I was extremely sad to see Gareth Bale, after a distinguished and remarkable career, retire from football last week.
Okay, fair enough, the official story is that the Welsh captain has signed a deal to play for Los Angeles FC. But for a player of his stature, with a clutch of Champions League winners medals and La Liga titles under his belt, that is about as close to retirement as you can get without actually hanging up your boots and slipping on a pair of comfy loafers.
To be fair to the lad, there is a lot of logic in his decision to move to America. For example, the reality is that he will get a lot more game time in the US than he would if he had signed for a major European team. And that’s a no-brainer for him with Qatar coming up.
Just as importantly, the American season conveniently runs up until just before the World Cup, meaning he should be in peak fitness for the tournament. And captaining Wales in their first appearance at the finals for 64 years is Bale’s overriding ambition.
However, I can’t shake off the nagging feeling that he is maybe calling time on his top-level club career a bit too early. Cristiano Ronaldo is still going strong at what, 87 (sic), and Bale, at 32, is a mere babe in arms.
The blistering pace of the old days may have disappeared, true enough, but he has more than enough other attributes to make up for it. Great players learn how to adapt and bring new skills to the table.
A final season or two at Tottenham Hotspur, or maybe a little adventure up in Newcastle United is how I would have liked to see him bow out. Give the crowds a little bit of the old magic to remember him by.
A final season or two at Tottenham, or maybe a little adventure up in Newcastle is how I would have liked to see him bow out
But it’s his call, and if it ultimately means he goes into the World Cup in top shape and full of confidence it will prove to have been very much the right one; for him and for a country that desperately needs their talisman to lead the way this November.
Emma will serve up success
Since she won the US Open in such incredible fashion last year, it’s reasonable to suggest that Emma Raducanu’s career has not gone the way she would have wanted.
Her performances on the courts have ranged from iffy to awful; she has changed coaches more times than I’ve changed underwear; the injuries have come thick and fast; and now there are suggestions she is spending more time worrying about sponsorship deals and marketing opportunities than her tennis.
All this has led some people to suggest she needs to start delivering results sooner rather than later if that awesome success in America – where she went through all the qualifying rounds to get her hands on the trophy – is not to be regarded as an utter fluke.
But let’s try and put things in perspective.
Maybe she has changed coaches too often since that victory as she looks for a scapegoat for her bad form. Maybe she has been slightly distracted by the bling of fame and fortune that has been thrust upon her since last August. And yes, her disappointing second-round exit at Wimbledon last week hasn’t helped quieten the doubters.
However, this is a 19-year-old girl we are talking about here whose career is still in its very embryonic stages and who has hundreds of tournaments ahead of her; and yet, despite her tender years, she already has a Grand Slam title to her name.
Whichever way you look at it, that is something the vast, incredibly vast, majority of tennis players don’t achieve in their entire career. Emma’s already done it. In her teens.
I don’t disagree that she maybe needs a bit of a reset. She has a couple of months now before she tries to defend her US Open title, and maybe a short break from the sport while she gets back to basics could be of help.
But I stand by what I said when she lifted that trophy in Indian Wells – this is a girl with a brilliant future ahead of her; a future that I still feel will be littered with trophies and a few Grand Slams to boot.
Barring something totally unexpected happening – like her being hounded out of tennis by the overzealous and demanding media – there is little or no chance that Raducanu will turn out to be a one-hit wonder.
You can bet your bottom dollar on her winning more titles. If I had a bottom dollar, that’s precisely what I would be doing.
Your say
“Everyone and his brother are criticising Romelu Lukaku. And yet in the few matches he played he finished top scorer of the season for Chelsea.
“Which means that: 1. Tuchel is not a coach for a big team since he does not know how to adapt plans according to the opposition; 2. Believe it or not, all the other forwards in the team are inferior to Lukaku.” Peter Montebello, e-mail.
An interesting and probably not entirely inaccurate view there, Peter. Personally, my only criticism of Lukaku is that he needs a team building around him to fulfil his potential. And that makes him very high maintenance. But I don’t doubt for a second that he is a quality player.
E-Mail: James@quizando.com
Twitter: @Maltablade