Gareth Bale is yet another great football player to land in the MLS, but how does the Welsh star fit into the Los Angeles FC team?
This article was originally published in Portuguese by Pedro Torres. Translated by Celso Oliveira.
Recently announced as a new signing for Los Angeles FC, 32-year-old forward Gareth Bale arrives at the Angelino team as a kind of icing on the cake. LAFC already has the Mexican star Carlos Vela and has also strengthened the defensive side for this season with the experienced Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini. As the current leaders of the Western Conference, Los Angeles FC seem to be doing all the right things under coach Steve Cherundolo. But, now with the arrival of the great star that is Gareth Bale, how does the team adapt, to the presence of Welsh?
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How Does Gareth Bale Play
He was a UEFA Champions League champion for Real Madrid and the sole reason Wales made the Qatar World Cup. Gareth Bale is a left-footed striker, who usually plays open on the right side, mostly as an “inside foot winger”.
One of Bale’s main features is his mid-range kick. In most cases, the attacker seeks to go from the outside to the inside, that is, he leaves the flank looking for the center of the field to finish with his left leg.
Bale’s heatmap of his last five games confirms the Welshman is keen to play right but also seeking opportunities in the center part of the pitch.
Moving from the outside to the inside
As mentioned above, the attacker is constantly looking for a move from the right side flank to the center of the pitch. This type of move is intended to allow Bale to use his dominant (left) foot either to finish or to pass the ball to a better-placed teammate. Note, on the athlete’s shot map, the number of shots that were made in the center part of the pitch.
Bale’s versatility allows him to act as a centralized striker, as he has good physical attributes for such a role. So, sometimes in games where the Welshman played, it was possible to observe the athlete positioning himself inside the area at the penalty mark, for example, or even more centrally outside the area, while one of his teammates was placed open on the right.
Carlos Vela and Bale, can they coexist?
Perhaps the most asked question by some since the announcement of Gareth Bale by Los Angeles FC is: how to fit Vela and Bale together? The question arises due to a similarity in some characteristics of the two, Vela is also an athlete who usually plays open on the right side, however, most of the time when he plays for LAFC, Vela has been taking on the role of the false nine which allows the two to play together.
Carlos Vela, like Bale, is looking for the center of play a lot. But there is a difference in the way they both do it: while Bale makes this move to shoot or attack the area in areas closer to the goal, the Mexican striker usually retreats a little further to face the goal and serve his teammates.
The fact that the two essentially can perform the same play in the same position, but in different ways, ultimately facilitates Coach Cherundolo’s job since Carlos Vela and Gareth Bale can take turns in positions during matches or even in case of absence of either of them.
The presence of the two athletes has everything to go very well, as the videos below exemplify. Bale and Vela can combine their main moves and enrich Los Angeles FC’s repertoire of offensive plays, making the attack that has already scored 32 goals in 16 games in the current MLS season even stronger.
Carlos Vela has extended his contract with LAFC until the end of 2023, reports @TaylorTwellman 🔒
(via @MLS)pic.twitter.com/UyZxxLiS3o
— B/R Football (@brfootball) June 25, 2022
This ended up being Gareth Bale's last goal with Real Madrid.
One touch. Bang.
The scorer's touch has clearly not left him.
Here's to many more like that one in LA. pic.twitter.com/Y9Ip1MFNej
— The Real Champs (@TheRealChampsFS) June 28, 2022
Envisioning the New Starting 11
Los Angeles FC usually plays in a 4-3-3 with Vela playing the role of the central striker or when Cristian Arango starts, the Mexican goes to the right flank. With the arrival of Gareth Bale, it is possible that the striker Arango could be used as a reserve for the position of shirt nine, while Kwadwo Opoku, who usually plays the right-wing, should give way to the Welshman.
In a projection within the recent lineups and the characteristics of Gareth Bale and Carlos Vela, the starting XI of the team should look like this:
(Capa: Reprodução/Twitter LAFC)
