Gareth Bale had a great summer at the European Championship, where he reached the semi-finals with the Welsh national team, and he also showed great form in the first round of "La Liga" when he scored two goals against Real Sociedad.
With his team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo still recovering from injury, Bale became the new leader of Real and seems determined to finally step out of his team-mate's shadow. On Monday, the front page of AS was adorned with the headline "La Liga de Bale," and Sky Sports experts Guillem Balague and Graham Hunter held a discussion trying to answer the question – will this finally be Gareth Bale's year?
Graham Hunter: We both were at the European Championship and we both saw why this declaration of "La Liga de Bale" emerged and why it could come true.
We have been talking about it for quite some time: how the power dynamics between Ronaldo and Bale changed last season. Ronaldo, who started the season not in his best form, saw that when Bale plays well, they mostly win, and he has more opportunities to score.
This helped Real to finish last season with results that this pair had never achieved before - 12 consecutive wins, almost winning the league and the Champions League title.
In the Welsh national team, we mostly saw what we talked about when Bale joined the Real team - the whole Welsh team played through Bale, they understood his role in the team and when to pass him the ball.
If Real Madrid, Zinedine Zidane, and Ronaldo appreciate Bale and let him be in the position where he is the most dangerous, then these statements can come true.
Guillem Balague: The main thing that makes us think that Bale will become the main player of the team this season is that Real's priority is to win the league. Florentino Perez already told the coach Zidane about it.
Secondly, Zidane respects hierarchy and famous names, but does not cling to them, just as we saw in the cases of Isco and James Rodriguez when they were left on the bench.
Also, now Bale perfectly understands his role - to receive the ball and be faster than the full-back. So there are many things that could make Bale the main man in the team. Of course, all of this, if he remains healthy and does not miss 15 games like last year. He has everything needed to be among the top three players in the world.
Graham Hunter: When you look at the players that Zidane puts in the starting lineup - Lucas Vazquez, true, he did not play from the first minute in the first round, but he played in the Super Cup, and also Marco Asensio, who scored a goal in the first round. In addition to the improving Lucas and Asensio, there is also Dani Carvajal playing instead of Danilo. All these players further help Bale. They are the ones who can attract defenders' attention, create space and accurately pass the ball.
While we cannot forget how great Ronaldo is when playing in the air, he did not dominate this summer in the air as Bale did. I am also very interested in whether Ronaldo could reconcile with the fact that most high balls will be aimed not at him but at Bale. Bale should run more into the zones where he could score with his head since he can position fantastically well.
Zidane is a suitable coach for making small changes, and they need a bit of generosity considering Ronaldo's results, who until now never had to do it. I'm not calling him selfish, just noting that he has never faced such a situation before, and if he could adapt by sacrificing some of his opportunities for the team's sake, then this year we could really see "La Liga de Bale" come true.
Guillem Balague: Full-backs seem to be the guys who will be used to create spaces in the Real team. Of course, not when they counterattack, but when playing positional game, Zidane likes to keep three holding midfielders who are responsible for guarding a large area of the field.
Then full-backs are forced to move forward, and in the first "La Liga" matches, more than half of the time they spent on the opponent's half of the field. It happened in the match against Real Sociedad, so this style of play can be beneficial for Bale. With full-backs joining the attacks, he can strike into free areas of the field or, as mentioned, find himself in the penalty area and wait for high crosses from his team-mates.
The gesture where after the semi-final match Ronaldo went to Bale and embraced him says a lot. While it is always easier to do so after a victory than after a defeat, from body language, it was obvious that Ronaldo respects Bale. Therefore, I have no doubt that he is willing to accept that in the team Bale will have a bigger role than ever before.
Graham Hunter: In my opinion, in that match, the Welsh national team was as good as the Portuguese, and those matches were decided by a few small details and two quick goals. I also think that there is definitely mutual respect between these players, and they always looked like two people who could play together. I think with his play, Bale proved to Ronaldo that he can be an equal partner.
I am confident and without any criticism, I can say that, in my opinion, Ronaldo always calculates everything. He always thought about when to press the team or the coach to get what he wants. However, I think it was not because of his ego but because of the desire to win.
Ronaldo does what he does to win, but now he understands that Bale can be an excellent partner, not a competitor to his status or his worth. Ronaldo understands well that he is no longer as physically capable a player as before and cannot do everything he did when he was younger.
However, he still wants to win and fight for trophies, so I think he already sees Bale as a man who can help him achieve that. I think this will be the main thing in their relationship and what can help him give up the role of the main player to Bale in the Real club and allow him to have Bale's year.
