Bale on Zidane relationship: "We weren't best mates"
Bale has said that he and Zidane have not spoken since the night of the Champions League final, in which he scored his stunning overhead goal.
Gareth Bale will long be remembered for his spectacular overhead goal that sealed Real Madrid’s victory in the final of Champions League against Liverpool last May.
The Welshman came off the bench in the second half to score two goals, ensuring Zinedine Zidane’s third consecutive Champions League title as manager of the most successful club in European Cup history.
But in an interview with FourFourTwo, Bale has revealed the nature of his relationship with his former coach, and admitted that the pair did not speak after the game and have not spoken since that night in Kiev.
“He didn’t talk to me about it – I still haven’t spoken to him since. Our relationship was good. I wouldn’t say we were best mates, it was just a normal professional relationship,” Bale told the British magazine.
Bale's frustrations likely led to stunning overhead goal
The ex-Tottenham striker also spoke of his frustrations about not starting the game, particularly as he felt his performances in the lead up to the final had warranted his place in Zidane’s starting eleven.
“I was really frustrated not to start,” he said. “I’d played pretty well since coming back from the last little niggle I’d had in December. I scored five goals in my last four league games of the season and felt like I deserved to be involved from the start.”
And in fact, he believes that it was those same frustrations that likely prompted him to attempt the daring overhead kick, just three minutes after having come on as a substitute in Kiev.
“I was desperate to get onto that pitch. When I ran on I was still a bit angry, and that’s probably why I did what I did next,” he recalled.
“I’ve watched the goal back a couple of times. I didn’t feel like I had a point to prove – I wanted to do it for myself and the team. If you play in any final you want to be going home with the trophy, no matter what it takes. If it meant waiting to come on for the last 30 minutes, so be it.”
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