Gareth Bale's speed and skills are all natural
Tottenham left-back Gareth Bale has said his speed is not something he has worked on consciously, adding that Theo Walcott, his former teammate, could outrun him in a race.
Bale, who joined Spurs from Southampton in 2007, has frequented headlines across Europe in recent weeks.
On 20 October, he scored three goals away to Italian champions Inter Milan after three equally impressive runs down the left flank, and produced another mesmerizing performance in the return leg at White Hart Lane on Tuesday, 2 November, noting two assists
after surging down the left.
"I've never worked with a sprint coach, I just put my foot down and run as hard as I can," the Welshman told
The Sun, insisting that his dribbling has also come naturally. "I've never worked with a skills coach either, I've always liked dribbling with a ball and now I'm showing it in games."
Bale's three strikes against Inter were scored with his left foot, by far his strongest, but the 21-year-old said he has trained his right foot as well — albeit a while ago.
"Maybe I owe some thanks to my PE teacher at school, who at one time banned me from using my left foot in practice games. He'd only let me use my right - and that definitely helped improve it."
Bale joined Southampton's youth team in 2005, where he met Walcott, another player with outstanding pace.
"Is there anyone faster than me in football? Well, Theo Walcott at Arsenal for one. I used to room with him when we were both teenagers at Southampton and he is definitely quicker than me."
Spurs boss, Harry Redknapp, has insisted that his praised left-back is not leaving White Hart Lane, despite reported interest from most of Europe's top clubs.
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