The victory of Real Madrid in an uncomfortable derby due to the date rather than the danger of a defensive Getafe, left an expected momentthe reunion of Gareth Bale with Real Madrid 773 days laterhostile, despite Carlo Ancelotti’s attempts.
The Italian coach forgot the lack of commitment Bale at numerous times throughout the season. The last incident in a classic in which he was needed before Karim Benzema was injured due to injury and he found the least expected response from his player. Inconvenience to play at the Santiago Bernabéu but not to be decisive with his team four days later in the playoff for a place in the World Cup in Qatar.
These behaviors permeated Real Madrid, which showed that it lives in the present and not in the importance of Bale in the successful past full of ‘Champions’. Ancelotti tried it in the previous praising his figure. “He is a player who has entered the history of the club with his games, his goals and his triumphs”he stated unsuccessfully.
When Real Madrid sentenced a goalless game of Karim Benzemascorer of the last seven goals until Casemiro and Lucas Vázquez appeared, BAle was already warming up in the band. At first, when jumping accompanied by Toni Kroos, it might have seemed that the applause won over the whistles, but when he replaced Karim in the 74th minute there was no room for doubt.
Real Madrid’s whistle was thunderous to a player who was whistled every time he touched the ball and that ended up finding the applause of a small sector of the stands. After two years, a month and twelve days without appearing at the Bernabéu, it could well have been his final farewell.
because the Bale’s relationship with Real Madrid will end, contractually, this summer after nine seasons -with a loan last season to Tottenham Hotspur- in which the Welshman’s best memory will be his key goals in finals, but also countless injuries and rudeness to the club, in favor of his team.
Bale had not played at home since February 26, 2020, in the first leg of the Champions League against Manchester City. Last season he played it on loan at Tottenham and in the six games that he has participated in the current one he has played as a visitor.
What’s more, Bale wasn’t even warming up in the band. His presence at the Bernabéu was limited, hopefully, to the bench and to the whistle they gave him when his name sounded over the loudspeaker. And away from home it did seem, for little, one more of the template.
Ancelotti wanted to count on him for his second spell at Real Madrid. The Welshman started in the first three games of the season in which he scored a goal. He left with his national team, played seven minutes in a friendly and returned to Madrid injured. It was the beginning of the end.
Two injuries, a positive for coronavirus and some back pain later, Bale started, by surprise, in Real Madrid’s visit to Villarreal five months after his last appearance. He did it as a center forward, in the absence of the Frenchman Karim Benema, he was active and had several opportunities. Three days later, in Paris, he played the last three minutes and disappeared from ‘Carletto’s’ plans again.
Until the national team break came again. In the classic of March 30, which ended with a victory for FC Barcelona by 0-4, the previous one was marked by the absence at the last minute due to “back discomfort”, according to Real Madrid, of a Bale who, however, traveled to Wales before a key match in Austria.
He played the 90 minutes, scored the two goals that keep alive the dream of being in Qatar 2022 and ended with slight discomfort. Another ‘déjà vu’ for a Madrid fan that he saw as, once again by surprise, he jumped onto the pitch at Stamford Bridge in the 86th minute.
Bale’s injuries and attitude have meant that the good level of football that he showed for several seasons has taken a backseat. The one from Cardiff accumulates a great list of winners by being part of a team for the history of Real Madrid, with four ‘Champions’ in five seasons. Together with four Club World Cups, three European Super Cups, three Spanish Super Cups, two Leagues and one Copa del Rey, they give shape to a curriculum full of successes but that will not leave a mark on Real Madrid. Only time can erase the final damage of the relationship.
