Jermain Defoe has revealed that Gareth Bale did not exert himself too hard in training but would turn into an ‘animal’ come matchday.
Tottenham fans have seen several greats play for the club during the Premier League era, including the likes of Ledley King, Luka Modric, Mousa Dembele and Harry Kane.
But perhaps, no one was as dominant at their best as Bale was, with the Welshman embarrassing defenders regularly at his pomp.
The winger’s final season at White Hart Lane in 2012-23 under Andre Villas-Boas, where he often had the freedom to drift from the number ten role, will long in the memories of Spurs fans.
The Welshman almost single-handedly carried the side that season and perhaps scored more worldies than any player has in one single campaign.
Apart from having a wand of a left foot, what set Bale apart was his unbelievable engine as he would keep coming at you for 90 minutes.
Gareth Bale was not the same animal in training
However, Defoe has revealed that he hardly saw the same version of his former Tottenham teammate in training as he did not often exert himself during the week.
The former Spurs striker told The Player’s Channel podcast: “Mate, Gareth Bale was like that, he never used to train. He’s on the side with the ball chilling.
“I said Gareth, are you not joining in? He said, ‘Nah, nah, nah.’ Then you go inside and he’s on the treatment bed for about two hours and I’d be OK, it’s tomorrow, we’re good for tomorrow yeah? Come tomorrow, animal, machine.”
Spurs Web Opinion
It is probably for the best that Bale did not exert himself in his training as he was fairly injury prone and he might have broken down a lot more if he had trained like he played.
Perpahs his tendency to take it easy in training might not have gone down well at Real Madrid, which was perhaps why he did not appear to be the most popular figure in the Madrid dressing room.