Gavi washed at 22
Yamal washed at 20
Yildiz washed at 21
Pedri washed at 23
Balde washed at 22
Fati washed by 20
Mastantuono washed at 20
Mainoo washed at 21
WZE washed at 20
Its time to have a conversation about the risks of over-playing a young talent too early.
Nike vs Adidas.
Madrid vs Barcelona.
Top scorer vs top assist provider.
Tall vs short.
Self-belief vs ‘humble’
European vs South American.
Right footed vs left footed.
This is the most scripted and greatest rivalry in the history of sports.
This is what happens when everyone wants to play the same style of football and players are being groomed from academies to first fit into a style before anything else.
At his peak, there were very few wingers in football who could hurt you in as many different ways as Bale. One of the most complete wingers ever.
He could beat you with pure pace, isolate your fullback and dribble past him, attack the space behind your defence, shoot from 25–30 yards, deliver dangerous crosses, attack the back post, win aerial duels and even carry the ball 50 yards himself.
You can’t really solve him with one defensive plan. Sit deep and he could destroy you with his shooting and delivery. Push your defensive line high and he would run into the space behind it.
At Tottenham, he went from being a promising left-back into one of the most dangerous wingers in Europe. That 2012/13 season was ridiculous, 26 goals in all competitions, 21 in the Premier League, and he basically carried Spurs’ attacking output.
5 Champions League titles, 3 La Liga titles, over 100 goals for Real Madrid and 3 goals in Champions League finals. That’s an absurd résumé for a player.
And then there was Wales. Bale wasn’t just their best player, he completely changed what was possible for that national team. He led them to the Euro 2016 semi-finals and eventually to their first World Cup since 1958. He retired as Wales’ record men’s goalscorer with 41 goals in 111 appearances.
That’s the thing about Bale’s career, the longevity could have been better, the injuries robbed us of years of his prime.
But when Bale was at his absolute peak, there weren’t many players in world football you would rather have running at a defence with 40 yards of grass in front of him.
El fútbol mundial tocó techo entre el 2005 y el 2015.
Diez años de la más absoluta perfección a nivel futbolístico y de espectáculo. El último reducto del fútbol que siempre conocimos.
Ya nada volverá a ser como antes. No volveremos a ver nada igual.