HRH The Prince of Wales

Copy & pasted below an interview with Our Gareth from todays Telegraph. Shows him to be a level-headed young man . . . . .
Spurs winger Gareth Bale determined to keep his head despite eulogies from football world
It’s the day after the night before and there is one burning question to ask Gareth Bale. What did Maicon, the world’s best right-back, say to him after being humiliated at White Hart Lane in what the Tottenham winger described as the “best” evening in the club’s history?

“He’s a nice guy. Every time he kicked me, he said sorry,” Bale revealed. Not that Maicon, voted Europe’s premier defender last season, kicked Bale very often. He didn’t get close enough to.

His compatriot and Inter Milan team-mate Lucio – someone who tested Bale’s theory that “all Brazilians are unbelievably nice people” – tried to end Bale’s participation with a vicious two-footed lunge early in the second-half, but the 21 year-old was too quick for that also.


“Taxi for Maicon,” the Tottenham supporters sang, somewhat cruelly, but it summed up the glorious dominance of Europe’s elite team. Who could blame them.

“I recognised Maicon as the best right-back in the world,” Bale said on Wednesday after Spurs’ astonishing 3-1 Champions League victory which propelled them to the head of Group A.

“I think everyone did. He plays for Brazil ahead of [Dani] Alves so I think that says it all. He’s still a great player. I just got the better of him last night.”

Such a personal triumph is almost a throwback. It is the essence of football, the individual duel, the contest within the contest, the “personal battle”, the winger against the fullback. It sends the stadium seats tipping up.

Such is the belief coursing through Bale right now that he can say: “When I get a one-on-one I’m confident. I’m enjoying my football, my confidence is high, I’m playing week-in, week-out.

“It’s starting to come together and I want to progress as a player, keep learning. The manager has shown confidence in me, confidence in the team and that’s what you saw in a performance like that.”

It’s about as far as Bale will go in delving into self-analysis and he demonstrated a shyness when asked about the effect his performance — following on from his hat-trick in Milan two weeks ago – against the European champions has had.

Is he even aware of the impact? The buzz he has caused within the world of football?

“I don’t know the full extent of what people are talking about,” Bale said. “I’ve had my mum ring me up and say stuff but I’ve not taken too much attention.”

Bale’s parents, Frank and Debbie, were at White Hart Lane for Tuesday’s match along with some of his school friends from back home in the Cardiff suburb of Whitchurch, where the Bales still live.

He went back there last week after being given four days off by Spurs manager Harry Redknapp, who is fearful of burnout for a talent who has come so far so quickly.

The raciest thing Bale did was have a round of golf at nearby Celtic Manor. Didn’t he think of going to a perennial footballers’ haunt, such as Dubai?

“I was going to go abroad but it was a lot of hassle,” he said. “We don’t get too many days off so when I do get a chance I just like to see my family and friends. It’s just normal.

"I’m a normal person. I’ve still got my friends from school and they were at the game last night.”

What did they say to him? “I saw them after the game and they were just messing around like normal, joking around like they usually do.

It was fun, a great night,” Bale said. “It’s good to have friends I can trust and they are like brothers to me really.”

He came off the pitch, last as usual, applauding the supporters, with his name ringing in his ears, a night “I will never forget”. From that chaotic, joyous din that he described as “unbelievable”, to the still quiet of home.

Dog tired, “too tired”, he could not sleep as the clock ticked round although he watched “bits” of the game back.

“The adrenalin was still rushing,” he said. “You are going from the noise of the stadium to nothing at home, then you have to get back down.”

And when his head hit the pillow? “I think about the game and that we won. That’s the most important thing – I know that and won’t get carried away. I’ve had my highs and lows in the game.”

That was in reference to the growing pains he suffered as a young teenager, which put his back out of alignment and almost put paid to his football career, the injuries he suffered soon after joining Spurs and the struggle he had in breaking into the team.

On top of that, the 'jinx’ of not winning any of his first 24 matches as a Premier League player.

“I don’t think it was entirely my fault, to be honest!” he joked about that sequence, now a distant, “crazy statistic”.

Performances like the one Bale delivered on Tuesday represent career landmarks.

It’s a staging post in achievement, no matter how many times he talks about staying “grounded”, of the achievements of the team, of not “getting carried away”. He may not say it – and may not yet believe it – but something has changed.

Bale, talking at the BT Centre in the City of London, launching the new 'Life’s a Pitch’ website, is adamant that he will see out all four years of his contract at Spurs.

Redknapp, asked whether an offer of £25 million or £30 million would tease Bale away, has stated again he is not for sale, but knows that resolve will be tested.

Inter have bid before and may well do so again, while Real Madrid are very interested in Bale’s services. Manchester United, who missed out on Bale when he left Southampton three years ago, must be crestfallen. Chelsea and Manchester City must be debating what to do.

Despite having previously professed an interest in eventually playing abroad, Bale is content where he is. “We are a big club and we want to go as high as we can and show how well we can do against the best,” he said.

“It’s nice to play in the Champions League. Every player wants to play at the highest level and prove himself.”

He is doing just that in a story that is turning into the season’s most compelling.

Also this one from the 'best right back in the world' . . . . .

Tottenham wing Gareth Bale was impossible to control, says Inter Milan defender Maicon
Maicon has admitted he struggled to cope with the demands of marking Gareth Bale as the 21 year-old ran riot in Tottenham's Champions League victory over Inter Milan.

Bale's devastating displays in both Champions League legs against the defending European champions has made him one of the most talked about footballers in Europe.

Lauded in the media across the continent since Tuesday night's 3-1 win, the Brazilian defender has been quick to give Bale the credit he is due.


"Bale is phenomenal," Maicon said. "He played a great game and he is a great player, a great champion. We have to give great praise to him. We knew what he could do, but he was impossible to control.

"He put in a great performance. All of Tottenham did. We gave it a go, but the third goal sealed it. Tottenham made the most of home advantage. We have to look immediately to the next match. We have to beat Twente and we are now working towards that."

Twenty-one-year-old Bale struggled when he first started out at Tottenham, playing in a record string of 24 Premier League games without a win.

But now, showing the form Harry Redknapp believed would shine through, he is earning plaudits from around the world, not least from his Tottenham team mates.

Luka Modric said he doubted whether there was a defender in Europe that could tame Bale.

"I don't know how you stop Gareth," the Croatia midfielder said. "If he plays like he did in the last few games, he is unstoppable.

"He is so quick on the pitch, he is unbelievable. He is showing his class.

"I said after the match against FC Twente that he can play for anyone in Europe and he showed that against the champions of Europe, Inter Milan."

Tom Huddlestone said: "I don't know how you can defend against him. If you drop off, he can pick a pass and if you get too tight, then he is just going to run you."

Another that shows he's a well rounded & grounded lad . . . . .

Tottenham wonderkid Gareth Bale vows to stay grounded despite stratospheric rise to fame
Gareth Bale insists he will not get carried away with his new superstar status after waking to find himself one of the most talked about players on the planet.

The Tottenham winger's performance in last night's historic Champions League win over Inter Milan made headlines across Europe this morning, while he surely can never have experienced the kind of media scrum that greeted him at an event in central London this afternoon.

But the unassuming 21 year-old from Cardiff appeared to take it all in his stride in exactly the same manner as he did in repeatedly galloping past the hapless Inter defence yesterday.


''It's obviously nice to get people talking about you, saying nice things,'' said Bale at the launch of BT's new football fan website, www.lifesapitch.co.uk.

''But I know I have to keep working hard and keep improving and that's all I want to do.''

That has become something of a mantra for Bale, who is as normal off the pitch as he is extraordinary on it.

As his performances have become more and more jaw-dropping – capped by a hat-trick and two assists in two games against Inter – the Wales star has found himself having to answer the same questions over and over again.

He was asked the usual one today about speculation linking him with a move away from White Hart Lane, unsurprisingly giving his stock response.

''I don't take too much notice of it,'' he said. ''Obviously, when I speak to the media a lot, people say stuff. But I try not to look at newspapers and just keep my feet on the floor.''

More of the usual platitudes followed.

''I'm just enjoying playing my football at Tottenham,'' he said. ''I'm learning every week, the manager's got confidence in me, the team's playing well, and we've got a good, young squad coming through.

''I'm just happy at Tottenham now; I just want to keep playing my football there and keep progressing as a player.''

Asked why he was playing so well, he replied: ''I think it's a bit of everything.

''The team's playing well, the manager's got confidence in us, I feel as though I'm improving as a player and I think when all those things come together, you get good performances. The whole team showed that last night.''

He added: ''Any player who's on a good run and the team's doing well, we never want it to stop.''

Ambition might ultimately tempt Bale away from Spurs but the winger is adamant he can realise his at White Hart Lane.

''I think we can achieve what we want,'' he said. ''We've got a great squad, we've got a young squad and we've got a good manager.

''If we keep progressing the way the way we are then we've got a lot of bright stuff in the future to come.''

That includes continuing their remarkable debut season in the Champions League.

''We're not in the competition just to make up the numbers; we want to do as well as we can,'' Bale said.

''We're going to go into every game looking to win it; we're going to give it our all, and the most important thing is we take one game at a time and not get too carried away with everything.''

It is unclear to whom Bale owes his unflappable demeanour but he is certainly keen to model himself on idol Ryan Giggs.

''He's shown, ever since he made his debut, what a good player and what a good person he is for football,'' Bale said. ''He's an amazing person to follow and hopefully I can come a little bit near him.''

With comparisons already being made with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, that may not be such a tall order.

Hmmmmmmmmmmm you maybe thinking, is the press full of nothing but Bale interviews ? Seems it is. Nice . . . . . .

Tottenham's Gareth Bale: I will never forget 3-1 win over Inter Milan
Gareth Bale declared he would never forget Tottenham's historic victory over Inter Milan after another jaw-dropping performance from the winger toppled the European champions

Bale followed his sensational San Siro hat-trick two weeks earlier with another virtuoso display last night as White Hart Lane enjoyed one of its finest nights.

"It was great," Bale beamed afterwards. "It was special beating the European champions. It will be a night that will never be forgotten."

Bale was simply unstoppable last night, providing assists for Tottenham's second and third goals in their 3-1 win which were every bit as stunning as his goals had been in the 4-3 defeat in Milan.

Once again, Bale tormented the so-called best right-back in the world, with Maicon reduced to what appeared a quivering wreck by full-time.

Long before then, Spurs fans were singing "Taxi for Maicon!" - something that did not go unnoticed by Bale and his team-mates.

"A few of the lads were on about it after the match," said the 21 year-old Wales star, who admitted he had never known an atmosphere like it.

He said of the supporters: "They were unbelievable. They acted as a 12th man. They have been fantastic all season and we capped it off for them tonight. It was a special night."

Bale was as modest as ever about the form that has seen him become one of the most feared players on the planet.

"I'm just trying to keep my feet on the ground, work hard in training and do well in games and enjoy my football," he said.

Bale revealed just how important his San Siro hat-trick had been for his and his team-mates' confidence after they went 4-0 and a man down two weeks ago.

"We all had the belief that we could hurt Inter and we showed that," he said. "We were unlucky to go down to 10 in the San Siro. With 11 men on the pitch, we know what we can do."

Bale hoped Spurs' win, which moved them above Inter at the top of Group A, sent a statement out to the rest of Europe.

"We know what we are capable of," he said. "We just have to produce it and we have.

"Hopefully, we will have shown people what we can do and hopefully we can go far in this competition now."

He is a great player who will get better and
that's the great thing isn't it? what's he going to be like as the finished article? The mouth waters at the prospect. Nice find Vis, REPPED.

Now this from JermainMan, Mr Defoe . . . . . . . . .


Jermain Defoe has urged team-mate Gareth Bale to stay at Tottenham, describing him as "unique".
Bale has stressed he wants to see out his contract at White Hart Lane despite interest from top European clubs after his Champions League displays.
And Defoe told BBC London 94.9: "I want Gaz [Bale] to stay, you see the crosses and deliveries, I can't wait to get fit and be on the end of them.
"You want to keep your best players, and we've got some fantastic players."
Defoe, who tore ankle ligaments while playing in England's Euro 2012 qualifier against Switzerland on 7 September, continued: "You want to be playing with good players and I want to be playing with him."
Defoe had to watch from the sidelines as 21-year-old Welshman Bale scored a hat-trick against Inter Milan in the Champions League at the San Siro on 20 October before putting in a man-of-the-match performance on Tuesday as the north Londoners beat the European champions 3-1 at White Hart Lane.
Bale stated on Wednesday that he is focused on playing for Spurs despite mounting speculation that some of Europe's biggest clubs could look to bid for him.
And Defoe has stressed the importance of Tottenham qualifying for the Champions League again next season if they are to keep all their top players.
"It's crucial and would be special because we've come a long way as a team. I think we've gone to a different level now," Defoe added.

"For Gaz [Bale] he's at a fantastic club with great players. He's unbelievable and the thing is he's still young and he can only get better. He's unique, if you watch world football, no one is really doing what he does and for 90 minutes as well, the power that he's got is frightening.
"The potential has always been there even from Southampton, the goals that he scored there, and even then as a youngster all the clubs wanted him and now he's doing it on the world stage.
"For us, we're not surprised, and what he's doing at that level it's quite phenomenal."
Defoe has said that he is desperate to get back in the Spurs side having featured in only two Premier League games this season.
It was thought the 28-year-old would be out for three months after undergoing surgery on his ankle but he could return "in a couple of weeks".
Spurs head to Bolton in the Premier League on Saturday fifth in the table, having beaten Inter in the Champions League.
"The lads have done well, credit to the chairman and the manager, they've brought in great players, and young players which is important," Defoe reflected.
"Bringing [Rafael van der Vaart] in for £8m or something unbelievable like that, for someone that's played at the top level, got loads of caps, played in major tournaments, played for Real Madrid, he's a special player."