts and knew that this was the right place.”
14 WHO NEEDS BALE ANYWAY?
Wales’ clutch of cult heroes includes Robson-kanu, of course, but also bearded dancer Joe Ledley, the ever-present Gunter and the ever-patient reserve keeper – and part-time painter – Owain Fon Williams. A small pocket of fans sing, to the tune of Blowin’ In The Wind by Bob Dylan (right): “How many times must a man turn up before you give him a game?” The answer’s 30. That’s how many of Wales’ matchday squads he made, over seven years, before getting 15 minutes against the Dutch last autumn aged 28. Arjen Robben ruined the party by scoring.
15 LADY LUCK MAY FINALLY BE A WALES SUPPORTER
Over the years, Wales have been thwarted by referees, floodlights, the crossbar and a failed Russian doping test going unpunished, but their luck may be changing at last. Don’t forget: Bale’s 81st-minute goal to beat Andorra in their first qualifier came from a retaken free-kick. If Wales had drawn that match, their campaign may never have taken off.
16 …AND THERE’S ALWAYS COOKIE’S LUCKY JACKET
Since watching Wales lose 6-1 to Serbia in his shirtsleeves back in September 2012, Coleman has superstitiously worn his jacket for every game, even in the roasting heat of Cyprus. He hasn’t even washed it. On matchday he’s a smelly, sweaty mess – but a lucky one.