The sky is the limit for Gareth Bale
On 20th October, 2010, a star was born at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. A young Welsh namely Gareth Bale announced his arrival on the continental stage with a truly mesmerising display. Tottenham Hotspurs were done and dusted by half-time; the score
board read Inter 4 – Spurs 0. But this young prodigy had some ideas of his own. He decided to take them all by himself, and so he did. The young sensation was facing a certain Maicon, arguably the best right back in the world; Javier Zanetti stood by the Brazilian.
With two Champions standing in front of him, the task looked insurmountable. But that was not to stop the Welsh fireball as he steamrolled the veterans with a textbook performance of wing play and stupendous finishing.
The media jumped to his praise, his coach ran out of superlatives praising the sensation while fans jumped on to the bandwagon in flocks. The best winger in the world, the best left back, best youngster in the game – all the titles were justly bestowed on
to him. Like Dr. Indiana Jones taking a blind leap of faith, everything seems to fit in place for the twenty one year old.
For those who tagged his San Siro performance a fluke, an on-off – his performance last night was a wakeup call. Gareth Bale was the tormentor-in-chief for the London based outfit. Bale was up against Maicon yet again and the results were no different. The
Welsh prodigy took on the Brazilian time and time again. One had to feel for Maicon as he was left chasing shadows in the Welshman’s dust. The ease with which Bale roasted Maicon was such that the Brazilian will have ‘Balish’ nightmares for some time to come
– Halloween comes a little late in Milan I suppose.
It is no secret that Maicon is in a staggering decline. However, nothing should be taken away from the Tottenham winger. The player was finding first team football hard to come by barely 12 months ago, and now, he is the undoubted first pick on the team
sheet. Players of his age are simply overawed by the occasion, standing opposite the legends like Zanetti, Lucio and Samuel, and managing to keep your head high would be an achievement.
In Gareth’s case, he put the ageing legends to shame, reminded them that their era is over, that players with the quality to challenge their dominance exist still. Judging by Inter Milan’s relentless success last season, it might not be farfetched to believe
that Nerazzuri thought of themselves as unbeatable, immortal and eternal.
I can keep on praising this jewel, shower unparalleled praise and still not run out of superlatives, but, he is not without his weaknesses. For starters, Bale losses possession all too often, his marauding and ambitious forays up the field often result in
the player switching possession. Granted, the winger has extraterrestrial stamina and work rate and he always tracks backs to make up for his sins, he still needs to improve on his decision making. However, that seems to be his only weakness – one that will
only get better with time.
Tottenham Hotspurs find themselves playing the UEFA Champions League after years of exile. Granted, the club has been playing some beautiful football and challenging for a Champions League berth for some time, sadly, they are not big enough a club to keep
hold of this shinning diamond. Certainly he will fulfil the prophecy, one day, he will make one of Europe's elitist clubs very happy for that is his destiny. Like an innocent wizard holding the wand for the first time, there is plenty more to come. Bale is
just getting started, what he is truly capable of, only time will tell. However, one thing is for sure, sky is the limit for Gareth Bale or perhaps, beyond.
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