If there is something that motivates Bale more than playing golf, it is being with his team. If it makes it as isolated as possible, the better. Baku seems an ideal place for this, especially if the Welsh federation offers him only four floors of the concentration hotel. Who knows if Florentino would have spoiled him like that what player he would be. What is clear is that with Wales he is another footballer. He feels like the leader and they treat him as such. And Bale responds by leaving behind that image of a desperate player that was seen so many times in Madrid to be a footballer committed to the cause, which is nothing more than putting his team back among the greats of Europe (Follow today's game live on As.com).
Five years after guiding Wales to the semi-finals of the European Championship, the greatest feat in Welsh football, Bale is once again leading his compatriots in a major tournament in a very different situation. Of that player who was opposing for Cristiano, only the name remains. He still has the gift of scoring (16 with Tottenham in the few moments he has played), but his ambition has turned into passivity and in recent years he has been more concerned with showing off his swing than his left leg. If Wales wants to dream again, they need the best version of Bale. And beat Switzerland this afternoon, of course.
The Swiss team is a team that looks less than it is. Without big stars, it is an orderly team, very dynamic and quite close to the bourgeoisie of European football. This is the only way to explain his presence in the next Nations League final, in which he slipped after snatching first place in his group from the powerful Belgium. Dortmund defender Akanji, Arsenal midfielder Xhaka and Liverpool striker Shaqiri form the backbone of this Switzerland so well armed by Petkovic. In a group in which Italy starts as favorites to go to the round of 16, hitting a direct rival on the first day.