Bale: “I'm a little stiff”

Tottenham's Bale has another face. Smile and be happy. In the same way that José Mourinho, his great supporter, can do it after watching the premiere Spur in Europa League. Not only for the result, 3-0, if not for the form and for the players who starred in the clash. Gareth was playing his first start game for Tottenham, seven years after exchanging European capitals, and left flashes of the player who was. The same you know you are “in a preseason kind”, but after a debut marked by misfortune (he entered with his team 3-0 and suffered a final blackout that allowed West Ham to draw at three), he has managed to celebrate a victory in which he has been a participant. The second goal came after a pass from him that was directed at Carlos Vinícius, the other protagonist of the clash, although Andrés Andrade ended up introducing him in his own goal. The hug after the goal showed a cheerful and smiling Gareth, a countenance that has accompanied him since his return to London this summer.

After the game, he analyzed his state of form and, mainly, his mood. But, above all, his words of thanks to Tottenham, Mourinho and the fans stand out. “It's a big reason (the support I received) why I play well. You want to be loved and appreciated. When I come back here I will give everything for this shirt.” Remember that Mou did not want to aim at Bale after West Ham's comeback, which came, goal by goal, since the Welshman made his redebut with the Spurs. The man from Setúbal has always been a great admirer of the winger and he already wanted to sign him for Manchester United in 2018, when he was still training the Red Devils.

In his final stage in Madrid, the bad feeling with Zidane it was manifest And, despite the Frenchman's attempt to smooth things over after the famous “if he leaves tomorrow, better”, the initial green shoots (he started when last year dawned) were a mirage that physical problems and controversies ended up burying. Bale did not feel loved, as he slipped into these words, and his performance was affected by it. In this way, after the desired money supply did not arrive, the white team yielded and yielded, worth the redundancy, to the club where it flourished. At Tottenham, as we say, he has changed his face.

“I'm a bit stiff, it's like a mini-preseason at the moment. I'm trying to get back into full throttle, while enjoying being back on the pitch and at this extraordinary club. When I am completely fit I will be more incisive and I hope to be able to contribute even more “, he added regarding his state of form, since, at the same time he signed his new contract, knee problems were confirmed that make him still go to the tran tran.

Complete puzzle

At 31 years old, He is not the same one who signed in 2013 for Madrid, as Mourinho well recognized in the preview of the clash against LASK: “In seven years, footballers change. Sometimes it is not to change for the better or worse, it is only to change: an evolution of their qualities or their style of play. “However, and although in football it is not how you start, but how you end (his stage white is the best example), the pieces of the puzzle seem to fit together for Bale, for Tottenham, and for their coach. Some pieces that, either due to lack of affection, as our protagonist slides, or for reasons of his own performance, have not fit in the career of the once most expensive player in the world.