Zinedine Zidane is preparing the final of the Champions League on the 3rd of June with the full squad. Dani Carvajal and Gareth Bale, who miss the last games of the season, are training back with the group so they could play the clash if Zidane thinks so. Now, the debate is whether Gareth Bale should play the final in his hometown or not.
Real Madrid signed Gareth Bale for around €100M to play these kind of games. He was a very important player in the final in Lisbon, scoring the second goal in the extra-time against Atlético Madrid. In Milan he also played well and everybody remembers his great goal in the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona in 2014, leaving Batra behind.
Therefore, Bale is a great footballer to play crucial games. He also scored the decisive goal in the semi-finals last year against Manchester City. Besides, the final is in Cardiff, Wales, his hometown. It will be very especial for him, the man who brought his team to the semi-finals of the last Euro in France.
However, Bale has been losing importance in the team in the last months. Since he got injured in El Clásico, Real Madrid have won every game, reaching the final at the Millennium Stadium and winning La Liga title. It was with Isco in the line-up and the change of formation to 4-4-2.
Isco is giving balance to the team. He is helping in the midfield and he assists with clarity to the two strikers, both Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo. Actually, the first goal in Málaga, for instance, was a great assist from Isco to Cristiano. The Spaniard has been the best player in the team, showing his quality at Vicente Calderón, in a very tough game to reach this final.
If we are talking about the merits in the last months of competition, Gareth Bale should start on the bench. He doesn’t have the rhythm of the competition and the last game he played was the 23rd of April. On the other hand, Isco is the leader of the team at the moment, showing great skills and it would be very important to keep the balance against Juventus and win the battle in the midfield. So, perhaps, Bale would be an interesting player to have in the second half, just in case Zidane needs to change the development of the game.
Cup finals are usually long drawn out dull affairs. No one wants to concede. Teams park the bus. If in doubt take it to penalties and roll the dice. Some teams even employ specialist keepers just for penalty shoot outs. If Real Madrid defy history and are romping home easily then Bale will warm the bench and be saved to return 100% for next season. And that would be the right call. However, if the cup final is stuck in a dour deadlock then I’m sure Bale will be introduced. Either team will kill to have a player like that who can break the tightest of deadlocks with something unexpected. Particularly creating a goal from absolutely nothing.