Bale had trained with his Wales team-mates in the morning ahead of Saturday’s UEFA EURO 2016 Group B opener against Slovakia in Bordeaux.
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Coleman is placing huge emphasis on the opening match and is desperate for Wales to get off to a good start against a Slovakia side who are unbeaten in eight and have lost only two out of their past 20 matches.
We are unsure of the goalkeeper in Coleman’s dream team, but it does feature Cafu, Franz Beckenbauer, Bobby Moore and Roberto Carlos in defence, a midfield of Zico, Socrates, Bobby Charlton and George Best, with Pele and Diego Maradona playing up front.
“But the two teams will see this as an opportunity of getting that first win”.
Playing Slovakia in Bordeaux will bring back special memories for Bale.
The Cardiff-born player said: “I don’t know what it is, but if you’re Welsh, we feel more pride and passion than anyone else”.
“We won’t change what has made us successful. We’re really excited because a lot of time has passed since we qualified and we can’t wait”. “We’re “Together Stronger” and it’s there for a reason – we don’t just say it for no reason”, Bale, a five-times Welsh player of the year, told reporters on Thursday. “For me it is probably the stand out game in the group stages”. That is what we improved from the first campaign to the second. We never improved our football. “We improved our levels of concentration and focus, and we stuck to a gameplan and that was not always pretty”.
They are now having injury issues with three key players – Allen, Joe Ledley, and Hal Robson-Kanu – but Coleman is adamant that only one of them will play. It won’t be a match between Gareth Bale and Marek Hamsik.
“All three came through a session yesterday, they are fully integrated with the squad and it is positive news”, said Coleman. “We’ll definitely show that on the day”, said the Real Madrid forward.
“Gareth’s used to the spotlight and having the eyes of the world on him”.
“This time we are going to the Euros and not sure what we are going to get and I think that is healthy for the players as well”.
Bellamy explained a different thought process was required for this game, saying: “It looks to be the easiest on paper, but tactically this is the most complicated one for Coleman and the team“.
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Asked which star from yesteryear he would like to play alongside, Bale selected Giggs, explaining: “For me, he was my hero growing up”.
