My Favorite Player: Ben Sweat

Mark Booth

Our My Favorite Player odyssey continues with another player who is relatively new to life at NYCFC.

Ben Sweat has been excellent since coming into the side following Ronald Matarrita’s injury earlier in the season.

Earning a nomination for the Etihad Player of the Month award for May, the Floridian is the latest to reveal who inspired him when he was coming up.

Sweat goes for a newly re-crowned European Champion, Gareth Bale.

Sweat on Bale…

“Growing up, I was a big Gareth Bale fan. Before he went to Tottenham, he was a left-back and so that’s why I wanted to try and take on that role. Since he moved to Tottenham, I’ve been a Tottenham fan and I’ve always supported him. I like to get forward and get back like him – he’s a really good player with a great left foot.”

Gareth Bale: Welsh Dragon

The nation of Wales has produced a few of the world’s greatest players in recent decades but few of them have earned the opportunity to shine on the greatest international stages.

Gareth Bale broke the mold on that front, leading his nation to Euro 2016 where the Red Dragons were one of the surprise hits of the tournament, reaching the quarterfinals.

As Ben alludes to above, the Welsh wing wizard actually started out life as a defender when he came through the youth ranks at Southampton before he made his fateful switch to Spurs.

At White Hart Lane, Gareth grew into one of the most devastating players the Premier League has ever seen, going on to take the UEFA Champions League by storm before Real Madrid swooped for his services.

Bale swapped London for Madrid in 2013 for a world record transfer fee which was reported at €100.8m.

Since trading the Premier League for La Liga, he’s repaid that huge amount by helping his club to three UEFA Champions League crowns, two UEFA Super Cups, a Copa del Rey and one league title.

Status Update

Still at Real Madrid following his fourth season, Gareth came on as a substitute in Cardiff, his home city, to help his side win the UEFA Champions League final against Juventus last weekend.