Читать книгу Gareth Bale - Frank Worrall - Страница 12

It had been a long, lonely, arduous road back to fitness for Gareth during the first seven months of 2008. He would spend hour after hour with physios and rehab experts in the gym and on the training field as he slowly but surely pounded the road to recovery. Many footballers I have spoken to over the years have told me how frustrating and testing those long hours can be – and how they can take you to the limit mentally and emotionally, as well as physically.

Roy Keane, for example, would admit that he was ‘terrible company to be around’ when he was out injured. The Irishman is one of the strongest, most determined people you would ever meet in terms of mental durability. But even he would concede that doubts crept in about whether he would ever play again as he was forced to spend almost a whole season on the sidelines after suffering cruciate ligament injury in the 1997/98 campaign. Keane said his long-term recovery programme pushed him to the limit emotionally and mentally and that he had many low periods as he struggled to regain his fitness. But, of course, he did return and eventually to the level of aggression and talent for which he had already become famed.

Gareth would face a similar mountain to climb in those challenging eight months on the sidelines. But he is more of a measured, balanced individual than Keano – less susceptible to bouts of the black dog and with a more positive outlook. Of course, as we have mentioned already, he was gutted not to be playing every week and particularly to have missed out on the League Cup final win over Chelsea.

But he kept his spirits up and was fully supported by his family and friends. He had also experienced the physical battle before – he was no stranger to injury and physical demands on his body. After all, it had been a tough ride during his early and mid teens when growth spurts put pressure on his back. Yes, pain was no stranger.

Certainly Ramos, Comolli and the backroom staff at the Lane were impressed by his resilience and optimistic attitude. ‘He’s a fighter and a winner,’ the Spaniard would say in his broken English. ‘He will be back – and better than before.’

That probably explains why in August 2008 Ramos put him straight back into the first team for the start of the new 2008/09 season and also boosted his spirits even more by awarding him the No. 3 shirt for the campaign – even though Lee Young-Pyo was still at the club – and a new contract, even though he had only put pen to paper to a four year deal 14 months earlier.

Gareth happily signed the new four-and-a-half year deal offered to him by the club. It gave him improved terms on the deal signed in May 2007 – I am told his salary increased from £15,000 a week to £25,000 – and provided both sides with security until at least 2012. Spurs hoped that by that time their wonder boy would appreciate how much he was wanted and loved by the club, and would stay well beyond. It was a piece of shrewd management and shrewd business sense by Tottenham. It showed Gareth that they believed he had a big future at the Lane – and that they were also convinced he would not only recover from his injury but come back stronger than ever.

By acting early, I am told Spurs hoped they had taken the important first steps in tying up a superb young talent for what they hoped would be his whole footballing career.

But his season would once again be disrupted by injury and instability behind the scenes.

Gareth’s first competitive appearance since the foot injury was in the 2-0 loss at Middlesbrough on Saturday August 16, 2008, when he came on as a 65th-minute sub for Aaron Lennon. He started the next match on the left of a five-man midfield and ended up getting booked as Spurs crashed 2-1 to Sunderland in their first Premier League match of the new campaign at the Lane.

The joy and glory of winning the League Cup almost six months earlier was beginning to evaporate for Tottenham fans – as was goodwill towards boss Ramos. A sign of the crevice between supporters and manager was their restlessness not only at the poor results but also that he had not ingratiated himself more within the club and their affections. It was a fact that he still could not communicate in English – and there were growing suggestions that the team were suffering as a consequence.

Once again it was left to Ramos’s trusty assistant, the likeable Gus Poyet to face the media after the latest defeat. He said of the loss to the Mackems, ‘Defeat is difficult to take because we really tried very hard to go and create chances, and we had a few, to change the result. They did their job – Sunderland really worked very hard.’

By deduction, Spurs had not done their job nor worked very hard. Ramos was on the rack and it got worse – the Spaniard would lead the club to their worst ever start to a league campaign, with the team rock bottom of the table with just two points from their opening eight matches. Clearly it couldn’t continue and the board put him (but mostly the fans, seeing as he would pocket a fat compensation fee) out of their misery on October 25, 2008.

Gareth had played in 11 matches under Ramos that season. The disastrous run of results had also seen Gareth sent off for the first time in his career, as they lost 2-1 at Stoke, a week before the Spanish manager’s demise. Bale saw red on 17 minutes for a tackle on Tom Soares which gave City their first spot-kick. Danny Higginbotham made no mistake from the spot, opening the scoring for the Potters.

It was more a clumsy blunder than a deliberately bad tackle on Soares and Gareth could count himself unlucky that he was forced to take that early bath. But he would say later that he was still disappointed with himself at conceding the penalty and that he had certainly had better days at the office.

He was sad to see Ramos go and, along with him, Comolli, who had been so instrumental in bringing him to the Lane in the first place. There was a sense of despair and anxiety around the club but it would not take long to lift – just 24 hours, in fact.

Luckily, the board had the good sense to line up as the dour, uncommunicative Spaniard’s replacement a man who was the exact opposite: the bright, talkative Harry Redknapp, who was never without an opinion or a quip. He was also the right man for the job: talented, experienced in the whims and ways of the English player and the Premier League and a true breath of fresh air after the claustrophobic despair of the Ramos regime.

Just 12 hours into his new job, Harry led Spurs to their first win of the season – a 2-0 home triumph over Bolton. Gareth missed the victory; he was serving his suspension after being dismissed at Stoke. But he was also caught up in the feelgood factor as the Redknapp era began in earnest. The good times were about to roll and Harry, whose services had cost £5 million to secure from Portsmouth, was determined they would come sooner rather than later.

Redknapp, who the previous season had led Pompey to the FA Cup, told Sky Sports: ‘It’s a great opportunity for me. It’s a big club, Tottenham. They have a decent squad on paper, although it’s not a well-balanced squad, it’s a squad with good ability, very skilful players – but maybe a bit of a soft centre.

‘We need a little bit more strength and aggression about the team if we’re going to survive. You don’t pick up two points (so far this season) if you’re that good. They’ve been on a horrendous run of games and we’ve got to get cracking and turn it around as quick as we can.’

Gareth’s first start under Redknapp came the following week – and it couldn’t have been much bigger or important, in London terms – against Arsenal at the Emirates. The match ended in a thrilling 4-4 draw, with Gareth speeding down the left midfield flank, with Benoit Assou-Ekotto in the left-back slot.

The Sun’s Mark Irwin best summed up the new spirit of optimism at Tottenham when he wrote, ‘Arsène Wenger has already seen off eight Tottenham managers during his 12 years at Arsenal. Harry Redknapp could prove a bit more difficult to shift. His team might still be stuck at the foot of the Premier League and chucking goals away like there is no tomorrow.

‘But in the space of just four days Redknapp has already restored the pride and fighting spirit to a team which had become a laughing stock under Juande Ramos. Aaron Lennon’s 93rd-minute equaliser provided an unforgettable ending to a night of heart-stopping drama in North London. Lennon was the first to react when Luka Modric’s desperate, last-gasp effort came back off a post and set up scenes of utter jubilation among the Spurs fans.’

Utter jubilation…who would have guessed it a week earlier when gloom and doom was the order of the day in the dying embers of the Ramos era.

Harry now led Spurs clear of the drop zone in his first two weeks in charge, winning ten out of the twelve points available – although Gareth would be in and out of his team. He brought back Jermain Defoe from his old club Portsmouth for £15.75 million, Robbie Keane for £12 million from Liverpool and signed Honduran midfielder Wilson Palacios from Wigan for £12 million.

But still Gareth could not end his jinx of not being on the winning side when the boss selected him in Premier League matches.

Still, Bale did make an impression as Spurs marched to Wembley for the League Cup final against Manchester United on Sunday March 1, 2009. The match held a double significance. Firstly, it gave Gareth a chance to make up for missing out on the previous season’s final which Tottenham had won. And secondly, it was an opportunity to get revenge on United after they had ended Gareth’s dream of getting to the FA Cup final by beating them 2-1 at Old Trafford just five weeks earlier.

Yet it wasn’t to be. Gareth didn’t even start the match; Harry preferring to go with Assou-Ekotto at left-back and Jermaine Jenas in midfield. He eventually arrived on the scene on 98 minutes, replacing the aforementioned Jenas. That gave him just 22 minutes to change the outcome at Wembley; it was asking too much. He didn’t even get to take a penalty in the shootout after the game ended goalless after extra time. Jamie O’Hara and David Bentley missed from the spot, with only Vedran Corluka saving face as United won 4-1 on penalties.

It was a disappointing end to a disappointing day – certainly not the glory-laced occasion Gareth had dreamt of. Indeed, from dreams of glory, Gareth and his team-mates now had to confront the very real possibility that they might get drawn into an unexpected relegation scrap. ‘Yes, Gareth was down and deflated after the final,’ a Spurs source said. ‘He had built up his hopes after missing out the season before – he really wanted to win some silverware with the club. There was not much party spirit at the post-match bash – they were all just glad when it was all over and they could get home.’

Boss Redknapp was also downhearted and confirmed that he feared getting sucked into the relegation battle. He said, ‘There’s injuries, there’s fatigue – we’ve spent all our resources. But I thought we were super. It was a great performance and it came down to a lottery in the end. They couldn’t beat us in 90 minutes plus extra time, we didn’t deserve to lose and I thought we were fantastic.’

His team were two points above the relegation zone and set for a match at Middlesbrough, who were also fighting to beat the drop, three days later. ‘We have to make sure we are focused for that match and get something from it,’ Harry added.

Tottenham’s form would pick up and they would eventually finish in eighth position in the league table, missing out on a Europa League spot by just one place to fellow Londoners Fulham. Gareth would still be in and out of the team in the home straight and when he did play, they still did not win. After the League Cup final, some pundits and fans even suggested he should be sold off.

He played just three league games that season after that League Cup final setback – the first one being, ironically, as a late sub at Old Trafford as United rubbed salt in the wound by winning 5-2 on April 25, then starting in the 0-0 draw at Everton on 9 May and the 3-1 defeat at Liverpool on May 26.

In his second season at Tottenham, Gareth had made 30 appearances, scored no goals and been sent off once. It had clearly not gone as planned after that promising opening when he was told he was going to get a pay rise and a new deal.

There would be another setback a month after the season ended when it emerged he would need surgery on his knee. A scan confirmed he had a medial meniscal tear and a Tottenham spokesman relayed the bad news that he would now be out for possibly two months. It would mean he’d miss the club’s pre-season and training.

It couldn’t really get much worse could it? He was injured again and hadn’t yet been on the winning side when he had turned out for Spurs in the Premier League. But this was the end of the beginning for Bale at Tottenham: he would now fly on an extraordinary upward trajectory in tandem with new mentor Redknapp.

The 2009/10 campaign – Redknapp’s first full season with the club and Gareth’s second – would see them work together to bring Tottenham their most successful Premier League season ever. At the end of it they would be dreaming of the Champions League after finishing fourth, Redknapp would be named Barclays Manager of the Year and Gareth would be on the brink of world stardom.

The campaign began with four straight wins but it was not until September that Gareth got involved in the action after recovering from his latest injury. He missed seven games in total – six in the league and the 5-1 romp over Doncaster in the League Cup – before returning to action on 23 September, 2009. It was a happy comeback as he helped Tottenham to another 5-1 League Cup win, this time at Preston in the third round.

Three days later, as if to confirm his dark days were now over, he finally finished on the winning side in a league match with Tottenham. It was September 26, and four minutes from the end of the match against Burnley at the Lane, with Spurs 4-0 up. Spurs scored again and Gareth was simply delighted to have taken part in a winning Premier League game for the first time in 25 appearances. ‘It was a real weight off his back,’ a club source revealed. ‘The more games that went by, the harder it seemed to be to beat the jinx. He was cock-a-hoop when the final whistle went. It was also a fine piece of man-management by Harry [Redknapp]. To bring him on when there was no chance of the team drawing or losing. Mind you, if they’d lost after being 4-0 up, both Gareth and Harry would have been pulling their hair out!’

Gareth would later tell the Daily Telegraph, ‘It was just one of those freak things; we had a bit of banter about it in the changing-room but it never really affected me as a person.’

He may have finally beaten the jinx, but now Gareth faced another problem – the fine form of Benoit Assou-Ekotto. At this time, Redknapp appeared to view Bale purely as a left-back, and that meant he could not get into the team – he simply could not dislodge the Cameroon international. To be fair to the boss, it would have been cruel to have axed Assou-Ekotto. The solution was already staring Redknapp in the face, but he seemed unwilling to apply it, although, of course, within a couple of months, he would see sense and have Gareth playing in front of Benoit in left midfield.

It all meant Gareth would not be on the winning side as a starter in the Premier League for Spurs until the end of January in 2010…another four months after tasting victory in the league as a sub against Burnley! In those four months, he did start in the Carling Cup and the FA Cup and taste success – as they beat Everton at the end of October in the former and Peterborough in the latter in January.

One man’s misfortune became another’s good fortune. Assou-Ekotto suffered an injury, allowing Gareth in via the back door for the 4-0 thrashing of Posh in the FA Cup, with the young Welshman putting in a fine performance. So, finally, on Tuesday January 26, 2010, Gareth finally put to bed that long sequence of games without a win as a starter in the team as goals from Peter Crouch and David Bentley put Fulham in their place with a 2-0 triumph at the Lane.

The BBC’s Sam Lyon summed Gareth’s relief up in this way, ‘…And that was pretty much that as far as the competitive edge in the match was concerned, with Tottenham happy to move the ball around comfortably and injury-ravaged Fulham apparently just happy to keep the score down. It will do nothing to take away from what was a red-letter day for Gareth Bale, though, who – at the 23rd time of asking – secured his first ever victory as a Premier League starter.’ ‘Yep, Gareth was relieved,’ says a Spurs source. ‘But he had also been just as concerned about playing well. The aim was to get in the first team – and stay there.’

And he did just that. From that day onwards, Gareth Bale was a guaranteed starter for Tottenham, one, if not the, first names on the team sheet. Benoit Assou-Ekotto would also be one of the select band who could count on being picked in the first eleven when he finally returned to action on February 24, 2010, in the 4-0 drubbing of Bolton in the FA Cup fifth round. How? Simple. As we have already said, the answer to the dilemma of how to fit two such talented left-sided players into the same team was to play the Cameroon international at left-back – and push Gareth forward, where he could attack and destroy teams, rather than simply having to destroy them.

It was a role he would quickly grow accustomed to and grow to love – while world-class defenders such as Maicon would rue the day Redknapp had taken the logical step to set Gareth free.

Remarkably, Redknapp said recently that he still considered Gareth would be better as a defender than a left-midfielder/winger. I am convinced that old Harry is wrong on that one. Certainly I know for sure that Gareth loved the freer role – and he even admitted as much, although being careful not to antagonise the boss, when he was asked what he thought of Harry’s assessment. Gareth said: ‘I think the best part of my game, whether I’m playing left-back or left mid, is going forward. But it’s up to the manager where he sees my future and where he wants to play me.’

Gareth’s rich vein of form was officially acknowledged on March 1, 2010, when he was named EON Player of the Round by the FA for his brilliance in the two FA Cup fifth round encounters with Bolton. He had set up Defoe for the equaliser in the original 1-1 draw at the Reebok on February 14 and then made the third goal in the 4-0 slaughter of Wanderers in the replay at the Lane 10 days later. Gareth zoomed down the left and crossed a dangerous ball that the hapless Andy O’Brien could only deflect past his own keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen. Gareth amassed a resounding 61 per cent of the votes for the award with Crystal Palace’s Darren Ambrose in second place – and the still shell-shocked Jaaskelainen was also on the shortlist!

April started badly but got much better for the wonder boy. On the 11th of the month he suffered more heartache in the latter stages of the cup competitions. Last year it had been in the final against Manchester United, now it was agony in the semi of the FA Cup as he and his team-mates surprisingly slumped to a 2-0 loss against Portsmouth at Wembley.

It was a shock of a scoreline against a team that had already been relegated from the Premier League. Gareth was downhearted – he had believed he had set up an equaliser for Crouch but ref Alan Wiley disallowed it for a foul by Nico Kranjcar on David James. TV replays would show that Wiley had got it badly wrong and that only added to the sense of injustice felt afterwards in the dressing room. ‘Of course Gareth was low afterwards,’ says a Spurs source. ‘They all were. No one had believed that Pompey would have won, it was an absolute shocker. The only saving grace was that they still had a carrot to play for – if they finished fourth in the league, they would make the qualifiers for the Champions League. And everyone knew that was a much bigger prize than the FA Cup winners could hope for [a place in the Europa League].’

Gareth led the way in two crunch home games after the loss to Pompey – against Arsenal and Chelsea.

Youngster Danny Rose put Spurs ahead at the Lane against the Gunners and Gareth side-footed the ball home to make it 2-0 just after the interval. Nicklas Bendtner pulled one back, but it was too little, too late. Tottenham were now fifth, one place and one point behind Man City who were still clutching on to that all-important fourth place.

Afterwards Redknapp praised Gareth and Rose for their goals and added, ‘It was a great win because we came here on the back of a disappointing day on Sunday. To lift ourselves after that and turn in a performance like that said so much for the players, especially when we were so patched up. All round it was a great night for us, everybody worked hard and did a great job.’

They did indeed. And they would do the same great job three days later, this time beating Chelsea by the same score. Defoe put Spurs ahead from the penalty spot on 15 minutes after Terry handled in the box and Gareth made it 2-0 just before the interval, leaving Paulo Ferreira for dead and hammering the ball home…with his right foot!

Lampard pulled one back for the Blues on the stroke of full-time, but it was Spurs who took the three points. Spurs fan Alan Fisher summed up Gareth’s showing when asked his views by the Guardian. He said, ‘Bale was outstanding, the physicality and shrewdness of his game; he is a world-class prospect.’ He named Gareth as his star man – awarding him 10 out of 10. ‘Gareth was well chuffed with the win – and to have scored with his right foot!’ a Spurs source confirmed. ‘Everyone knows he is a genius with his left foot – well, his right ain’t that bad either, you know!’

There was more good news. Manchester City had lost 1-0 at home to Manchester United and Tottenham were now in those oh-so-important Champions League places – replacing City in fourth place. The stage was now set for a four-game shootout that would decide if Spurs or City grabbed the big prize.

After the jubilation of the wins over their London rivals, Spurs suffered a big setback in the first of those four matches, losing 3-1 at Old Trafford to Manchester United. Two penalties from Ryan Giggs and a goal from Nani brought about Gareth and Co’s downfall, with only a Ledley King headed goal to ease the pain of the defeat as the lads travelled back to London. Gareth at least had earned the kudos of having set up Ledley for the goal with a pinpoint corner as he eased into his seat on the coach for the three-hour journey. And the day after he would learn he had been named Barclays Player of the Month for April – the first time he had won the coveted award, and the first time a Welshman had won it since, ironically, Giggs in February 2007.

There was one other consolation after the defeat at Old Trafford – and it was a big one. Man City had only managed a 0-0 draw at Arsenal, so Spurs stayed in fourth place, still a point clear of their rivals.

One game down, three to go for Gareth and Co.

They would win two and lose one – but it was enough because one of those victories was against…Man City, away. On May 1, Tottenham beat Bolton 1-0 at the Lane and four days later headed back up north for the big date with City at the City of Manchester Stadium. A late goal from Crouch sealed the points for Tottenham as they scampered away from Manchester with a 1-0 win – and a potential £30 million windfall as they had now secured that vital fourth place finish in the Premier League, and with it a Champions League qualifying spot.

Tottenham now had 70 points to City’s 66, which meant the last match of the season away at Burnley was largely irrelevant. Gareth and the boys had done it…and in some style, too. He hailed the achievement as ‘fantastic’ and said he couldn’t wait to play in the Champions League. He also made it clear he loved it at White Hart Lane – and had never felt the need of going to another club to fulfil his ambitions. ‘He felt at home,’ says a Spurs source. ‘You could see that from the Tottenham dressing room at City afterwards as the team celebrated with each other – they were all friends as well as team-mates, and Gareth was a very popular lad indeed.’

The season couldn’t have ended better for Spurs, Gareth or the fans.

Well, maybe they could have won at Burnley…

But no one at the club was too anguished when they crashed 4-2 at Turf Moor in the final game of the season. And at least Gareth grabbed another goal – his third of the season for the club, all of which had come in the last six matches. Gareth opened the scoring with a fine drive on three minutes but tiredness inevitably affected the boys after that season-defining win at City just four days earlier. Redknapp admitted as much after the game, saying, ‘Perhaps I should have rested a few, but I wanted to give them the chance to finish the season off.’

To be fair, even if they had won at Turf Moor, they still would not have finished third in the table as, at the same time, Arsenal were thrashing Fulham 4-0 at the Emirates.

So the Gunners finished the campaign on 75 points, five ahead of Tottenham.

Gareth had certainly come on a bunch during the season and inevitably, as it concluded, there was talk that he might be a transfer target for other clubs. But, as we have already pointed out, he had already made it quite clear that he was happy at the Lane – and Redknapp certainly had no doubt he would stay at the club, saying he was ‘the future of this football club’.

Harry added, ‘We’re looking to build a team here. We wouldn’t be looking to sell players like him. His game has gone up so many levels this season. He’s got stronger, he’s a fantastic athlete, great ability. He can do everything. He’s got the ability to run all day. He’s grown up. He’s still only a boy, but physically he has got stronger this last year and he’s looking as good as any left-sided player in the country.

‘The ability to run like he does is amazing. He runs 60 yards, recovers, runs 60 yards again, recovers, runs 60 yards, he just doesn’t stop. When you are playing against him it must be very difficult because he just keeps going at you and going at you. Eventually, unless you are very fit, you are not going to run with him for 90 minutes.’

There was one final act in the drama. As if to prove that he backed his manager, club chairman Daniel Levy called Gareth to his office and presented him with a new contract as a reward for his brilliant development from January 2010 to the end of the season in May. Gareth had no hesitation in putting pen to paper on the four-year deal which would tie him to the club until 2014.

He was still only 20 and had played 70 times for Tottenham. After an unsteady start to his career at the Lane, Gareth Bale had settled and become a major player. But it was only the beginning of a remarkable surge to the top: yes, the next season would rocket him into a completely new universe of acclaim…and stardom.