Bale versus Ronaldo, a duel for the ages - UEFA EURO 2016
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Everyone loves to see sporting greats go toe to toe with each other. Ali versus Foreman, Nadal versus Federer and Brady versus Manning are just some of the memorable head-to-heads sport has thrown up over the years. The people fortunate enough to witness these duels cherish memories of them for the rest of their lives, passing on their recollections to their children and grandchildren.
While football is a team sport, it has throughout its history produced some epic battles between some of its foremost exponents. The latest of them will take place in Lyon on Wednesday, when two giants of the modern game, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, come face to face with a place in the final of UEFA EURO 2016 at stake.
Led by their star man, Wales have reached the continental semi-finals at the very first attempt, an achievement that few would have believed them capable of. The only problem for the intrepid Welsh is that their path to the final is blocked by a Portugal side led by the three-time FIFA Ballon d’Or winner.
Friends and foes
Previous meetings between the two sides have been few and far between. Only three times have they crossed swords – the last of them in 2000 – with the Portuguese securing two wins and the Welsh one. In contrast, their two talismen know each other inside out.
Bale, 26, and Cristiano, five years his senior, are great friends and club-mates, having become vital cogs in a Real Madrid side that has won two UEFA Champions Leagues in the last three years. They have never been rivals with their national teams, however.
Both players will head into the game in fine form. Ronaldo has struck two of his side’s six goals in the competition to date, while Bale has contributed three of Wales’ tournament tally of ten.
The duo bring much more than goals to their respective teams, however. Both are hugely important figures in the dressing room, hence the attention they are attracting in the build-up to Wednesday’s showdown.
Giving his views on his club colleague, Bale said: “Cristiano is a fantastic player. I love playing alongside him and we have a good understanding at Madrid. I don’t know what pressure he’s under with Portugal, but I’m feeling calm and so is the team.”
Reluctant to see the semi-final as a two-man duel, the Welsh forward added: “It’s not a match between him and me, it’s between two countries. If Portugal are in the semis, then it’s for a very good reason. The same with us. There are no stars here. It’s the team that’s the star.”
Belief runs deep
As modest as Bale’s words are, his team-mates in the Wales dressing room are unable to conceal their admiration for him, turning the spotlight right back in his direction. “Cristiano is a world-class player, no question,” Hal Robson-Kanu told FIFA.com. “But we’ve got someone who’s even better and who’s on the way to becoming the number one player in the world,” he added in reference to Bale.
Though a little more reserved, Neil Taylor has nothing but praise for the mercurial No11. “I wouldn’t say it’s just a battle between the two of them, but it’s great that two players of their stature are facing off in the semi-finals of the EUROs. We’re happy for Gareth because these are the times when he can show his quality and change the course of games.”
Individual battles aside, the Wales players are all dreaming big, which is no surprise when you consider that a place in the final at the Stade de France is at stake.
“We’re not scared,” affirmed Sam Vokes, the scorer of the men in red’s third in their 3-1 quarter-final defeat of Belgium. “We haven’t been scared all tournament. If we’d thought about it at the start, it would have been a bit crazy to dream of the final, but here we are, just one step away. We’ve got to make the most of this opportunity now.”
It is an opportunity that Wales have never been presented with before, their previous best achievement on the international stage having come at the 1958 FIFA World Cup Sweden™, where they reached the last eight.
Dreaming and holding its breath as one, the whole nation will come to a halt at 21.00 CET on Wednesday. “It ought to be a national holiday in Wales! I’m sure there’ll be a lot of people who’ll be calling in sick,” said Taylor with a laugh. “What’s happened has been amazing, though I don’t think it’ll really sink in until we get home. We are aware of what’s at stake, though, and we want to keep on making our fans happy.”
That happiness will become euphoria should victory be achieved at Portugal’s expense. And with Bale in his very best, anything seems possible, even against a three-time FIFA Ballon d’Or winner called Cristiano Ronaldo.