On Saturday, Gareth Bale became the latest Galactico to make their Real Madrid debut, and it was close to the debut that Gareth, Florentino Perez and thousands of 8 year old Welsh school boys would've dreamt of. Although he only got an hour of La Liga football under his belt, it proved to be enough time for him to work hard down the right hand side of the 'El Madrigal' pitch of Villareal, and most importantly he put his name on the score sheet. There was little to celebrate for Bale and Madrid however as the game finished 2-2. In fact, Bale's copyrighted, trademarked, slightly annoying, blatantly agent-endorsed 'love heart' hand gesture was only flashed to the crowd for a fraction of a second, underlining the fact that Bale meant business on Saturday night. ('Business' as in gaining a result for his team, not the kind of 'business' that will see 'Bale Love Hearts' on overpriced t-shirts all over the world very soon.)
The goal itself was more typical of a former Galactico, Michael Owen than Gareth Bale. ('Galactico' is debatable when describing Owen, I know. But I still adore the man like when I, myself was an 8 year old boy, and the poster of him inside my wardrobe may never come down.) Yet the way he nipped into the six yard box ahead of his marker to score the Owen-esc goal should be admired, a poachers instinct from the former Southampton left back. So all in all, a promising debut from Señor Bale, but how does his debut compare with those of Real's previous Premier League exports? And yes, that does mean Michael Owen will get another mention in this post.
Steve McManaman
I think many people forget just how good a player Steve McManaman was. He moved to Madrid in 1999 from Liverpool, and became without doubt the Scouse-est man the Spanish capital has ever seen. His debut was a success, coming off the bench to claim an assist of a Fernando Morientes goal in a 2-1 away win versus Real Mallorca. 'El Macca' went on to make 96 appearances for Real Madrid, scoring 8 goals, one of which came on the biggest stage of all, the Champions League final.
David Beckham
It's Beckham, of course he did it properly. Although his lifestyle in LA was to follow his Real Madrid career, he began his time at the Bernabeau in true Hollywood fashion. Just 8 minutes into his La Liga debut, a headed goal against Real Betis was Becks' way of announcing himself as the latest Galactico. The stadium erupted as the new number 23 celebrated with the likes of Ronaldo, Zidane and thousands of supporters already wearing Madrid shirts with his surname attached.
Michael Owen
The legendary, heroic, Liverpool and England legend, broke my 9 year old heart in the summer of 2004 when he left Anfield to join Real Madrid. Struggling to deal with the emotion at the time, I removed the sticker I had of him in my wallet, yet his legacy in my early footballing memories and his poster in my bedroom, still remain. Not that I'm biased towards the greatest striker to ever play the game, but I think his time in Madrid was a moderate success despite his lack of playing time. 16 goals in 36 appearances, mostly of which were off the bench, such as his debut where he set up a goal for Ronaldo in a tight Madrid victory against Real Mallorca.
Johnathan Woodgate
In 2004, signing just one injury prone Englishman wasn't enough for Real Madrid. So alongside Michael Owen, they also purchased English centre-back, Johnathan Woodgate from Newcastle United. The 2004-2005 season was a mixed bag for Woody. The defender didn't concede a single goal all season, however, this outstanding record is discredited somewhat by the fact that Johnathan didn't make a single appearance either. The now Middlesbrough stalwart had to wait a whole year before he was injury free enough to make his long awaited Madrid debut. And was it worth the wait? Well, just like Beckham and Bale, Woodgate scored on his Madrid debut. The only difference being his was an own-goal. Quite a big difference really. Furthermore like Bale, Woodgate didn't complete a full 90 minutes. Although, unlike Bale, his game wasn't cut short due to a justified substitution. Instead his debut concluded with a red card being waved in his face for two bookable offences. So to answer the earlier question, no. It was not worth the wait. In fact to be honest, it wasn't worth the remaining hairs on Zinedine Zidane's head at the time.
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Woodgate pictured on the floor trying to find his self esteem
If my words didn't do it justice, this video covers it quite nicely. Thanks for reading.
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