Is Gareth Bale back in form just in time to face the USMNT in the Qatar 2022 World Cup?
With his crucial goal in the MLS Cup Final, the LAFC forward might be getting back to his best, right?
The ball is floated in from the left hand side of the pitch. It is extra-time. The clock feels as though it is ticking through treacle, slower and slower: seconds are becoming elongated after the metal hands have circulated around the face for so long that fatigue is setting in even for the machinery. The throats of the fans around the pitch have resorted to growling in desperation; shouting stopped being possible a long time ago.
As the ball comes in, two eyes fixate on it like nothing else in the world means more. The Real Madrid player rises and heads the ball in the net. 2-1. That Champions League, La Décima, the obsession, goes to Real Madrid. And it is Gareth Bale - the big-money signing who everyone has pinned their hopes upon for the season - who runs away, screaming into the corner as his teammates grab onto him him like he is drowning in a fast-flowing river.
Oh, no. It appears as though I got the wrong headed goal. My bad. I meant to say the MLS Cup Final, a crucial goal for LAFC. 128 minutes into the match, the Welshman sent the tie to penalties, where the hosts went on to win their first ever MLS Cup.
The similarities with his goal for Madrid are striking: a header in the dying minutes of the final from the man who everyone had pinned their hopes on to go that extra step in the competition that had eluded them for so long. Bale was the answer and LAFC signing him had worked.
His time at LAFC has so far been a microcosm of his stint in Spain: the season started off in typical Gareth Bale fashion, with a goal. Just like at Real Madrid, Bale didn’t need much time to score for his new club: in La Liga it was against Villarreal on his debut; in MLS he scored after 2 games: a mazy run down the right side showed LAFC just what they had their hands on.
The resemblance continued as his participation in LAFC’s season dwindled rapidly: he went from scoring in his second game to playing over an hour just twice during the rest of the season, starting just a couple of times. What had so much promise was turning into a disappointment.
But when it mattered the most, he was there. At Real Madrid he scored 2 goals in the Champions League final in 2018 after failing to feature in 12 matches of the season and falling out with most of the fanbase due to what aome perceived as a lack of commitment. But that overhead kick against Liverpool may just be the best Champions League goal ever. This is what Bale does best. A moments man, he will not control games with possession or constant threat, but just when you begin to think he is taking up an unnecessary squad number is when his ponytail ends up on the front page of the newspaper.
Is Bale going to be a threat for the USMNT during the World Cup?
Does Gareth Bale himself even know the answer to this question? What is certain is that he definitely will want to be. Arguably Wales’ best ever player, the forward’s love of his country has never been in doubt, with many in Spain even arguing that he prefers playing for his national team over club football. Barring a catastrophe, he will be in the squad and captain his side against the USA, Iran and then England, three opponents that will present different challenges for him and three matches where he will want to leave his mark.
Bale has not featured a lot this year and many think his time at the top level may well be over, but perhaps that is where he is most dangerous.