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.
George Martindale 