Juan José Lahuerta
Sports Writing, 30 Nov. “I will continue as long as I can and they want me.” Gareth Bale, laconic and a bit enigmatic, failed to slam the door in Wales’ most successful cycle, which with the defeat against England (0-3) showed the swan song of a crushed generation that probably has greeted the World Cup from Qatar.
It seems like a world since Wales wowed at Euro 2016 in France, where they peaked with a historic semi-final. Only the champion, Portugal, stood in his way. He was the only one able to stop a team capable of overtaking teams like Slovakia, Russia, Northern Ireland and Belgium.
Six years after that feat, the foundation of that generation was still alive before the start of the World Cup in Qatar. But there were few left. Of manager Rob Page’s 26-man squad, only seven survived the Euro 2016 squad: Danny Ward, Ben Davies, Chris Gunter, Joe Allen, Aaron Ramsey, Wayne Hennessey and Gareth Bale.
Almost all of them arrived at the World Cup call in more adverse situations than in 2016. To begin with, many took a step backwards in terms of competitiveness. Ramsey played for Arsenal, now plays for Nice; Allen, went from Liverpool to Swansea; Bale, replaced Real Madrid with Los Angeles FC; Hennessey, was the Crystal Palace goalkeeper and now plays for Nottingham Forest.
Meanwhile Gunter plays at Wimbledon, in the English League Two (fourth division). Only Ben Davies, who remains at Tottenham, and Danny Ward, who moved from Huddersfield to Leicester, have managed to improve their status.
In the three games Wales have played in this World Cup, Hennessey, Bale, Ramsey and Davies have been indisputable. Allen, the beacon of yesteryear, only appeared at eleven o’clock on the last day. And is that age also takes its toll on him. At Euro 2016, the seven’s average was 25.5 years. In Qatar he has risen to almost 32.
The decline of Wales’ golden generation is a fact. It’s time to renew. Prolonging the agony can be counterproductive. The ‘dinosaurs’ of the past must give way to new faces starting from scratch. The image of Bale, substituted at half-time with muscle problems (once again), hitting a camera after the end of the match against England, is the image of desperation.
However, Bale is right about one thing: his legacy is huge and needs to be acknowledged. “We have to think about how far we’ve come in a team that hasn’t qualified for a long time. We haven’t met our expectations, but we’ve gained a lot of experience from it. We’d have to pinch ourselves to realize that I’ve been to a World Cup, we have to realize it and be proud of it. We will leave the locker room with our heads held high. We can’t regret anything.”
Bale is right. While Wales’ visit to the World Cup was a disappointment, the credit for joining Qatar is huge. The last time Wales played a World Cup was in Sweden in 1958 and only Pele’s Brazil managed to stop them. More than sixty years later, Wales have managed to sign up for a final tournament in the most important competition there is in football.
This merit is irrefutable. It is one among many others. Bale and his generation drove the best Wales in their entire history. For seven years they put their country’s name among the elite. But time does not pass in vain. The goose that lays the golden eggs seems exhausted and the golden generation has given its last blows in a World Cup that has seen out an unrepeatable group. EFE extension
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