The New Saints are the current champions of the Cyrmu Premier League. But their recent defeat in the UEFA Champions League qualification on July 13th, yet again adds to the blot in the story of Welsh football clubs and the UEFA Champions League competition.
While teams from Wales have not succeeded in the UEFA Champions League in recent times, several Welsh players have played at the highest levels of Europe’s elite club competition. They have also earned winner’s medals for their clubs.
From England to Spain and all around Europe’s top clubs, Welsh players are helping their clubs upset major champions league predictions in interesting fashions.
Top Welsh Performers in the UEFA Champions League
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Gareth Bale
Gareth Bale is unarguably Wales’ biggest football star. Bale’s UEFA Champions League debut was in the 2010/2011 UEFA Champions League season for Tottenham Hotspurs, at the age of 21. Bale had previously featured for Spurs in the UEFA Cup in 2007. His hat trick against Inter Milan announced him on the UEFA Champions League stage in 2010.
Bale could only reach the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League with Spurs. His move to Real Madrid in 2013 delivered tremendous UEFA Champions League success for himself. Gareth Bale helped Real Madrid to win la decima in the 2013/2014 season and eventually won 5 UEFA Champions League titles with Real Madrid. Bale won the 2016/2017 UEFA Champions League final at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. Bale has been one of the most decorated UEFA Champions League winners since the competition’s history, with 65 appearances, 20 goals, and 17 assists.
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Ryan Giggs
Giggs won the UEFA Champions League with the treble-winning Manchester United side in 1999 and 2008. Ryan Giggs’ era with the Welsh national side didn’t produce spectacular experiences like the current crop of Wales’ players. Still, he is among the most decorated Welsh players with 144 UEFA Champions League appearances, 28 goals, and 47 assists.
Giggs also reached the finals of the UEFA Champions League with Manchester United in 2009 and 2011, but Manchester United lost on both occasions to Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona side.
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Joey Jones
Jones played 11 times for Liverpool in the European Champion Clubs’ Competition between 1976 and 1979. The European Champion Clubs’ Competition was the equivalent of today’s UEFA Champions League. Jones won it on two occasions with Liverpool in 1976/1977 and 1977/1978 while playing as a left-back. Jones currently works as a youth coach with Wales’ new talents.
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Ian Rush
Rush featured 25 times for Liverpool in the European Champions Clubs’ Competition. He scored 14 goals, recorded one assist, and won the competition twice with Liverpool in 1980/1981 and the 1983/1984 season. Rush also featured once for Newcastle in the 1997/1998 season.
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Ben Woodburn
Ben Woodburn was part of Liverpool’s Champions League triumphant side in 2018/2019. Although he didn’t feature at all for the club, Woodburn got a winner’s medal for being a part of the squad.
Conclusion
Welsh football has witnessed a lot of positive improvements. The national team is also competing at the highest levels. Still, all of these positives are directly linked to the brilliant performances of some talented Welsh players in the UEFA Champions League.
Since Bale and others have paved the way for the success of Welsh players in the UEFA Champions League, it’s only a matter of time before Cymru Premier League clubs begin to dominate the UEFA Champions League.