Wednesday 13 May 2015 16:51, UK
Graeme Souness says Gareth Bale is a victim of the merciless nature of Real Madrid, but still expects them to beat Juventus and get to the Champions League final...
Gareth Bale’s current situation shows how the game of football can be merciless at the top level.
My take is that if you want to play for a big football club then you’ve got to be bang at it every time you cross that white line – and if ever a club epitomised that it’s Real Madrid.
The way they have sacked managers who have been successful and won trophies has been ruthless over the years. Just look at Vicente del Bosque, who won league titles and the Champions League and was sacked.
The same ruthlessness must be applied to the players. Bale was as responsible as anybody for Real Madrid winning the European Cup last season, but he’s had an indifferent time of it this year and they are now talking about sending him home.
I think there’s a real chance that could happen and he could be back in the Premier League next year because the Real Madrid fans are not entirely happy with him this season.
I don’t subscribe to the argument that the other players aren’t passing to him enough. To me, he doesn’t come across as the most confident boy in the world.
That was my doubt about him going there. If you’re at a big club you’ve got to have a strong personality to survive and I think he is finding life difficult both on the pitch and in the dressing room right now.
These things don’t tend to matter when you’re winning and your team is flying along at the top of the league, but I’ve witnessed it myself abroad, when things turn and things go wrong then the first people they look at is the big expensive signings.
People say he needs to learn the language or embrace the culture, but if things are going well on the pitch then none of that’s an issue. If not, then people will talk about every thing that appears to be wrong.
All of that wasn’t an issue last year when he was playing well and helping his team win the European Cup. It’s only an issue because things aren’t going well this year.
I think there’s a real chance he could be back in the Premier League next year because the Real Madrid fans are not entirely happy with him this season.
The first leg of the Champions League semi-final was a really good game. Juventus perhaps surprised themselves on the night, but they looked good and the 2-1 result was about right.
Real Madrid threatened themselves and you’ve got to fancy them to go through.
I watched their game against Valencia at the weekend when they came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2. They got on the front foot after going behind, but it could easily have been 5-5 because as good as they were going forward and creating chances, they looked vulnerable at the back.
Like a lot of teams, they didn’t chase the game in a clever or cunning way. They went after Valencia in a very gung-ho fashion and against the very best teams you’ll come unstuck.
There’s no need for Carlo Ancelotti to go for the victory from the first whistle on Wednesday night. They’ve got 90 minutes to score the one goal they need – although if they get an early goal, 1-0 is still a dangerous scoreline to sit on because a draw would put them out.
The key for Real Madrid is to find the initial breakthrough because the Italians are organised with one of the best goalkeepers around in Gianluigi Buffon, but I believe they will do it because of the attacking talent they have.
There’s an outside chance Karim Benzema will play, which is important because they’ve sorely missed him. Chicharito works his socks off and has endeared himself to the supporters with his work rate, but he doesn’t have the craft that Benzema has to unlock the Juventus defence.
I still have to fancy Real Madrid to go through. The three most attractive teams out there are Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich – and if two of those three are involved in the final then I’ll be happy.
Graeme Souness will be in Madrid alongside Thierry Henry and Jamie Carragher for Sky Sports' live coverage of Real Madrid v Juventus which gets underway on Sky Sports 1 and 5 from 7pm.
