The Welsh forward has not played since the 3-1 Champions League win at Borussia Dortmund on September 26.
Gareth Bale finally returned to training with his Real Madrid teammates on Friday and will be eased back in after two months on the sidelines, according to coach Zinedine Zidane.
“The important thing is that he is with us, that he trains, plays, because that will stop all the negative things happening around him,” Zidane said at a press conference ahead of Saturday’s game against Malaga.
“I don’t know when he will play. We’ll see, but he feels good and today he trained without any pain.”
The Welsh forward was sidelined in September by a calf problem. He returned to training at the start of this month only to almost immediately fall victim to a thigh injury.
He has not played since the 3-1 Champions League win at Borussia Dortmund on September 26 and has come in for heavy criticism from the Spanish press, frustrated at the frequent injury problems suffered by a player who cost a then world record € 100.7 million to sign from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013.
Sports dailies Marca and AS recently calculated that Bale has until now missed more than 70 Madrid games through injury since joining the Spanish giants.
Indeed, including Bale’s bumper salary, AS believe his 159 games for the club have cost Madrid € 1.06 million a match.
But Zidane defended his player.
“We know what he can bring to us. He is strong, powerful, very good technically and he works hard. When he has played he has always done well,” said Zidane.
“A lot is spoken about his injuries, but he is an important player for us. He knows that, I know that and everyone does.”
Zidane did not say whether Bale would be involved against Malaga at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Captain Sergio Ramos is also a doubt for Saturday’s game after suffering a broken nose in last weekend’s 0-0 derby draw away to Atletico Madrid.
Ramos did return to training on Friday wearing a protective mask, but Marco Asensio missed the session due to a minor injury.
Real go into the game in third place in La Liga, already 10 points behind leaders Barcelona after just 12 matches.
The cultural similarities between Germany and India are well known, especially with regards to the language. Linguists believe that Sanskrit and German share the same Indo-Germanic heritage of languages. A quick comparison indeed holds up theory — ratha in Sanskrit (chariot) is rad in German, aksha (axle) in Sanskrit is achse in German and so on. Germans have long held a fascination for Indology and Sanskrit. While Max Müller is still admired for his translation of ancient Indian scriptures, other German intellectuals such as Goethe, Herder and Schlegel were deeply influenced by Kalidasa. His poetry is said to have informed Goethe’s plays, and inspired Schlegel to eventually introduce formal Indology in Germany. Beyond the arts and academia, Indian influences even found their way into German fast food! Indians would recognise the famous German curry powder as a modification of the Indian masala mix. It’s most popular application is the currywurst — fried sausage covered in curried ketchup.
It is no wonder then that German travellers in India find a quite a lot in common between the two cultures, even today. Some, especially those who’ve settled here, even confess to Indian culture growing on them with time. Isabelle, like most travellers, first came to India to explore the country’s rich heritage. She returned the following year as an exchange student, and a couple of years later found herself working for an Indian consultancy firm. When asked what prompted her to stay on, Isabelle said, “I love the market dynamics here, working here is so much fun. Anywhere else would seem boring compared to India.” Having cofounded a company, she eventually realised her entrepreneurial dream here and now resides in Goa with her husband.
Isabelle says there are several aspects of life in India that remind her of home. “How we interact with our everyday life is similar in both Germany and India. Separate house slippers to wear at home, the celebration of food and festivals, the importance of friendship…” She feels Germany and India share the same spirit especially in terms of festivities. “We love food and we love celebrating food. There is an entire countdown to Christmas. Every day there is some dinner or get-together,” much like how Indians excitedly countdown to Navratri or Diwali. Franziska, who was born in India to German parents, adds that both the countries exhibit the same kind of passion for their favourite sport. “In India, they support cricket like anything while in Germany it would be football.”
Having lived in India for almost a decade, Isabelle has also noticed some broad similarities in the way children are brought up in the two countries. “We have a saying in South Germany ‘Schaffe Schaffe Hausle baue’ that loosely translates to ‘work, work, work and build a house’. I found that parents here have a similar outlook…to teach their children to work hard. They feel that they’ve fulfilled their duty only once the children have moved out or gotten married. Also, my mother never let me leave the house without a big breakfast. It’s the same here.” The importance given to the care of the family is one similarity that came up again and again in conversations with all German expats.
While most people wouldn’t draw parallels between German and Indian discipline (or lack thereof), Germans married to Indians have found a way to bridge the gap. Take for example, Ilka, who thinks that the famed differences of discipline between the two cultures actually works to her marital advantage. She sees the difference as Germans being highly planning-oriented; while Indians are more flexible in their approach. Ilka and her husband balance each other out in several ways. She says, like most Germans, she too tends to get stressed when her plans don’t work out, but her husband calms her down.
Consequently, Ilka feels India is “so full of life. The social life here is more happening; people smile at you, bond over food and are much more relaxed.” Isabelle, too, can attest to Indians’ friendliness. When asked about an Indian characteristic that makes her feel most at home, she quickly answers “humour.” “Whether it’s a taxi driver or someone I’m meeting professionally, I’ve learnt that it’s easy to lighten the mood here by just cracking a few jokes. Indians love to laugh,” she adds.
Indeed, these Germans-who-never-left as just diehard Indophiles are more Indian than you’d guess at first, having even developed some classic Indian skills with time.
