How fast really was Gareth Bale’s Cop del Rey dash?

Gareth Bale showed seemingly superhuman speed last night to fly through the Barcelona defence and net Real Madrid’s Copa del Rey winner. According to my highly scientific and hugely reliable data, it took the €100m man 8.12 seconds to sprint the length of the Barcelona half. Pretty impressive, right?

But, I hear you cry, someone should really look into how fast that is in comparison to other sportsmen across the world. Someone, preferably, with too much spare time on their hands. So, with my dissertation firmly set to the back of my mind, I went in search of some – all be they juvenile – answers.

Firstly, judging by Usain Bolt’s 100m (9.58 seconds) world record, the Jamaican could, theoretically, have ran the length of the Barcelona half in a mere 4.81 seconds. Frighteningly quick. Whilst, Carlin Isles, hailed as the fastest rugby player on earth in recent years, would have picked up a slender time of just 5.14 seconds (judged upon his past record over 100m).

But, back to football: Bale’s impressive run reminded many of a similarly dazzling goal scored by another Welsh wizard. A certain Ryan Giggs ran half the length of Highbury in 1999 in a time that would have seen him complete the stretch of the Barcelona half in 8.97 seconds; taking into account, of course, his ability to dart past the Arsenal defenders as he went.

Diverting again away from football (sorry), David Trick and Brian Habana – who hold certain prestige in the rugby world as two of the quickest players ever to grace the field – have both recorded times of 10.4 seconds over 100m. Therefore, they would have taken a meagre 5.22 seconds to conquer half the length of the pitch. And (breathe) back to football: Bale’s counterpart, Cristiano Ronaldo, was clocked running 96m in 10 seconds against Athletico Madrid in 2012. Consequently, the Portuguese, when travelling without a ball at his feet, could have galloped through the Barcelona players in an impressive 5.23 seconds.

Back away from football again (last time, I promise) Chris Johnson holds the record for the fastest 40-yard dash in the NFL at 4.24 seconds, with Dri Archer getting close to that last year when he ran 4.26. Both these men would have penetrated Barcelona’s half in 5.31 and 5.33 seconds respectively. That’s rather quick.

A somewhat bizarre comparison (and another non-football one. Sorry, I lied) shows that MS Dhoni, who is known for his speed between the wickets, can run the length of a wicket in 3.08 seconds. Therefore, hypothetically speaking, if he were to continue at that speed, the Indian captain would have whirlwinded through half of the Mestalla’s pitch in approximately 6.22 seconds. Surprising faster than Bale, however without the detour past the water bottles that Marc Batra forced the Welshman to take.

Although Dhoni appears to have Bale within his sights, the 24-year-old can be safe in the knowledge that he shan’t be caught by The Special One. José Mourinho put down a time of 12.45 seconds last week to join in the festivities after Demba Ba’s last-minute Champions League winner. Surprisingly, despite his greying hair, Mourinho only added 0.92 seconds to the last time he completed such a celebration. Ten years ago – when he was endearing rather than darn right annoying – he clocked a time of 11.53 seconds at the Theatre of Dreams as his Porto minnows defeated Fergie’s Manchester United side.

So, there you have it, Bale is faster than José Mourinho. Groundbreaking stuff.

*If my data doesn’t appear very trustworthy to you then just have a quick glance at my table. Everything looks better with a table. Convinced? Thought not.

With interference

MS Dhoni: 6.22 secs

Gareth Bale: 8.12 secs

Ryan Giggs: 8.97 secs

Without interface

Usian Bolt: 4.81 secs

Yohan Blake: 4.86 secs

Carlin Isles: 5.14 secs

Bryan Habana: 5.22 secs

David Trick: 5.22 secs

Cristiano Ronaldo: 5.23 secs

Chris Johnson: 5.31 secs

Dri Archer: 5.33 secs

José Mourinho at Old Trafford: 11.53 secs

José Mourinho at Stamford Bridge: 12.45 secs

Gareth Bale’s coming of age

As the Spanish sports paper AS proclaimed and Jim White  affirmed yesterday: the Copa del Rey final was Gareth Bale’s opportunity to show Spain – and in fact, the world – that he was ready to step out of Cristiano Ronaldo’s shadow and become a galáctico in his own right.

With Ballon d’Or holder Ronaldo missing due to injury, the onus fell upon Bale to ensure Los Blancos’ first silverware of the season. In spite of this gigantic burden laid upon the Welshman’s shoulders, this was to be only his second taste of a cup final. His previous experience merely being as an extra-time substitute in Tottenham’s 2009 League Cup final defeat to Manchester United.

But, despite the cacophony of sound that bubbled near brimming point in the Mestalla, Bale appeared unfazed: demonstrating mature composure to escape becoming embroiled in the unpleasantries that have marred many previous El Clásicos. The £85m man preferring to dart past Daniel Alves in the early moments of the game and unleash a warning shot past Pinto’s far post, before then flummoxing Javier Mascherano on the edge of the area and having his strike stymied and deflected wide.

Regardless of the incessant comments, camera cuts and comparisons to Ronaldo, Bale was not willing to let Real’s top goal-scorer shroud his coming-of-age moment. And the Portugese superstar could only watch on like a proud Chiron as his centaur counterpart anchored the attack which culminated in Real Madrid taking an early lead. Di Maria concluding the charge by squirming the ball past the outstretched hands of Pinto to score the only goal of the first half.

If the second period of play was to truly examine Bale’s mettle, the Welshman was more than happy to exhibit his merit early on. The Cardiff-born forward drifting inside the usually tough-tackling Sergio Busquets with ease before toe-poking an effort into the side netting. Then, moments later, elegantly plucking the ball out of the sky and striking his fifth attempt on goal narrowly over the Barcelona crossbar. The man accused of hiding in previous El Clásicos – in all of which he had only managed a measly three shots – was out to prove his detractors wrong.

As the Real Madrid fans began to fill their lungs and perform their repertoire of victory chants, Bale flung himself into an aerial battle with Pinto and had the ball in the Barcelona net once more. But the fairy-tale was not to be – not yet, at least – as referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz adjudged the 24-year-old to have been in an offside position. No sooner had the ball graced the Barcelona net, it was then placed in Real Madrid’s: this time legitimately. Marc Bartra headed the equaliser to swing the pendulum in favour of Gerardo Martino’s men.

With the scores tied and the final moments of the game rapidly approaching, the stage was set for one exquisite piece of skill, one pristine moment of talent, one match-winning strike. The kind expected from a galáctico.

As the Real Madrid defence dropped deeper and deeper – their previous potent attacking nature quelled by Barcelona’s intelligence in possession – the ball dropped on the halfway line to the son of a Cardiff school caretaker.

Bale then exemplified the La-Liga-Premier-League hybrid that he has transformed into, knocking the ball skilfully passed Bartra and exhibiting centaur-like strength and pace, despite being impeded and fouled, to retrieve it at the other end and bear down on the Barcelona goal. The Welshman’s grit was then duly rewarded as he finished the attack with panache, elegantly knocking the ball past Pinto, to clinch the Copa del Rey and mark his place alongside the galácticos of Real Madrid’s top table.

As if the moment could not have been any sweeter, the icing on top of Bale’s cake was surely delivered in the final seconds of the game as he watched Neymar – a man he has been so obsessively rivalled against since his move to Spain – squander a last minute one-on-one. The ex-Tottenham man would have proven truly superhuman had his natural instincts not forced him to crack at least a slight smile as the Brazilian’s strike ricochet back off of the post.

On the final whistle, Bale lay exhausted on the ground and clutched both fists in the air, igniting emotions akin to those felt when concluding the final chapter of a bildungsroman novel. Or those stirred within the gut of a proud parent as their offspring finally fly from the nest. The pale, mop-haired 19-year-old boy that replaced Jermaine Jenas in the League Cup final all those years ago was to finally lift his first major trophy, thus becoming a man and, more importantly, a galáctico.

Where Are All The Good Young English Managers?

Anthony Hudson is probably the best young English manager that you’ve never heard of. Son of the great Chelsea playmaker Alan Hudson, he was appointed as manager of the Bahrain national side last week, despite being only 32-years-old.

The ex-Newport manager moved to the Persian Gulf in March 2012 under the wing of Peter Taylor and brought immediate success to Bahrain’s under-23 and Olympic sides. His work did not go unnoticed and he was eventually given the nod to replace the sacked Gabriel Calderón as manager of Bahrain’s senior team.

Even the most cultured of English fans would struggle to sit and talk to you about football in the Gulf. This lack of knowledge, so Hudson says, has attached a negative stigma to players plying their trade there and has ensured that many of them are overlooked by European sides:

‘’The level in gulf is very high and here in Bahrain there is a lot of talent and a great spirit which people overlook, the Gulf is certainly an untapped resource.

‘’I think more and more players are filtering their way into Europe but I do feel there is a slight ignorance towards football here [in the Gulf]. People don’t really know about the level and that leads them to make ill-informed assumptions.

‘’This couldn’t have been made clearer in the U20 World Cup when Iraq did extremely well. The view in England was ‘we should walk all over this team’ – which I thought showed a huge lack of respect and arrogance. There are some excellent players out here and they are definitely overlooked.”

Players may not be the only people being overlooked in the Gulf. Having obtained his UEFA ‘’A’’ License – the second highest European coaching qualification – at the tender age of 25, Hudson is arguably the hottest young English manager around.

His potential was quickly spotted by Harry Redknapp who, during Hudson’s time coaching at Tottenham, coined him ‘’a young José Mourinho’’. Hudson undoubtedly possesses a degree of Mourinho-esque charm but, having spent time with The Special One at Real Madrid last season, he insists the similarities stop there:

‘’I’m only interested in being my own man. As long as I can stay true to myself and keep growing and developing – I’m happy. Other things I don’t really think about.

‘’I’ve learnt and taken from every manager I’ve met and worked with. I am so grateful that I’ve had the chance to be around some top managers and I’ve got so much from them.

“My debt to Harry [Redknapp] for giving me an opportunity and continued support is something I will never forget and it means a great deal to me.”

Whilst Hudson’s managerial career may be lacking the glitz and glamour of the Premier League, there is certainly one thing that it does not lack: ambition. Having followed Peter Taylor to Bahrain as a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed youngster, Hudson is now determined to return a successful international manager:

‘’I don’t have any plans on location for my next step; as long as the job is a progression I am happy. I can now speak Spanish and I’ve just started French so I’d like to be able to speak four languages which I am sure will open more doors for me.

‘’As long as I continue to learn, win and grow I will be happy. I am currently very content in Bahrain but the end goal is very clear: I want to be at the very top, Champions League, World Cups, Premier League, competing in one of the top leagues in the world – that’s my end goal.’’

With his ambition, experience and pedigree it is clear that Hudson has a sparkling managerial career ahead of him. But, back to the original question: where are all the good young English managers? The answer: overlooked in Bahrain as we dwell in our arrogance, apparently.