BALE: WE’LL CATCH REAL LEGENDS
Cardiff is not the end for this generation
GARETH BALE believes his Champions League history-makers are right up there with Real Madrid’s all-time greats.
The Welsh ace was restricted to a cameo role in Cardiff as Zinedine Zidane’s men swept aside Juventus to become the first team in 27 years to retain the trophy and the first to do so in the Champions League era.
Two goals from superstar Cristiano Ronaldo along with strikes from Casemiro and Marco Asensio shattered the resolve of plucky Juve and ensured Real lifted the famous trophy for the 12th time.
Bale admits that only time will tell exactly where this side stands in the Spanish giant’s Hall of Fame.
Company
Plenty believe they still have some way to go before they can be mentioned in the same breath as Real sides of the late 50s and early 60s.
That team boasted such legendary names as Alfredo Di Stefano, Francisco Gento and Ferenc Puskas and won the European Cup five times in a row.
But Bale is confident this current incarnation can achieve similar greatness after completing a La Liga and Champions League double this season.
He said: “I don’t see why we can’t be in that company. We have won the Champions League three times in four seasons, so we have to be in that category.
“All we can keep doing is keep working hard and hopefully there will be more to come.”
Ominously, Bale thinks this is only the beginning of a another cycle of all-conquering success at the Bernabeu.
“We can get even better,” said the former Southampton and Spurs star. “We are still quite young as a whole team.
“We haven’t just got a great XI, we have a great squad. If any injuries come along, there are other people who can do a job.
“We are strong at the moment. We are very confident and the plan is to win more.
“This just adds to the history of the club. This club is the biggest ever in Champions League history. It’s great to be a part of and we want to make more.”
That sentiment was echoed by midfield maestro Luka Modric, who said: “We feel like an amazing team. We need to just keep doing what we are doing, because I think we can win many more titles in the future.
“How long can it last? It’s difficult to say. We are good age-wise and we have young players that are coming in that have a lot of quality. This is only a positive thing for the team.”
Juve made a damned good fist of it and should have been in front at half-time before the wheels came off in a three-minute spell early in the second half.
Massive
The Italians had been the better side and wobbled Real early on before that man Ronaldo swept the ball in on 20 minutes to snatch the lead.
Seven minutes later Mario Mandzukic scored a stunning overhead kick to level, but the game turned on its head just past the hour mark when Casemiro’s deflected goal was quickly followed by a second from Ronaldo.
Juve suddenly looked like an ageing boxer who had taken one punch too many and were ready to be counted out.
They then took another massive blow when Juan Cuadrado was sent off and Asensio delivered the knockout effort with a fourth late on.
For Ronaldo it was a sensational finale to the season, which must now end with his fifth Ballon D’Or.
He finished the 12-goal top scorer in the competition and picked up the 20th trophy of his career, ironically at the scene of his first with Manchester United in the 2004 FA Cup Final.
“This was a spectacular end to the season, with us winning La Liga and now this,” said Ronaldo
“We set a record retaining the Champions League and I’m top scorer in the tournament. What more could I ask?”
Well, maybe to be voted the world’s top player again?
“We’ll just have to wait and see,” added Ronaldo, who sounded like a man still intent on playing on until he is 40.
“My age is just a number,” said the 32-yearold. “I feel like a young boy.”