Tom Olfield - Gareth Bale--The Boy Who Became a Galactico

2 September, 2013
El nuevo jugador de Real Madrid, Gareth Bale.

Real Madrids new player, Gareth Bale. When they called out his name, the stadium went wild. Thousands of fans clapped and cheered their new record signing. Bale! Bale! Bale! They chanted his name, the name that many of them already had on their shirts. Gareth couldnt believe it this wasnt even his debut. He wasnt out there flying down the wing; he was wearing a suit. He could only guess how amazing the atmosphere would be for a game. As he got to his feet and walked up to the stage, he took a long, deep breath and told himself to stay calm. He was no longer the shy boy he once was, but he wasnt yet used to this kind of attention.

But even the butterflies in his stomach couldnt stop the big smile on Gareths face. This was it; the biggest club in the world and the home of the Galcticos, the biggest superstars in the world. Luis Figo, Ronaldo, Raul, David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo and now Gareth Bale. As a child, hed sat with his father in the stands at his local ground Ninian Park watching his Uncle Chris play, pretending that it was the Bernabu Stadium and that the Cardiff City team was the mighty Real Madrid. Now he was living out that fantasy and this time it was Gareth, not his uncle, who was the star.

As he approached the microphone, Gareth waved to the fans and then to his loved ones. It meant the world to him that they were all here for his big day: his mother Debbie and his father Frank, his grandad Dennis, his older sister Vicky, his best friend Ellis and, of course, his girlfriend Emma and their beautiful young daughter Alba. Without their endless support, he knew he would never have made it here.

When things settled down a bit, Gareth began: Es un sueo para mi jugar para Real Madrid. Gracias por esta gran acogida. Hala Madrid! These were the first Spanish words hed learnt and, of course, the most important. Hed practised them for days so that even in the excitement, he wouldnt forget them: Its my dream to play for Real Madrid. Thank you for this big welcome. Come on, Madrid! The noise was incredible, so loud that hed had to pause halfway through.

And then came the moment everyone had been waiting for, especially Gareth. Hed imagined it so many times but this time it was real. The President of Real Madrid held up the famous white shirt and there was his name in big black letters across the back: BALE. The cameras flashed and the crowd roared once more. He was a Galctico now the most expensive of them all and so his old number 3 shirt was no longer good enough. As he had in his last season at Tottenham, now he wore number 11, the number of his childhood hero, the Manchester United wing wizard Ryan Giggs.

Michael Owen had worn number 11 at Real Madrid in 2004, as had Arjen Robben in 2007. Gareth was proud to follow in their footsteps but he was determined to make that shirt his own. Watching the scenes around him, Gareth couldnt wait for the biggest challenge of his life. He was the most expensive player in the world and there would be a lot of pressure on him to join his teammate Cristiano Ronaldo as one of the very best players of all time.

As he did keepie-uppies on the Bernabu pitch, Gareth thought back to his childhood days at Caedelyn Park. As a lightning-fast teenager in Wales, his family and coaches had predicted big things for him but no one had predicted this. At both Southampton and Tottenham, there had been difficult times when injuries looked like they might end Gareths childhood dream. But the Welsh dragon had battled on and made it to the top.