Bale Proves He Has A Head For Destiny
| Monday May 26, 2014 11:10
What a way to end your first season in Spain. Rescued by a goal from Sergio Ramos in the fourth minute of added time, Real Madrid won 4-1 against an Atlético team who could hardly walk, their legs hurting almost as much as their hearts.
Marcelo got the third and Ronaldo added the fourth from the penalty spot, after Bale had scored the goal that effectively won la décima, Real Madrid’s 10th European Cup and their obsession. He had already scored the winning goal in the Copa del Rey final. This was going to be even bigger, he had said. He was right. At the final whistle, Ronaldo clenched his fists and looked to the heavens, the Portuguese a winner in Lisbon. Bale embraced him. They had done it, 12 years later.
Atlético had already been defeated when Ronaldo and Marcelo scored; Ramos had plunged in the knife and Bale had finished them off. Ronaldo and Marcelo made the scoreline as cruel as the result. The game was 20 minutes into extra time and, all over the pitch, exhausted footballers stumbled to the finish line; Atlético, in particular, had nothing left to give. Penalties loomed. Ángel Di María, whose energy appears boundless, escaped down the left. His shot squirmed into the air off Thibaut Courtois and Bale was there to head it in at the far post.
He sprinted to the corner flag and skidded to his knees. Madrid knew now that they were European Champions. Bale’s season had ended in an extraordinary triumph; the world’s most expensive player winning the world’s greatest club prize. For so long here, that had seemed impossible. For so long, Bale must have wondered if his lasting memory of this final would be a lament.
Bale’s moment had seemed to come after 32 minutes, and it was the first opportunity of the game. Tiago’s pass was misplaced and Bale cut it out near the centre circle. Suddenly, he was accelerating, space opening before him, the defence backing away. Towards the area he went, drifting inside away from Miranda and Tiago, who sought to recover his error and almost committed another as he stuck out a foot. Bale was inside the area now and, with Courtois off his line, he tried to side-foot the ball into the far corner.
This was the kind of moment players dream about but Bale did not connect well and the ball faded away. His face was eloquent; a grimace engulfed it. Five minutes later, Diego Godín gave Atleti the lead. In the Estádio da Luz, some supporters recalled José Antonio Camacho, the defender who raced through and missed Madrid’s best chance when they lost the 1981 final to Liverpool. There was a British player in that Madrid team, too: Laurie Cunningham had played, despite not being fully fit.
Bale’s first season in Spain had gone extraordinarily well. He had come into this game with 21 goals and 17 assists, and he hoped that this would be even bigger. He had made it to the European Cup final in his first season; it had taken Madrid more than a decade. He was only the eighth Briton to play a final with a foreign club. Kevin Keegan, Cunningham, Steve Archibald and Chris Waddle had fallen at this stage. For a long time, unable to really influence the match - his one opportunity left untaken - it seemed as if he would join them. Instead, he joined Paul Lambert, Owen Hargreaves and Steve McManaman.
Madrid’s best performances this season had been against Barcelona in the final of the Copa del Rey, and Bayern Munich in the semi-final of this competition. Pep Guardiola had described them as fantastic athletes. Bale knew that this would be a different tactical prospect. He described Atlético as “very well organised defensively and very physical”, “a bit mad”, and “very intense”.
He added: “If you watch the away game, it was almost like a wrestling match at some points.” As if to reinforce the point, his first touch here came after just 14 seconds, and - as he received the ball - he was dumped on the floor by Filipe Luís.
Chances were few until late in the second half when, at last - with Madrid trailing 1-0 - the pressure built and built. Still, though, the Welshman was denied. With 20 minutes to go, he received the ball a couple of yards outside the area, but his low shot, with the outside of his left foot, flew wide. Six minutes later, he escaped on the right and ran diagonally into the area. He had almost reached the six-yard box. This was it, but Bale struck the turf as he shot. Then, in the last minute Sergio Ramos rescued Madrid. Exhaustion took over. There were players on both sides who could barely walk. When they went down, it took a long time for them to get up again. Penalties approached. It had always been a possibility, of course. “Would I take one? If I am chosen, you have to step up,” Bale had said. “There is a lot of pressure, but we want to win it, and if that means taking a penalty, you have to.” He did not have to after all. In the dying minutes of a dramatic final, he was there again. He headed in the goal that made Real Madrid the European champions. That is what he had come to Spain to do. (The Guardian)