Image: Gareth Bale
Gareth Bale has revealed the time has come for him to laugh over Real Madrid teammates who used to poke fun at him for Wales’ lack of success in world football. They were seen as minnows but now, look who’s sitting on the throne.
The Madrid superstar say, “I’ve taken a lot of stick…” for the sake of his national identity but now he’s already laughing, hoping to shed tears of joy soon.
Wales have come a long way, overcoming lots of obstacles on the way to reach Euro 2016’s last four standing.
Bale and his countrymen now have only Portugal on their next door to the finals of the European Championships. The opposition is represented by Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe who are respected foes in the competition but not undefeatable.
Worrying about Toni Kroos’ Germany or Paul Pogba’s France potentially waiting in the final is not on the minds of Wales players right now. They’ll have to count their blessings before naming them one by one.
Image: Bale celebrates Euro 2016 semi-finals qualification with daughter on the pitch.
“I’ve taken a lot of stick in the last few years, so it’s good now to be part of a major tournament and to do great things with the national team. It’s great to be a part of this,” Bale told AS, before revealing how Real Madrid teammates had taunted him in the past.
“When they saw that we had lost or we were beyond 100th place in the FIFA rankings, and they used to tell me I would have nine weeks’ holiday instead of two. The usual. I remember Kroos joking that we would only play three games. It’d be nice to meet him in the final!
“It’s a good laugh. We’ve obviously exceeded peoples’ expectations. We know that and we’re enjoying it.”
