Source: Daily_Mail
Tottenham's Gareth Bale reveals how he became The Prince of Wales
[LNB]When you reach the end of this interview, add another ?10million to Gareth Bale's value. In fact, why not make it ?20m or ?30m. Because in the time I was granted this week to get to know the young man of the moment a little better, he succeeded in demonstrating why every manager in world football will soon be demanding their employers splash the cash to secure his services. [LNB]This was not Bale's intention. He says he is perfectly happy at Tottenham and the imminent offer of a pay rise should make him even more content to stick around at White Hart Lane for a while. [LNB] Clean pair of heels: Bale leaves Maicon and Lucio for dead to setup Spurs' second goal against Inter [LNB]But Bale is as rare a 21-year-oldoff the field as he is on it; as sensible as he is sensational. It wasonly recently that Harry Redknapp said alcohol was the biggest problemin English football, his concern fuelled by a series of incidents thatforced him to ban his players from nightclubs last season.[LNB] But Bale? He can't standnightclubs. Can't stand booze, either. His parents handed him a glassof champagne one Christmas and his palate was so offended that he spatit out. [LNB]Many of his contemporaries wouldhave thought that a terrible waste. But not this kid. Alcohol has notpassed his lips since. He does not even try to pretend that hisdecision not to drink is one he took for the benefit of his career. [LNB] Chewing the fat: Bale chats to Sportsmail's Matt Lawton after his heroics against Inter[LNB]'I didn't think like that at all,'he says with a smile, realising he is passing up the opportunity tomake himself sound super-dedicated.[LNB] 'I don't avoid drinking because Iworry it's going to hurt me or anything like that. 'And I have noproblem with players who do have a drink. It's a personal choice and Irespect that. I just don't like the taste. That's simply how it is.' [LNB]LET'S GIVE OUR BOYO A STATUE Wales team-mate Craig Bellamy believes they should already be unveiling a statue of Gareth Bale in the Welsh capital. The Cardiff City striker said: 'Being Welsh, there should be statues of this guy in the city now. We don't take him seriously enough in this country. He is doing something only two Welsh footballers have been able to do - he's up there with the best in the world. We need to build everything around him.'[LNB]Even so, it puts him in a bracket ofplayers Redknapp would describe as 'low maintenance.' But Bale'sself-imposed prohibition extends way beyond drink. [LNB]He reflects on his time in theSouthampton academy, when he shared a room with Theo Walcott, now ofArsenal. He says they hit it off as friends, remaining so to this day.But you quickly get the impression, for all the 'good banter' Bale saysthey enjoyed, that never once did the warden walk in on a wild party. [LNB]'Were they a trifle boring?' I dareto ask. In the nicest possible way, of course. 'I just think we bothenjoy being with our friends and spending time with our families,' hesays, now laughing and not the least bit offended.[LNB] 'We both enjoy doing simple things.Playing on the PlayStation with friends, going out for a meal with thefamily. 'We know people our age like to go clubbing and all that but itjust doesn't interest us that much. It's no different to the drinking.Some people like it. Some don't. Some people prefer to stay in, have aquiet night and enjoy themselves in different ways.' [LNB]When Redknapp gave Bale a few daysoff last week, he chose to go home to visit his family and friends inthe Cardiff suburb of Whitchurch, where he grew up, although he didseize the chance to follow Colin Montgomerie's Ryder Cup heroes with around of golf at Celtic Manor.[LNB] Forward thinking: Bale wants to stay on the wing, but Harry has other ideas[LNB] 'With midweek games you don't gettoo many chances to go home,' he says. But I get the feeling Bale isn'tbeing totally straight here. That behind this deadpan facade is someserious drive and ambition he appears keen to disguise. He knew from anearly age that he was something special. He was blessed with the kindof athletic ability only normally found in the best middle distancerunners. [LNB]Steve Ovett became the Olympic800metres champion in 1980 because, as a kid, he was winning theEnglish schools 400m and finishing second in the English schools crosscountry. When Bale was 14 or 15, he was running 11.4seconds for the100m and 4min 8sec for the 1500m - times that would have ranked himamong the best in the UK at both events. [LNB]Home boy: Bale's old school friends were at White Hart Lane to witness his stellar performance[LNB]That is incredible and it is why hisengine allows him to operate at a level far in excess of any otherplayer in the Barclays Premier League. Nobody else covers more than1,000m at 'high intensity' speed; nobody even gets close. [LNB]'I do it in every game,' says Bale,speaking on behalf of BT's Life's a Pitch website. Ovett was a talentedfootballer as well but chose athletics because he did not like the ideaof relying on team-mates to achieve his success. [LNB]For Bale, however, it was only evergoing to be football. He just happened to be a fast runner as well. Hewas so good at football that Gwyn Morris, his PE teacher at school,introduced a new rule. [LNB]'He banned me from using my leftfoot,' says Bale. 'If I did he would blow for a free-kick. 'I can't saythat I was too happy about it. I just wanted to dribble past people andscore. But I guess he did it to even things up a bit and make me use myright foot more.' [LNB]Bale would, however, encounter somefairly major obstacles and it is when he reflects on 'the downs' thatwe gain a deeper understanding of what makes him tick. [LNB]There were times, he reveals, whendestroying Maicon, the world's finest right back, as he did in theChampions League on Tuesday night, would have seemed like an impossibledream; when a career in professional football even appeared to be inthe balance.[LNB]The first major setback came when hewas a member of Southampton's academy and he was suffering with thekind of growing pains that were making it difficult to play football.[LNB] 'Between 12 and 14 I shot up aridiculous amount,' he says. 'The muscles were struggling to stretchand grow at the rate my bones were growing. It gave me problems with myback and my hamstrings.' So much so that Southampton were not too sureif they wanted to keep him on. Until, that is, his mum Debbie went tosee Huw Jennings, then the academy director at the club and someone whohas spoken of the impression she made that day. [LNB] Welsh wizard: Bale tore Maicon to shreds during the 3-1 win at White Hart Lane [LNB]'My mum and dad knew what I wascapable of and they had to make that clear to them,' says Bale. 'Theyknew I had experienced growth problems. They understood 'I was having adifficult time. They just had to get the message to Southampton that,given time, I would be back to normal and would continue toprogress.'Any parent would have done the same but my mum and dad hadconfidence in me.' [LNB]There would be more downs, though.Only a few months after completing a ?6m move from Southampton toTottenham in the summer of 2007, Bale suffered an injury to his rightfoot that he now says was 'career threatening'.[LNB] 'They had to insert a screw in thefoot,' he says. 'That was taken out after three months when the plastercame off. 'After that there were seven or eight months of rehab.Luckily it did turn out OK and you come out of those experiencesstronger for them.'[LNB] It took him until January of thisyear to regain the kind of confidence and form that enabled him tosecure a regular place in Redknapp's team. It is this exper ience thatmakes him appreciate the success he is enjoying now all the more.[LNB] 'When you've had the downs I thinkit makes you realise how important football is to you,' he says. 'It'snot a long career and you have to make the most of it. Every game youcan play, you want to play because you know it's not going to last forever.' Does he have dreams?[LNB] 'Not really,' he says. 'As a kidyou obviously dream of being a professional footballer. I would watchplayers like Ronaldo of Brazil and pretend to be him in the playground.'But I don't think about trying to become one of the best in the worldor anything like that. I just play football. That sort of stuff is forother people to talk about.' [LNB]There is just one ambition he isprepared to admit to, although even then he is at pains to stress thatRedknapp's wish would be his command. On Monday, Redknapp said he sawBale's future at left back. Bale would rather play on the left wing.[LNB] 'It's not really for me to decide,'he says. 'I was always in midfield as a kid. Then I went back intodefence and now I'm back in midfield again.[LNB] 'You obviously have more of alicence to go forward in midfield, which I enjoy. And that's probablythe best part of my game. It's also nice not to have to worry aboutdefending so much.' [LNB]If that amounts to a problem for Redknapp, it's as much trouble as he is going to get from this extraordinary young man. [LNB]Gareth Bale is supporting the launch of BT's Life's a Pitch website, the new online football fanzine. For more information go to www.lifesapitch.co.uk[LNB] EXCLUSIVE: Spurs plan bumper Bale pay deal as Europe's giants plot swoopGareth Bale: The night I mauled the world's best! But Tottenham's Inter killer only got four texts and a call from mumTottenham's Gareth Bale uses special technology but he's certainly not the first - Sportsmail looks at other innovatorsMartin Samuel: Bale showed us how football should be played[LNB] Explore more:People: Craig Bellamy, Colin Montgomerie, Harry Redknapp, Theo Walcott, Gareth Bale, Maicon Places: Cardiff, United Kingdom, Wales, Brazil
