Real coach defends Bale
Print Edition
REAL Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has defended under-fire midfielder Gareth Bale, saying the Welshman had paid the price for the poor form of his teammates, but had improved his link-up play in a difficult season.
Bale has scored just three goals in his last 19 games and has faced criticism for not being a team player during a campaign where Real is set to miss out on all major trophies.
He has not made the same impact as he did in his first year in Spain where he scored important goals to help Real win the UEFA Champions League and the Copa del Rey.
Real’s Champions League ouster by Juventus on Wednesday and its Copa defeat to Atletico Madrid in January have ensured its slender hopes of silverware lie in La Liga where it trails Barcelona by four points with two matches left.
It plays Espanyol away today at the same time as Barcelona faces a difficult encounter at Atletico.
Bale was whistled by the home crowd against Juventus after he failed to convert his second-half chances.
He has struggled to adapt to the typical Spanish short passing game, while his pace and direct running have proved less effective in La Liga than in the Premier League.
Ancelotti, however, feels that he has done well considering that he has been hampered by injuries.
“He has had good moments when the team was in form and suffered when the team has played badly,” the Italian coach told a news conference.
“It is difficult to evaluate the season of a player who has had injuries but while there have been a few small issues he has progressed and become more used to playing with the team.”
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
