The Dragons did good. Real good. Bale
started it with a mesmerising freekick against Slovakia, kickstarting a journey
that took them all the way to the semi-finals.
Few in their own ranks expected it, with
weddings and holidays booked by players for the latter stages of the contest.
BBC pundit and former Welsh striker Dean Saunders left his car in a short stay
car park at the airport, not expecting his services to be required beyond the
group stage, thus incurring a daily fine of £100 for his car overstaying its
welcome.
There will be more such stories shared with
descendants in the years to come. Those who were there in the flesh or watched
on screen will smile as they recall the great run of 2016. The reds came
totally out of the blue. World-class Bale was always going to be their trump
card, but was it Arsenal’s Ramsey who’ll get their player of the tournament honours,
the man they desperately missed in the semis while he served a suspension?
But to single out individuals would be to
overlook the team mentality that pervaded throughout the squad, harnessed by
Coach Coleman. No fear were the watchwords, and there was none of that in their
stand out beating of the Belgians, despite going 1 down.
Perhaps it was tiredness to blame for the
semi-final under-performance. But it would be unkind for the Welsh to be
remembered for that. Remember instead the Bale freekicks, the Robson-Kanu turn, the taming of Belgium and the sea of red shirted fans belting out their anthem.
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