‘The smile is back!’: Gareth Bale is ‘loving life’ at Real Madrid under Carlo Ancelotti after being given another chance at the club – with the ‘positive’ forward ‘changed’ since returning from Tottenham
- Gareth Bale is expected to play a role for Real Madrid this season after returning
- Bale spent last term with Tottenham, having been frozen out by Zinedine Zidane
- But now back at his parent club, Bale is beginning to star under Carlo Ancelotti
- Ancelotti handed him a start against Alaves and the forward dazzled in the win
Gareth Bale looks to have re-found his smile at Real Madrid and brushed off his recent woes, having been handed a route back in from the cold by Carlo Ancelotti.
Bale spent last season on loan at Tottenham after being frozen out by Ancelotti’s predecessor, Zinedine Zidane, but has returned to the club in optimistic spirits.
Having started Madrid’s opening LaLiga fixture against Alaves at the weekend and dazzled, the future appears bright for him again, as highlighted by Marca.
Gareth Bale has rediscovered his smile at Real Madrid and is enjoying life under Carlo Anceotti
The newspaper, which is based in Spain, has featured Bale on their front cover for today’s edition, with the photo showing the forward letting loose a wide grin.
Their headline is ‘the smile is back’, and the publication also points out that Bale has been ‘loving life’ under Ancelotti since he arrived from Everton earlier this summer.
Inside, the full story reveals that Ancelotti has been won over by Bale’s ‘positive attitude’, and it appears that the superstar has sealed a remarkable turnaround.
The front page of Marca leads with the headline ‘the smile is back’ and grinning forward Bale
Bale (left) was handed a start against Alaves and impressed in Madrid’s opening LaLiga match
From barely being able to play for a minute under Zidane to looking ahead to the new season with his first-team role restored, Bale is said to have ‘changed’.
The switch in the dugout, which saw Ancelotti return to the Bernabeu, truly looks to have done Bale the world of good, and he is expected to play a big role this term.
Indeed, Bale shined up front and was rejuvenated in a trident with Eden Hazard and Karim Benzema in Madrid’s recent 4-1 victory.
Bale was involved in the first goal, having picked out a long pass to Lucas Vasquez, who in turn crossed in towards Hazard. Benzema applied the finishing touch.
Ancelotti has praised Bale’s determination but also admitted the star must still hone his fitness
Bale (seen stepping up to take a free-kick) has been handed a route back at Madrid this year
Madrid looked to turn the screw early on against the minnows, but Bale was unable to get on the scoresheet himself after sending two shots wide of the target.
After the full-time whistle, Ancelotti admitted that, while Bale still has work to do to get back to peak fitness, he has been impressed by the commitment on show.
‘The team has worked really hard in pre-season, every single player has put in a shift,’ Ancelotti told reporters.
‘Bale has also been totally committed and I’ll think he’ll improve because he’s still not at full fitness.
Bale’s pre-season preparations got off to a rocky start when he missed a penalty on his return
Bizarrely handed the No 50 shirt, Bale featured for the first half but has made a fine turnaround
‘I’ve been impressed with him and he’s shown great desire.’
His praise signals a rapid change in fortune from pre-season, too, which saw Bale bizarrely handed the No 50 shirt and miss a penalty on his return to action.
Having started the friendly against AC Milan in Austria, Bale won a spot-kick but was then denied from 12 yards by goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
His 45-minute cameo was a quiet one, and was made even more peculiar in light of Marco Asensio being given his usual No 11 jersey.
