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Journalism of Courage
Wales coach Chris Coleman is usually happy to oblige when asked to talk about Gareth Bale’s rare talent but on Friday he spent some time praising the other key player in his squad, Aaron Ramsey. (RESULTS | STANDINGS)
Forward Bale has taken the limelight at Euro 2016, scoring a goal in each game to help Wales win their group ahead of England and set up Saturday’s game against Northern Ireland at Parc des Princes for a place in the quarter-finals.
“Gareth is going to make a difference for any team, of course, but so is Aaron”, Coleman told a news conference.
Ramsey impressed notably with a scintillating display in a 3-0 victory over Russia in his side’s final group game, in which he opened the scoring with a fine goal before being named man of the match.
“In possession we were outstanding, we created chance after chance and a lot of that was through Aaron,” Coleman said.
Playing in a slightly different, more attacking role than at Arsenal, the tireless box-to-box midfielder has caught the eye on the pitches of France and not only because of his new bleached hairstyle.
He scored a nice goal but also set up two more and his statistics show how much he touches the ball and how accurate his passes are, with 80 percent finding their target.
“All areas of his game in this tournament have been excellent,” Coleman said.
“Positionally, he’s better, he’s a lot more disciplined with us. But when you have a player with that type of energy, you don’t want to restrict him too much, you’ve got to let him express himself and enjoy himself.”
Coleman, who knows what he has in Bale, insisted Wales were not a one-man show and said he had been impressed by all his players in an excellent start to their first appearance at European championship finals.
The Wales coach is expected something special from Ramsey in Saturday’s British derby against Northern Ireland.
“He’s going to do something spectacular, he’s going to use his imagination, he’s going to stand out,” Coleman said.
