The two sides of Gareth Bale
I’m a Spurs fan. Like most fans, I will defend my team and its players to the hilt, often unjustifiably and without any logic. For instance, I ignore Andre-Villas Boas’ disastrous stint as Chelsea boss and insist he is a managerial genius. Similarly, I am convinced that Benoit Assou-Ekotto is the greatest left-back to have ever graced the Premier League, despite umpteen costly lapses in concentration to suggest otherwise.
There is, however, one issue where I able to remove my rose-tinted glasses: diving. I hate it. The phrase “he had the right to go down” particularly irks me; you only have the ‘right’ to go down if you’re physically unable to prevent yourself from doing so. Otherwise, it is cheating, plain and simple. Which bring me on to the subject of Gareth Bale.
Last night, with three minutes left on the clock, he scored a quite spectacular goal to earn Wales a 2-1 victory over Scotland. Fittingly, he celebrated by sliding on his chest, a celebration made famous in 1994 by a certain Jurgen Klinsmann. The German came to England with a reputation for going down easily, and when he scored the winning goal in an incredible 4-3 victory over Sheffield Wednesday on his debut, the dive celebration was born.
Klinsmann versus Sheffield Wednesday
Like Klinsmann, Bale is ridiculously talented. I wouldn’t be surprised if Man City new-boy Maicon still has nightmares about the roasting he received from Bale on both occasions Tottenham faced Inter in the Champions League. However, while his second goal demonstrated this talent in all its glory, his first highlighted the less admirable side of his game.
As he burst into the box, he appeared to have his ankle clipped by Shaun Maloney, and the referee duly awarded Wales a penalty (which Bale himself dispatched). Replays, however, suggest there was little to no contact, apart from Bale’s own feet. Maloney has since defended Bale, and while it is not a conclusive case of diving, there is other evidence mounting against the Welshman. Just last week against Villa, Bale flung himself to the ground despite there being absolutely no contact with Brad Guzan. The penalty he won against Arsenal last season was soft to say the least, and I vaguely recall a similar incident when he earned a spot-kick against Stevenage.
It would be highly hypocritical of me to berate the likes of Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Cristiano Ronaldo for their antics, which I do, while defending Gareth Bale. He claims he goes down easily to protect himself from injury, but this is not a valid excuse in my opinion. It’s a contact sport, and he’s a big lad, so he should be able to handle the physical side of the game.
With his talent, Bale has the potential to become a legend for club and country. However, unless he cuts out the diving, his reputation will always be tarnished.