Villarreal 2 Real Madrid 2: Fail like Torres? No, Bale's flying from day one

PUBLISHED: 22:08 GMT, 15 September 2013 | UPDATED: 22:08 GMT, 15 September 2013

The ball soared over the heads into the stands behind the goal, and the home crowd began their mocking taunt. ‘Tu sí que vale,’ they chirped sarcastically, ‘tu sí que vale.’ It translates as, ‘Yes, you are worth it.’

In correct Spanish, the chant would be, ‘Tu sí que vales’, which literally means, ‘You, yes you are worth it’ but the fans used the third person ‘vale’ instead of the second person ‘vales’ because then it rhymes and makes a pun of the pronunciation of his name ‘Bale’.

Grammatical nuance and wordplay in a terrace chant. This is Spanish football, you see. Even their abuse is technically sophisticated.

Dealmaker: Gareth Bale scoring on his debut could be vital in the Welshman's success

Pressure: Former Chelsea assistant Paul Clement, now at Real Madrid, likened the pressure to Fernando Torres' move to Bale's

Relief: But Clement (centre) said the debut goal will help settle Bale's nerves

MATCH FACTS

Real Madrid: Diego Lopez, Carvajal, Pepe, Ramos, Nacho, Illarramendi (Khedira 60), Modric, Bale (Di Maria 60), Isco, Ronaldo, Benzema (Morata 72)

Subs not used: Casillas, Casemiro, Jesé, Llorente

Goals: Bale, Ronaldo

Villareal: Asenjo, Mario, Musacchio, Dorado, Costa, Aquino, Trigueros (Pina 72) , Bruno, Cani, Giovani (Perez 72), Pereira (Uche 64).

Subs not used: Carlos, Iniguez, Perbet, Gabriel.

Goals: Cani, Giovani

Maybe the transfer fee brought the best out of them, just as Real Madrid hope it will bring the best from him. Make a player the most expensive in the world and the narrative goes one of two ways. Stellar, or failure. There is no such thing as so-so with an £86million label on the shirt.
An ordinary season is a bust. Gareth Bale has to be super. He lives up to the hyperbole of being a galactico or returns chastened. Expectations are beyond high. Bale scored on his debut after 39 minutes, but Marca, as close to an official Real Madrid publication as a newspaper could be, gave him the same mark out of 10 that Angel di Maria received for replacing him with 29 minutes remaining. Tough crowd.

Maybe they are just too used to the opening-day goal. David Beckham scored his after eight minutes, both Ronaldos scored and Britain’s Castilian trail-blazer Laurie Cunningham got two and made one in 1979. Bale sprinted into the six-yard box to collect the equaliser that brought Madrid back into the game at 1-1 and was so overwhelmed he even temporarily forgot to make his trademark heart gesture.

Trademark: Bale celebrated his goal in the usual fashion

Centre of attention: Bale tries to spin away from Villarreal's Costa in the middle of the pitch

Flying high: Bale leaps to produce a firm header

It wasn’t a brilliant performance, good and bad in equal measure — the over-hit centre that drew such derision had been preceded by an outstanding aerial challenge that turned a woeful crossfield pass into a dangerous Madrid attack — but the goal was a dealmaker.

Sitting on the touchline, Carlo Ancelotti and his assistant Paul Clement knew how vital that positive intervention could be.

The pair were in charge when Fernando Torres came to Chelsea from Liverpool for a fee of £50m and had watched in horror as the striker was crushed by circumstance. He could not find his form, most of all he couldn’t find the goal and the pressure of being the most expensive signing in the history of British football overwhelmed him. Had Torres scored on that first day against Liverpool, who knows if his career path in west London would have been less troubled?

‘I was thinking before the game that the last time we had a situation like this was with Fernando at Chelsea,’ said Clement. ‘He found it difficult to settle because there was so much expectation, so to put that goal in must have come as a great relief to Gareth.

What's that, Gareth? Cristiano Ronaldo scores for Madrid, shortly after Bale is substituted

Get used to it: Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo lined up for the first time on the same team

‘If that had happened to Fernando, it might have been a different year — these guys carry huge price tags but really, they are just normal lads, they all need confidence, they all need reassurance.

‘I think Gareth knew exactly what he was getting into here, though. He has played against Real Madrid with Tottenham Hotspur, he knows the size of the club, the size of the expectation.

‘In the circumstances, he seems quite relaxed — he did a couple of days’ training when he got back from international duty with Wales, seemed nice and calm, and that showed in the way he played.

‘All that was different was the language during the preparation for the game. Carlo does his team meeting in Spanish, I go between English and Spanish, and then I did a little one-to-one with Gareth to make sure he understood the details, reinforcing a few things to make them absolutely clear.

‘But it has changed now — because we use visual aids like Powerpoint it is easier for new players to understand. There is the international sign language of football, too. You could see a bit of that going on before the game.

‘I thought he was fine. There is a history of Real Madrid’s big forwards scoring on their debuts and he has continued it. Why not? If you’re a goalscorer, get on the sheet as soon as possible and go from there — make your mark. I’m sure he will.’

Just as Torres had the spectre of the mighty Didier Drogba looming over him at Chelsea, so Bale must forge a working relationship with the ego on stilts that is Cristiano Ronaldo.

So far, so good. The image of the two most expensive footballers in the world clasping hands at the training ground last week may have been staged, but if they unleash their potential as partners at Madrid it could one day become as iconic as Pele’s hand tenderly patting Bobby Moore’s face after England played Brazil in 1970.

Clement says the next set of pictures — of Ronaldo hitting Bale with what the professionals call a little reducer during training — did not tell the whole story, making the incident and the tackle appear worse than it was.

What was indisputable, however, was the body language when Madrid won a first free-kick around the penalty area after 17 minutes. Ronaldo had been fouled, so Ronaldo claimed the ball, placed it, and measured his stride backwards in the usual fashion, finishing with the sideways step that signals intent. Bale stood in the vicinity but he might as well have played pat-a-cake with a linesman.

Iconic: Ronaldo and Bale shaking hands could become as recognisable as Moore and Pele swapping shirts

Overstated: Clement says the pictures make this tackle look worse than it was

There was no mystery around the kicker’s identity, no question of Bale even being allowed to fulfil a secondary role as a decoy. This was Ronaldo’s kick, try and stop it, was the message. He missed, although not by much.

Madrid are part football club, part show, so it was no surprise that Bale was allowed to take centre stage on Saturday night, before it was announced that Ronaldo had signed his new five-year contract the following day.

Bad news for Manchester United, good news for dressing-room harmony. The thought that Ronaldo might be driven out by Bale’s arrival, his desire to be top dog too great, has subsided for now.
He even attempted a little self-deprecating humour after the match. Walking past a crowd of journalists with a smile and a wink, he spotted a face he knew from Manchester, greeted it warmly with pleasantries and a handshake and then indicated with a nod over his shoulder that he was no longer the man of the moment.

Key men: The three players who could define a generation in Madrid, Isco (left), Ronaldo and Bale

Ecstatic: Bale's goal will have taken a lot of the pressure off of his shoulders

‘Don’t worry,’ he said. ‘Bale is coming.’ Ronaldo obviously knew that the following morning he would be headline news once more, but perhaps he sensed something more, too. How far Bale has to travel before Dos Torpedos as Marca christened the men on Saturday — opponents Villarreal are known as the Yellow Submarines — are equals in the eyes of Spanish football, and their team-mates. Ronaldo is still the focus of this team, have no doubt of that.

He got them in front in the second half, albeit fortuitously, and was the player the rest worked tremendously hard to get into the game. It was a point Ancelotti was quick to make after — Bale’s status in the record books is irrelevant now: this is about how he fits into a team.

‘The goal was important, not just for him, but for the club,’ Ancelotti said. ‘It is about more than just him. It will help him, yes, but the main benefit is that when he influences a game like that it means we can play him in the team quicker. It shows there is no problem. The price must now be forgotten by everybody. It is not important.

‘What must be remembered is that this is Real Madrid. There is pressure for everyone, not just Bale. There is always pressure for us to be the best. The rest, we do not care about.’

Are Madrid the best right now? Not really. They lost this season’s 100 per cent record at El Madrigal on Saturday, and lay fourth, two points behind early pace-setters Barcelona and Atletico Madrid. They have scored eight goals, six fewer than the top two, and their defence looks ordinary.

Challenge: Bale gets to the ball just ahead of a Villarreal player

Jump to the top: Bale gets airborne during the match

Duel: Bale goes in for a challenge with Jaume Costa

At Villarreal, their best player was goalkeeper Diego Lopez, who pulled off a series of outstanding saves, but could not do enough to keep Giovani Dos Santos from scoring a deserved equaliser.
Dos Santos was a contemporary of Bale’s at Tottenham under Harry Redknapp, but whereas Bale matured to become one of the greatest players in the world, Dos Santos’s love of the London nightlife meant he never fulfilled his potential, and he made a succession of loan moves before finally forging a career in Spain.

‘I have no doubt things will go very well for Bale here,’ Dos Santos said. ‘The money is not the important thing — he won’t have any problem handling that. I always knew at Tottenham that he was a great player and would go far.

‘Now we are seeing what he is capable of and he must be patient because Spanish football is completely different. The Premier League is more physical. Here the emphasis is first touch and quality on the ball.’

And goals. The rest must come with time and as he returns to full fitness. Short-term what matters is that Bale is on Madrid’s scoresheet. Still a long way from being worth it, but enough to silence the linguists of El Madrigal and a few others — for now.