Why Bale’s the toast of Wales
Final shot at glory for new face of whisky
It’s all about the money in sweltering Doha — the £12 beers and the £3 Qatar World Cup issue stamps — but Gareth Bale’s new commercial tie-up speaks to something subtler, about the place that his native Wales occupies in his life.
As the team came to terms with far more aggressive heat here than they anticipated, Brecon Beacon-based Penderyn Distillery was announcing Bale had become one of their shareholders. they’ll be laying down Gareth Bale whiskies in the future after his involvement in the company helped revive Welsh whisky production.
Bale didn’t need much persuading. the nation and its national team have provided the joy that has been missing in so much of his club football. though he might not have Joe Allen’s bilingualism, the 33-year- old is central to a Cymru World Cup campaign in which Welsh national identity plays a strikingly significant part.
there are doubts, of course, due to Bale’s lack of game time: merely two starts in the UsA with Los Angeles FC since June, and not a single 90-minute run-out.
But many in the Welsh squad see a significance in the 128thminute goal that Bale scored for LA in their MLs final against Philadelphia Union last week, given that he was not introduced until the 97th minute. It brought a winning penalty shootout.
‘He’d only just gone on the field and yet he did what he’s always done,’ observes team-mate Dan James. ‘Whenever he’s on the pitch, we know that he can come up with anything at any time.’
It was the look in Bale’s eyes which said most as he sat down earlier this week to discuss Wales’ hopes, at the Vale Resort — the team base 15 miles west of Cardiff where Gary speed declared 12 years ago that: ‘the goal is simple: to qualify for the World Cup.’
A little of the spark seemed to have gone from Bale in the public sphere during last summer’s European Championship campaign, where he was clearly sick of questions about his future.
On Monday, there were echoes of the legendary summer at Dinard, on the Britanny coast, when he took on media duties on an almost daily basis during the storming run to the semi-finals.
He has spoken about speed in recent weeks in a way which suggests he is acutely aware of fulfilling that aspiration of the late manager with style, though he also seems to be possessed with a sense that time is running out.
‘It’s such an important time in my career,’ he said during the excellent ItV documentary Against All Odds, screened this week. ‘It’s possibly my last World Cup so this pressure for me is there even more. It’s one of those moments where you don’t get another chance.’
the unexpected dimension is the support that he and his team-mates will be getting from the United states, Monday’s opponents, given the deep links between the two countries.
Delaware, the Carolinas and Ohio have particularly strong Welsh connections, owing to the many early settlers from the country. In Washington DC on Monday, the Welsh Government will co-host a screening of Wales’ opening fixture against the UsA, as part of the city’s DuPont Festival. there will be scores of other Wales events across the United states, coinciding with their group-stage games.
Bale’s appearances in Los Angeles have built a support base there and American awareness of the nation has soared since the purchase of Wrexham by Hollywood superstars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
‘Drink the blood of your enemies boys!’ Reynolds urged Rob Page’s side in a video message this week. ‘Beat England. Beat Iran. Lose to the UsA — or draw,’ added McElhenney, diplomatically. As usual, their clip went viral.
there have been times since last summer’s Euros when Page’s team have looked very ordinary but they — and Bale — do have a capacity to pluck something out of the depths of utterly pedestrian performances.
Bale did not seem to want to discuss the heroics of 2016 last summer, at a tournament which concluded with him storming out of a BBC interview when Wales lost in the last 16. But this feels a whole lot like the last gathering of friends who have always found sanctuary in Wales.
‘No matter how it was at our clubs, everyone just looked forward to coming away,’ said Bale, reflecting on his many years with Wales, who he has represented since 2006.
‘Everyone just looked forward to coming away, having a laugh at the hotel and enjoying even travelling. At most clubs it’s hard when you travel, but we somehow make it fun and enjoyable when we’re here.’
Fraternity is no guarantee of group- stage success. It cannot paper over the fact that Wales, strong in attack and highly capable in defence, look weaker in midfield.
But Bale is still standing. A 30ft image of him is wrapped around a skyscraper at the end of the waterfront Corniche here and he has been attracting a lot of interest from the local population, with motorists stopping their cars to see him as he’s strolled around the West Bay, near the team hotel. He’s also been spending some of his spare time using a golf simulator at the team hotel.
‘Coming from where we were when I started with Wales to where we are now — if you’d offered me half of that, I’d have bitten your hand off,’ he said. ‘this is something that everyone dreams of doing.’