Bale’s Wales exploits puzzle Real fans
Rooney on track for goals record
REAL Madrid fans watching Gareth Bale driving Wales almost single-handedly to the brink of their first major finals since the 1958 World Cup, may be wondering if this is the same man they signed for a record fee two years ago.
The 26-year-old, who joined Real from Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of million (about R1.5-billion), clinched a 1-0 win for Wales over Cyprus in their Euro 2016 Group B qualifier on Thursday, a towering header not unlike a trademark effort from club teammate and Fifa Ballon d’Or holder Cristiano Ronaldo.
The victory lifted Chris Coleman’s side to 17 points from seven games and they can clinch a place at the finals in France next year providing they beat Israel at home.
Bale has scored (six) or assisted (two) eight of his nation’s nine goals in qualification and only Poland striker Robert Lewandowski, who took his tally to eight against Germany on Friday, has netted more.
Without Bale’s contribution, Wales would have 11 points fewer and would already be on the brink of elimination, according to Spanish Twitter statistician Mister Chip (@2010MisterChip).
“It was a great header but it’s nothing we as players haven’t come to expect from him,” defender Ben Davies said.
While his exploits have prompted comparisons with Wales great John Charles, Bale has yet to achieve the same kind of success at Real that Charles did playing for Italian side Juventus in the late ’50s and early ’60s.
Bale’s debut season in Spain was impressive, if not spectacular, and he scored in the finals of the Champions League and the King’s Cup.
However, he failed to push on from that last term, when Real missed out on the three main trophies and coach Carlo Ancelotti was sacked and replaced by Rafa Benitez.
Bale scored 17 goals in 48 outings in all competitions in 2014-2015, compared with 22 in 44 appearances in 2013-2014.
He also produced fewer assists, setting up 10 goals after 12 the previous year. WAYNE Rooney hopes to break Bobby Charlton’s 45year-old all-time scoring record when England play Switzerland at Wembley tomorrow – although his side’s place in next year’s Euro 2016 finals in France is already secured.
The England captain equalled Charlton’s longstanding record total of 49 goals when he scored a 13thminute penalty goal in England’s 6-0 win over San Marino on Saturday, which guaranteed them a place in the finals next year.
Like Charlton, Rooney, 29, has taken 106 matches to reach his target, but his England career is destined to go far beyond both Charlton’s number of games played and goals scored.
Although there was a look of frustration on his face when manager Roy Hodgson replaced him with Harry Kane after 57 minutes, Rooney told ITV Sport it would be an honour to break the record at Wembley.
Charlton became England’s record scorer at Wembley in May 1968 when he overtook Jimmy Greaves’ 44goal haul and he scored his 49th and final goal in May 1970 against Colombia in Bogota.
Since then, only Gary Lineker, who scored 48 goals, has come close. “It would have been great if the record had happened tonight – to break the record at Wembley would be great, too,” Rooney said, adding that
According to a survey of 725 Real members conducted by market research firm SigmaDos for Marca sports daily, Bale rated five out of 10 for the season.
That compared unfavourably with Portugal captain Ronaldo, who scored 7.8 after netting a La Liga-best 48 goals and 61 in all competitions.
And perhaps therein lies Bale’s problem at Real. While with Wales he is the undisputed star of the team, at Real he has to defer to Ronaldo and has several more of the world’s highest-profile players, like Colombia playmaker James Rodriguez and France forward Karim Benzema.
As Real president Florentino Perez’s marquee signing in 2009, Ronaldo confidently assumed the mantle from previous galacticos like France great Zinedine Zidane, former Brazil striker Ronaldo and compatriot Luis Figo.
Bale, so far, has yet to show he is capable of being the No 1 man at the world’s richest club by income and the record 10-times European champions.
To be sure, Bale has made a fine start to his latest campaign with Real. However, if he does not want to be considered a failure, he will need to make a more telling contribution on a more consistent basis. — Reuters since he was 18 and joined Manchester United, Sir Bobby had visited the dressing room after each game, speaking to “all the players and me in particular”.
“After England and United games he gives me advice and tries to help me and I am sure that if anyone will be happy for me to break his record it will be him. It’s crazy that our records are identical but hopefully my 107th game will see the 50th goal.
“But right now I would swap all those goals for a winner’s medal next summer.”
Kane, who grabbed his second goal for England in only his third international, said he was delighted to score after failing to find the net in Tottenham Hotspur’s opening four games of the season.
“It’s great to get on the scoresheet,” he said. “A lot has been said about me not scoring this season but I came off the bench and, thankfully, scored.
“It is a great achievement by Wayne to equal the record and we are all buzzing for him but the whole team did well and we don’t want to stop here as we want to keep moving on.”
Lineker, who was joint second with Rooney until Saturday could see the funny side of dropping down the list.
“Trying to get used to only being the 3rd highest goalscorer ... so humiliating!” he tweeted. — Reuters