| Yes, Gareth Bale is fast. To me though, what stands out in Gareth Bale’s goal versus Southampton is how he lulls the defender to sleep for a second and then blows past him at speed. It’s the stopping and starting motion that throws defenders off and keeps them on their back heels to they can’t keep up with you.
There’s no fancy move or a thousand Cristiano Ronaldo step overs, it’s all about Gareth Bale’s change of pace. Bale takes a few slow dribbles of the ball right at the defender, and then explodes past him on his favored left foot. Yes, Bale is fast, especially when he picks up speed, but change of pace is crucial too. The key his how Bale takes a touch of the soccer ball with every step when he’s dribbling at the defender. It’s a skill that he may have mastered via this soccer drill. Take a look at the goal in the video below. Easy to say, but how and why does the defender let Bale cut inside? And here Gareth Bale uses his speed to sprint past defenders and score a goal from his own defensive half – all the defender can do is try to push him out of bounds with his shoulder, but the defender can’t even do that. It’s a legendary goal for the Real Madrid star and versus their rivals Barcelona no less. Here again Bale’s change of pace is on full display. |