00:03Considering the talent at Wales' disposal in the 1980s, and the failure to capitalise on gigs in the 90s,
00:09it would have been easy to give up on the national side by the turn of the millennium and concentrate
00:15on rugby.
00:18But in Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey, the best was yet to come.
00:25Bale made his international debut in 2006, Ramsey two years later.
00:31Together, they would orchestrate the greatest era in Wales' history.
00:38During nine years at Real Madrid, Bale won five Champions League titles,
00:44with his blistering pace and eye for goal making him one of the game's biggest stars.
00:49Before that, he was twice named the PFA Player of the Year in the English Premier League.
00:55But crucially for Wales, he never shirked his international responsibilities,
01:01even if it put him offside with administrators and fans in Madrid.
01:06During qualification for Euro 2016, Bale scored a group-high seven goals
01:12to send his nation to their first major tournament in 58 years.
01:18He then bagged three more goals at the finals to help his side to the semis.
01:25Another year rose followed four years later, but the World Cup remained stubbornly out of reach.
01:31For 2022 qualification, Wales were drawn in a group with powerhouses Belgium,
01:36meaning a trip to the playoffs was always likely.
01:40But true to form, Bale was unfazed.
01:44In the semi-final playoff with Austria, he scored twice,
01:47setting up one of the biggest matches in his country's history against Ukraine.
01:52We've only ever played in one World Cup, so this is a stepping stone that all of us want to
01:57take
01:58to play on the biggest level and, yeah, we have a massive king tomorrow
02:03that we're desperate to win and to achieve our goal.
02:07And Bale did achieve his goal, providing the impetus behind a 1-0 victory
02:12that ended generations of heartbreak.
02:15Yeah, Gareth Bale is a big player for Wales, and big matches he always delivers for us.
02:23And he did against Austria with two goals, and he's done it tonight again with another free kick.
02:29So when you know you've got somebody with his quality and that in his armour,
02:35then you know he always poses a threat.
02:38During this golden era, if Bale didn't pull something out of the bag, Ramsey did.
02:46He made his international debut aged just 17.
02:49By then, already earmarked for greatness after breaking John Toshak's record
02:54for the youngest player in Cardiff City's history.
02:59Technically excellent and with great stamina,
03:02he quickly became one of the Premier League's brightest prospects.
03:07However, his progress stalled when he suffered a horrific leg injury in 2010.
03:15By 2014, his career was back on track, and he was named Arsenal's Player of the Season.
03:22That year saw the first of three FA Cup triumphs with the Gunners.
03:27He then followed in the footsteps of Ian Rush and John Charles, signing with Italian giants Juventus.
03:36But like his brother in arms, Bale, Ramsey always prioritised his Welsh roots,
03:42putting on the red shirt with pride, delivering in crucial moments,
03:46and elevating Wales beyond the status of international football nearly men.
03:53Thanks to Bale's modern heroes, Wales is once again an enthusiastic football nation.
04:01I'm not sure the character of theечь of the 19th century.
04:01He was a character named Paul Christopher Wilson who was a fighter,
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