Best EPL players 2011
A month ago I talked about best player of EPL season 2011. Today, i wanna focus on his career.
Bale was born in Cardiff to parents Frank, a school caretaker, and Debbie, an operations manager; he attended Eglwys Newydd Primary School at Whitchurch. He is the nephew of former Cardiff City footballer Chris Pike. It was while at this school he first came to the attention of Southampton at nine years old, when he was playing in a six-a-side tournament with his first club, Cardiff Civil Service Football Club. Growing up his football hero was fellow Welshman and Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs.
Bale then attended Whitchurch High School in Cardiff. This is where, as well as football, he played rugby and hockey and was a distance runner. As a 14 year old he ran the 100 metre sprint in 11.4 seconds. Because of his superior skills, the school's PE teacher, Gwyn Morris, had to write special rules. These restricted Bale to playing one-touch football and not using his left foot. Whilst at Whitchurch, Bale trained at Southampton's satellite academy in Bath, although there was initially some doubt if Southampton would give him a scholarship due to his height.
Despite being only 16 at the time, he helped the school's under-18 side win the Cardiff & Vale Senior Cup. He left school in the summer of 2005 with a Grade A in PE amongst his GCSE results. In his final year at school, he was awarded the PE department's prize for services to sport.
On 17 April 2006, at the age of 16 years and 275 days, Bale became the second youngest player ever to play for Southampton (after Theo Walcott, who was 132 days younger) when he made his debut in the Saints' 2-0 victory against Millwall. On 6 August, Bale scored his first league goal, a free kick, to level the score at 1–1 against Derby County. The final score at Pride Park was 2–2.
He scored again, at St. Mary's, against Coventry City in the team's second game of the 2006–07 season with another free kick. Bale further developed his reputation as a free kick specialist when he struck the post from one against West Bromwich Albion. By 16 December 2006, Bale's goal count had risen to five, thanks to a late equaliser against Sunderland and free-kicks away to Hull and at home to Norwich City.
In December 2006, he won the Carwyn James Award for the BBC Wales Young Sports Personality of the Year, and was named the Football League Young Player of the Year on 4 March 2007. This capped what was described in the local press as an "incredible" first full season as a professional footballer in which he was one of the Saints' "most creative players even (though operating) from the left-back position whilst his defending improved immeasurably as the season progressed."
His final game for Southampton was in the first leg of the Championship play-off semi-final against Derby County on 12 May 2007. Bale suffered an injury during the second half, preventing him from appearing in the second leg. In total, he made 45 appearances for Southampton, scoring five goals.
On 25 May 2007, Bale signed a four-year deal with Tottenham Hotspur with Spurs paying an initial £5 million for Bale, potentially rising to £10 million based on appearances and success. However, Tottenham paid Southampton an early settlement payment of £2 million in 2008 to reduce the final fee to £7 million and allow the Saints the immediate cash that they desperately needed.
2007-08
He played his first game for Spurs in a friendly against St. Patrick's Athletic on 12 July 2007, but was substituted on the 80th minute with a minor dead-leg. He made his competitive debut for Tottenham Hotspur on 26 August away against Manchester United. In just his second Spurs appearance, he scored his first goal for Tottenham in the 3–3 draw with Fulham on 1 September when he latched on to Robbie Keane's flick, charged down the left flank unopposed and coolly slotted past goalkeeper Antti Niemi. Bale went on to score again against Arsenal in the North London Derby, scoring a free kick inside the near post. He then scored in the League Cup home tie against Middlesbrough, making it three goals in four starts for the then 18-year-old. He also set up Spurs' goal against Anorthosis Famagusta in the UEFA Cup.
Bale was substituted after sustaining an injury resulting from a tackle from Fabrice Muamba in the league fixture against Birmingham City on 2 December 2007. A scan revealed that Bale had suffered ligament damage to his right ankle, consigning him to an extended period on the sidelines. Spurs' sporting director Damien Comolli announced in February 2008 that Bale would miss the rest of the season through injury.
2008-09
He signed a new four-year deal with the club in August 2008. Bale was given the number 3 shirt for the 2008-09 season, which left previous number 3 Lee Young-Pyo without a squad number. After some poor performances, Bale was dropped in favour of Benoît Assou-Ekotto and the latter remained first-choice for most of the season.
2009-10
After playing a record 24 Premier League games for Spurs without being on the winning side, Bale's first ever involvement in a Premier League victory came against Burnley on 26 September 2009 – more than two years after signing for Spurs – when he came on as an 85th minute substitute. In June 2009, Bale underwent surgery for a knee injury, ruling him out for over two months. He missed pre-season matches and it was projected that he would miss the first few weeks of the 2009–10 season.
On 26 September, he made his comeback as a substitute in the Spurs' 5–0 thrashing of Burnley. However, he endured a frustrating time on the bench as Benoît Assou-Ekotto was in good form. When Assou-Ekotto was sidelined with an injury, manager Harry Redknapp decided to give Bale a chance and he impressed in the Spurs' FA Cup third-round 4–0 win over Peterborough. He finally tasted victory for the first time as a starter in a league game in the 2–0 win over London rivals Fulham on 26 January 2010.
His good form continued and he was named Player of the Round after helping the Spurs to a 3–1 win in the sixth round replay of the FA Cup against Fulham. In April 2010, Bale scored another goal against Arsenal after a pass from Defoe he tapped the ball past the Arsenal keeper. Three days later, Bale slammed in Tottenham's second with his weaker right foot in a 2–1 victory over leaders Chelsea and was named Man of the Match. He was named Barclay Player of the Month for April. He signed a new four-year contract at White Hart Lane on 7 May 2010 as a reward for helping the club reach the Champions League qualification place.
2010-11
On 21 August, Bale scored twice in a 2–1 win at Stoke City, the second of which was a head-high volley into the top right hand corner of the goal. On 25 August, Bale set up all four goals to help Spurs overcome Young Boys 4–0 (6–3 agg.) in a Champions League play-off at White Hart Lane. Although Assou-Ekotto had already returned from injury, Bale continued his good form and cemented his place in the starting eleven, moving forward to left wing to accommodate Assou-Ekotto at left back. On 29 September 2010, Bale scored his first Champions League goal for Tottenham in a 4–1 home win against Dutch champions FC Twente in their second game of the group stages. In recognition, he was named Welsh Player of the Year by the FAW.
On 20 October, Bale scored his first senior hat trick against European champions Internazionale at the San Siro in the Champions League. Tottenham lost the match 4–3, having been 4–0 down inside the first 35 minutes and playing with ten men for over 80 minutes of the match after goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes had been sent off in the eighth minute for a professional foul on Inter's Jonathan Biabiany. In the return match at White Hart Lane on 2 November, Bale provided a man of the match performance, setting up goals for Peter Crouch and Roman Pavlyuchenko to earn Spurs a memorable 3–1 win. On 4 November, Bale stated that he intended to remain at Tottenham for the remainder of his recently-signed four-year contract, despite reported interest from other clubs.
On 19 March 2011, Tottenham announced Bale had extended his stay at the club until 2015. On 17 April 2011, Bale was honoured with the PFA Player of the Year award, as voted for by his peers. In doing so, he became the only fourth Welsh player to win the PFA Player of the Year award (the others are Ian Rush, Mark Hughes and Ryan Giggs).
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