Every team in the history of sport has had a best player. And every team in the history of sport has had a player that they would expect to take over the reins when the aforementioned best player called it quits.
Among them, Real Madrid are perhaps the most active seekers of brilliant players to replace their best. At Real Madrid, the drive to acquire the best player is such that they sign the replacement for the replacement of the best player.
However, we won’t go that far but instead focus on the first replacement: Gareth Bale. The Welshman was bought with the intention of replacing the four-time Ballon d’Or winner, Cristiano Ronaldo. But he is yet to reach the level that the Portuguese superstar has enjoyed for so long.
And he might never…and here are 5 reasons why…
#1 Doesn’t have the close control to make up for lack of positional awareness
This is a trait the Welshman never really had. From his early days, he was someone who liked to knock the ball past the opponent and run on to it. Players with such dribbling style tend to find it problematic getting out of crowded areas and Gareth Bale is no exception.
In his first season in Spain, defenders were dumbfounded with his pace and didn’t know what to do when he ran at them full speed. The inscrutability was such that Rayo defender, Anaitz Arbilla, cried after being humiliated by the Welshman on the pitch.
However, teams gradually understood that closing down the former Spurs man limits his ability drastically. Since then, he hasn’t been as effective as he was in his first season. Despite the fact that Cristiano Ronaldo himself doesn’t have the dribbling ability that he once had, the Portuguese, however, possesses an astute sense of positional awareness that almost always puts him in a scoring zone.
And that is something that can’t be seen in Bale.
#2 Injury prone
The fact that Gareth Bale is yet to leave a deep mark in the history books of Real Madrid is due to his numerous injuries. Right now, the Welshman is recovering from an ankle injury that he received in December last year and is expected to be out till Real Madrid’s next Champions League match.
This is just his most recent injury; he has been injured six more times ever since he joined the club in September 2013. He has already missed 175 days of football and 36 games in the process for the club, and the number is constantly on the rise. All this in the space of a mere three-and-a-half years.
36 games in three-and-a-half-years. That is just two short of the number of league games Real Madrid play every season.
In contrast, his Portuguese teammate has missed only 34 games. It might seem like the term ‘only’ has been used as a measure to derogate Gareth Bale, but it is not: Cristiano Ronaldo is in his 8th season with the club and has been injured for two games less than Bale despite being at Real Madrid for four years more.
Fitness is among the many reasons why the former Manchester United man can do what he does. The Portugal captain has never been injured for more than 60 days and it is for this reason that he has scored 50 or more goals for the Whites for the last six seasons in a row.
And the Welshman is yet to hit 25 in one season.
#3 Inconsistent
This is a result of having persistent injury problems. When a player is injured for long periods, it becomes difficult for him to find his feet on the pitch.
Given that Real Madrid broke the transfer record to purchase him from Tottenham Hotspur, it became the manager’s obligation to play him in every game that he was fit to appear in.
Ask any footballer about the toughest aspect of the game and he will definitely bring up the topic of settling in after an injury. The frequency of Bale’s injuries means that he is eternally in the settling in period.
And that hurts his performance.
The first few games after an injury are always difficult. Players don’t generally come out all guns blazing after an injury. The general pattern with Bale is that it takes a while for him to get into his groove, but once he does get there, he falls prey to the fangs of injury.
This has resulted in an overall outline of inconsistency for the Welshman. Whenever he plays, he almost always gives the impression that he hasn’t contributed enough. The only time it felt like he was stamping his authority was during the crunch part of Carlo Ancelotti’s Champions League winning season.
And that hasn’t been the case ever since.
#4 Not as good a finisher
Gareth Bale is one of the best headers of the ball. If he is anywhere near the goal and his head is about to make impact with the ball, one can almost be certain that the goalkeeper is going to be challenged at the very least.
However, with the ball at his feet, and near the goal, he is yet to reach that level of intimidation that he does with his head.
That composure that the Portugal No. 7 displays in front of the goal is a recherché ability that only he and Lionel Messi possess. The Welshman is quite far from that level and it is visible in the games that he plays for the club.
Ronaldo’s goals-per-game ratio for Real Madrid is over 1 while Bale’s ratio is less than even 0.5. And that is a telling testament about the difference in their finishing standards.
#5 Not hungry enough
And, finally, the greatest point of them all. One of the most famous quotes of Steve Jobs is, “stay hungry, stay foolish,” for if you are hungry, you will try to do something to appease your hunger. However, the moment you feel like your appetite is full, you stop trying to acquire food.
Cristiano Ronaldo is always hungry. And his hunger transcends mere goals and assists – he is ever-hungry to win. His stomach is in an ever-burgeoning state of hunger; the more you feed him, the more he wants.
It is this hunger that has brought him to the place that he is in now. All the trophies and accolades that he has achieved in his life, and all that he will achieve in the future, is down to the fact that he is perennially hungry for more.
This trait is somewhat lacking in the Welshman. In every game, the Portuguese tries to, at least, get into scoring zones, if not anything. He is always pushing towards the goal the moment his team has possession.
And this is the drive that Madrididistas are yet to see in Bale. It is not that the Welshman never oozed it; in his Tottenham days, and early Real Madrid career, he had the desire to be the best and that is when he played his best football.
But, sadly, that Bale can no longer be seen. And without that, he can never truly replace the legend that is Cristiano Ronaldo.
