As Wales’ most recent star man Gareth Bale captured the hearts of the nation with his outstanding performances every time he played for the side, we’re looking back throughout the history of the best players to represent the football setup, giving them credit for their achievements.
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00:00Well, Charles, I think it's time we had a look at some of Welsh football's legends and
00:06some of the best players throughout their history. I mean, obviously, in terms of recency,
00:10you've got the likes of Gareth Bale, you've got Ryan Giggs, Gary Speed. A little bit further
00:15back, you're looking at the likes of Ian Rush, for example. And even further back, you can
00:20go to John Charles in the 1950s, when of course, in Wales, were qualifying for a World Cup
00:25before, of course, their most recent qualification in 2022. But for such a small nation, they
00:31have produced some really big, and in some cases, world-class players, especially if
00:36you look at Gareth Bale and what he achieved with Real Madrid. So why do you think this
00:41is? Because of course, you look at other big nations who don't produce a lot of good players,
00:47and you look at other small nations who do. But then you have other small nations, perhaps,
00:52who don't produce any at all. So why is it that Wales, despite not qualifying for a lot
00:57of tournaments from the 1950s up until the more recent period, why is it that they've
01:02had so many good players? And then on top of that, why is it that they haven't been
01:06able to qualify themselves for so many tournaments? Because you look at the likes of Ryan Giggs,
01:10that as good as he may have been at times, they never got to a tournament with him. Same
01:13with Gary Speed, same with Craig Bellamy. Only until Gareth Bale came along did they
01:18suddenly start qualifying for tournaments. Why was that?
01:22Yeah, I mean, it seems like the quality of Welsh football with the individuals sort of
01:28comes in stints. If you look back over the history, it's like obviously the latest is
01:33Gareth Bale. I think he is probably the most memorable and most incredible Welsh player
01:39of all time. I think a lot of fans and journalists would agree with that. I mean, 111 a cap is
01:46obviously the most of any Welsh player. And he was just incredible. 41 international goals.
01:54I mean, the amount of clutch moments as well in those big games where it was free kicks
01:58or last gas penalties that saved Wales. And Wales fans will be looking back and thinking
02:07they can't believe it's now over that Gareth Bale hung his boots up after Qatar.
02:12It's really, really disappointing that that time is now over for them. From 2006 to 2022,
02:20Gareth Bale put a mark on Welsh football that was just untouchable. And even as Englishmen
02:27and English fans alike, we can appreciate just how incredible he was. And obviously,
02:33you mentioned for Real Madrid as well, remarkable Gareth Bale is. But you look at some of the
02:38players who maybe don't get a shout, Chris Gunter with 109 appearances, Wayne Hennessy still in the
02:43side, 109 appearances as well. Ben Davies probably will break the record eventually. And obviously,
02:51the latest Harry Wilson, 27 now, but an amazing mark on the international team
02:56under Bellamy and long may it continue.