Thread by @BlancoYash, An appreciation thread for the golden trio of Bale, Benzema & Cristiano [...]

An appreciation thread for the golden trio of Bale, Benzema & Cristiano ruling the attack of Real Madrid (2013- 2018).

Contents of the thread:
1. Beginning
2. Peak
3. Accolades
4. Impact
5. Competitors
6. Individual Stats
7. Overall Stats

- Likes & RTs appreciated

1. Beginning
On 1 September 2013, Gareth Bale was transferred to Real Madrid for a then-world record transfer fee of €100.8 million, eclipsing the previous record fee of £80 million (€94 million) Real Madrid paid for Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009.

Bale's signing started a new era at Real Madrid, where the front three of Real Madrid had a change when Bale replaced Higuain in the attacking ranks of Madrid. The BBC played their first match together in a draw against Villarreal in 2013 with Bale scoring on his debut.

In the 1st BBC season, they scored a total no. of 97 goals with 52 assists. Ronaldo scored the most among the three with 51 goals with Bale and Benzema scoring 22 & 24 goals respectively in the 2013- 14 season.

2. Peak
BBC hit their peak in their second season which was the 2014-15 season under the same manager, Carlo Ancelotti.
The front three used to rotate around all the forward positions on the field as Ancelotti wanted to use Ronaldo as a center forward whilst starting him as a LW.

Ancelotti's tactics worked quite well for the front three & despite going trophyless, Ronaldo, Bale & Benzema performed really well despite Bale's injury problems. James Rodriguez on the other hand was also a great help to the BBC as he was extremely successful that season.

3. Accolades:
BBC won many important trophies at Real Madrid.
- 4 Champions League
- La Liga title
- Copa Del Rey
- Spanish Super Cup,
- 3 Club World Cups,
- 3 UEFA Super Cups.

These awards and honours are a proof that BBC was an extremely successful trio.

4. Impact:
BBC had a clear impact on Madrid's gameplay. Madrid used Ronaldo's and Bale's speed for possible counter attacks whereas Benzema was the glue which held the three together. Madrid's gameplay now involved more crosses in the box with all three (contd.)

being great in the air with Ronaldo termed as the greatest header of the ball ever. This style involved more attacking approach from wing backs which Marcelo and Carvajal were more than capable of. This was a highly successful playing style for Madrid over the years.

5. Competitors
BBC is a highly successful trio but over the years Europe has seen some great front three trios, most notable being the trio of Messi, Suarez and Neymar. MSN was a very dangerous trio and terrorised defences across Europe scoring plenty of goals.

MSN by most is dubbed as the greatest attacking trio of all time and fairly so. MSN in their years together put sensational numbers with 364 goals and 171 assists from 2014-15 to 2016-17 season before Neymar left Barcelona for Paris Saint- Germain in 2017.

Other notable trios over the years in Europe are Kaka, Shevchenko & Crespo ( AC Milan ), Reus, Gotze and Lewandowski ( Borussia Dortmund ), Rooney, Tevez and Ronaldo ( Manchester United), Robben, Mandzukic and Ribery (Bayern Munich) and more.

All these trios was pretty terrifying but none of them came close to BBCs achievements and impact on their team with only MSN being able to compete and putting better numbers than BBC.

6. Individual Statistics
- Cristiano Ronaldo ( 2013-14 to 2017-18 )
Goals: 209
Assists: 83

- Karim Benzema ( 2013-14 to 2017-18 )
Goals: 105
Assists: 58

- Gareth Bale ( 2013-14 to 2017-18 )
Goals: 88
Assists: 58

7. Overall Statistics
Goals: 402
Assists: 199

BBC scored a whopping 402 and 199 goals and assists respectively showing their excellence in the game despite Bale being injured for most part of their last 2 seasons.

8. Conclusion
BBC might not be able to put up the same numbers as their greatest rival, MSN did but BBC's superiority and ability of being super clutch & to make a difference in the most elite club competition in the name of Champions League (contd.)

makes them one of the best in the history of the sport and undoubtedly the best in the Champions League ever. Football fans should keep their hate or dislike aside and should appreciate and respect these legends for their legacy no matter which club they support.

This golden trio of Bale, Benzema and Ronaldo will forever remain in my heart as the greatest trio of all time and the trio I could count on no matter how tough the opposing team were and how big and important the match were.

Thank You, BBC

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