Euro 2016: Welsh star Gareth Bale denies one-man-team claims
Real Madrid winger speaks about the togetherness of the Wales squad in press conference
- "I want to enjoy myself on the pitch, like you do when you're a kid"
- Wales face Slovakia on Saturday in their first match at a major tournament since 1958
Gareth Bale has fervently denied the assumption that Wales are a one-man-team ahead of their Euro 2016 opener against Slovakia on Saturday.
In a press conference in Dinard, France, on Thursday the Real Madrid superstar backed his teammates to produce the goods as a squad throughout the tournament.
Bale scored 7 of Wales' 11 goals during their qualifying campaign, but he said that he does not feel under more pressure than his teammates to perform in France.
"I want to enjoy myself on the football pitch, like you do when you're a kid," he said. "The Welsh side here now, we're all like brothers. We're friends, we joke around and play together but, when it comes down to serious business, we all fight for each other."
Bale only played 30 minutes of their final warm up game against Sweden on Sunday, after coach Chris Coleman decided to rest their talisman following his Champions League final victory with Madrid in Milan, in which he appeared to struggle witrh cramp.
The Welsh sides' struggles in the Sweden game until his introduction added fuel to the fire that they are a poor side without Bale, which he refutes.
"It's never a one-man team. There's 11 men on the pitch for a start," he said. "For us, it's a squad thing. 'Together Stronger' is there for a reason. We don't just say it for no reason. We all work hard as one unit. We attack as one, we defend as one. When we lose the ball, we all fight back together."