Gareth Bale
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| Gareth Bale | ||
 |
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gareth Frank Bale | |
| Date of birth | July 16, 1989 (age 17) | |
| Place of birth | Cardiff, Wales | |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | |
| Nickname | Baley | |
| Playing position | Left-back | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Southampton | |
| Number | 22 | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| Southampton | ||
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 2005- | Southampton | 36 (5) |
| National team2 | ||
| 2006- | Wales | 5 (2) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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Gareth Frank Bale (born July 16, 1989 in Cardiff) is a Welsh football player, currently playing for Southampton.
In December 2006 he won the Carwyn James Award for the BBC Wales Young Sports Personality of the Year [1].
He is one of the most talented young players in Wales' history, with a deadly left foot which has established him as favourite amongst the supporters.
Contents |
[edit] Schooldays
Gareth attended Eglwys Newydd Primary School. His outstanding talent was evident from very early on, in particular his poise and left foot. It was while at this school he first came to the attention of Southampton. He was playing at a 5 a side tournament with his first club, Cardiff Civil Service football club.
He attended Whitchurch High School [2] in Cardiff, where, as well as football, he played rugby and hockey and was a distance runner. Because of his superior skills, the school's P.E. teacher, Gwyn Morris, had to write special rules, restricting Bale to playing one-touch football and not using his left foot.
Whilst at Whitchurch High School, Gareth trained at Southampton's satellite Academy in Bath, where, because of his initial lack of height, there was some doubt if Southampton would give him a scholarship.
Despite being only 16 at the time, he helped the school's under-18 side win the Cardiff & Vale Senior Cup in 2005. He left school in the summer of 2005 with a Grade A in P.E. amongst his GCSE results. In his final year at school he was awarded the P.E. department's prize for services to sport. In the presentation, Mr. Morris commented: "Gareth has a fierce determination to succeed and has the character and qualities to achieve his personal goals. He is one of the most unselfish individuals that I have had the pleasure to help educate."[3]
[edit] Southampton
At the age of 16 years and 275 days, Bale became the second youngest player ever to play for the Saints (after Theo Walcott) when he made his debut on April 17 2006. He played the whole match as Southampton defeated Millwall 2-0.
On Sunday 6 August 2006 [4] Bale managed to swing home a left foot free kick to level the scores to 1-1 against Derby County. Both Rudi Skácel and Bale stood over the ball and the youngster took it sweetly, leaving the keeper with no chance with the ball sailing into the top right hand corner. He celebrated with his trademark twirl in the air, which was prominent in the successful Southampton academy team last year. This was three weeks after his 17th birthday. The final score at Pride Park was 2-2.
He scored again, at St. Mary's, against Coventry City [5] in the team's second game of the 2006-07 season with another superbly executed free kick, and further developed his reputation as a free kick specialist when he struck the post from one against West Bromwich Albion [6]. By December 16, 2006, Bale's goal count had risen to five, thanks to a late equaliser against Sunderland [7] and expertly-taken free-kicks away to Hull [8] and at home to Norwich City.
On 4 March 2007, he was named the Football League Young Player of the Year.[9]
[edit] Transfer rumours and speculation
On 17 November 2006, speculation [10] in the UK media linked Bale to several Premiership clubs. Saints have issued a statement denying these rumours[11].
On 2 January 2007 it was reported that Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United had made offers for Bale, while Newcastle, Liverpool and Arsenal had enquired about his availability. [12] Throughout January there has been media speculation about possible transfers, and on 18 January the club issued a further statement insisting that Bale will remain with the Saints until at least the end of the 2006-07 season[13]. On 25 January, further media speculation included a report that an offer of £10 million had been made by Tottenham for Bale, which was rumoured to have been accepted by Southampton. Spurs were believed to have offered to obtain the rights to Bale and then loan him back to Southampton for the remainder of the season.[14] Bale has rejected all offers and has opted to remain at Southampton until the end of the season at the least.[15]
[edit] Wales
He made the senior Welsh squad at the end of the 2005-06 season and then made his debut on 27 May 2006 [16] as a substitute in a 2-1 win over Trinidad and Tobago, making him the youngest ever player to play for Wales[17] aged just 16 years and 315 days to break Lewin Nyatanga's three-month old record. In the game he set up the winner for Robert Earnshaw.
On 7 October 2006 he became the youngest person to score a goal for the full Welsh national team in the Euro 2008 qualification match against Slovakia with a trade-mark free kick [18]. On 28 March 2007, Bale scored his second goal for Wales in a 3-0 win over San Marino.
Brian Flynn, the U-21 Wales manager has expressed comments of the potential in Bale as a future star of the game. Although being trained as a left-back, Bale's left-footed prowess and free kick ability have evoked comparisons to the great left-sided midfielder Ryan Giggs, also from Wales [19].
[edit] Honours
[edit] As a player
With Southampton
- 2006 FA Premier Academy League Championship
- 2007 Football League Young Player of the Year
[edit] References
- ^ Calzaghe scoops BBC Wales honour. news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved on January 21, 2007.
- ^ Wales Youngest Goal Scorer. whitchurchhs.com. Retrieved on November 25, 2006.
- ^ Young Gareth made own rules - The Daily Echo January 13, 2007. Retrieved on January 21, 2007.
- ^ Derby 2 Southampton 2. saintsfc.co.uk. Retrieved on January 21, 2007.
- ^ Saints 2 Coventry 0. saintsfc.co.uk. Retrieved on January 21, 2007.
- ^ Saints 0 West Brom 0. saintsfc.co.uk. Retrieved on January 21, 2007.
- ^ Sunderland 1 Saints 1. saintsfc.co.uk. Retrieved on January 21, 2007.
- ^ Hull v Saints. saintsfc.co.uk. Retrieved on January 21, 2007.
- ^ Prestige award for Bale. saintsfc.co.uk. Retrieved on March 5, 2007.
- ^ Gareth could Bale out on Saints. uk.sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved on January 21, 2007.
- ^ Bale not for sale. saintsfc.co.uk. Retrieved on January 21, 2007.
- ^ Burley laughs off latest Bale bid. news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved on January 21, 2007.
- ^ Holding on to Gareth. saintsfc.co.uk. Retrieved on January 21, 2007.
- ^ Bale set to sign for Tottenham. telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved on January 24, 2007.
- ^ Bale opts to stay at Southampton. bbc.co.uk/football. Retrieved on January 29, 2007.
- ^ Bale savours record Wales debut. news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved on January 21, 2007.
- ^ Gareth Bale becomes youngest ever Wales international. stellargroup.co.uk. Retrieved on January 21, 2007.
- ^ Wales 1-5 Slovakia. news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved on January 21, 2007.
- ^ The £10 million man. icwales.icnetwork. Retrieved on January 21, 2007.
[edit] External links
| Southampton F.C. - Current Squad |
|---|
|
1 Davis | 2 Östlund | 3 Pelé | 4 Saganowski | 5 Lundekvam | 6 Powell | 7 Skácel | 8 Wright-Phillips | 9 Rasiak | 10 Wright | 11 Svensson | 12 Lička | 15 Jones | 17 Belmadi | 18 Dyer | 19 Makin | 21 Baird | 22 Bale | 23 Viáfara | 24 Guthrie | 25 Poke | 26 Miller | 27 Best | 28 Białkowski | 29 Surman | 34 James | 41 Lallana | Manager: Burley |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Bale, Gareth |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Welsh footballer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 16 July 1989 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Cardiff, Wales |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
