If nothing else, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo will agree on one thing. Wednesday evening in Lyon is not a battle of the Galacticos. It's not a spectacle of the individual over the collective. It's not a joust between Europe's two best players. It's not an audition for the Ballon d'Or.Rather, as Bale studiously put it, twice, when asked by journalists about facing his Real Madrid team-mate: "It's Portugal versus Wales, nothing more."Bale's rhetoricwill have been noted in the Ronaldo camp. It's not hard to imagine him astride a throne, rolling the Welshman's words around his mouth, chewing them with suspicion, half expecting a nasty aftertaste, before concluding: "Gareth's right, it's not about individuals. It's Ronaldo versus Wales, nothing more."To reduce a European Championship semi-final to two players is to be presented with a Wagyu fillet steak, and then ask the waiter for brown sauce. The indomitable rise of Chris Coleman's band of brothers has been such wholesome fare, a celebration of togetherness, and sport's innate capacity to evoke wonderment via the unlikeliest of places. It seems spoiling to condense a game of such magnitude to individuals.Coleman has apparently been dubbed the "Father of Dragons," which is quite the spoiler for the next season of Game of Thrones.A subplot is hardly needed as Wales prepare for the biggest game in their history. Their first appearance at an international tournament since 1958 has put them on the precipice of greatness. Forget Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln; if Wales beat Portugal the heads of Bale, Williams, Ramsey and Allen will be chiseled into the rock face of Snowdon.A quarter-final defeat of a Belgium side ranked the second finest in the world showed up Marc Wilmots' golden generation to be more gold-plated than 24 karat, as Wales produced arguably the tournament's outstanding performance to date. Coleman out-thought Wilmots; his players outfought venerated opponents to win 3-1.If Wales were so much more than the sum of their parts, the exact opposite could be said of Belgium.Yet conversely, for all the championing of team spirit, it would seem somewhat pious to ignore not just one elephant in the room, but two. Wales versus Portugal will be framed, if not necessarily defined, by Bale and Ronaldo.The cult of personality affects (or afflicts, depending on your perspective) sport, just as it does every aspect of life. There has always been something delicious about individuals going up against one another who are equally feted; yet diametrically opposed in terms of personality. Think Brian Clough and Don Revie in England in the 1970s.Ronaldo is used to it. He's played the preening princess to Lionel Messi's unassuming prince for so long in Spain that he'll barely notice typecasting when Bale steps into the South American's boots for one night only in Lyon.Bale has always insisted he has the utmost respect for Ronaldo, citing his team-mate's command of English as being invaluable when he first moved to Spain. Since then, if reports are accurate, relations have thawed to the point of being professional rather than personable, curt over cordial. Not that indifference among team-mates is an issue per se, there's a chance you might not want to marry the colleague sat opposite you either.Ronaldo's reaction to Bale scoring against Levante last year after his bicycle kick was repelled into his team-mate's pathwhen he simultaneously looked upset, angry and bewilderedwas like a child being told the pet dog was going to have to be put down, and it would be coming out of their pocket money.It seems unlikely then he will have risen to applaud either of Bale's goals direct from free-kicks, against Slovakia and England, given his own tournament record over the years for Portugal reads zero goals from 41 set-piece attempts."Any chance someone else can have a go, Cristino worries. What do you mean Ive been sent home'"The Portuguese's behaviour is often excused. It is regularly cited as being a manifestation of an acute desire to win, which is perhaps unnatural in its voraciousness. It's as though the pursuit of perfection precludes social protocol, which is a polite way of shrugging your shoulders at narcissism. Or someone acting like a d--k.The American writer Malcolm Gladwell's description of the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs could equally be transferred to Ronaldo."The great accomplishment of Jobs's life is how effectively he put his idiosyncrasieshis petulance, his narcissism, and his rudenessin the service of perfection," wrote Gladwell, per Forbes.In the interest of fairness, it's worth noting Ronaldo, with an estimated wealth of around 340 million, has a less-commented-upon philanthropic streak. It makes the preening and posturing a little more bearable, if no easier to digest on an empty stomach.While Bale looks as though he has loved every minute of his time in France, Ronaldo has resembled Yogi after a night on the tiles pretty much from the moment he landed. Iceland's temerity in trying to stop him from scoring in Portugals first game, a 1-1 draw, was greeted with a tantrum so unbecoming that a manager of any backbone would have administered him with a nappy and a megaphone, before ordering a public apology from atop a Reykjavik volcano.Mariah Carey's Ronaldo's quotes are relayed here, per theTelegraph:Iceland didnt try anything. They were just defend, defend, defend and playing on the counterattack. It was a lucky night for them.We should have three points but we are OK. I thought theyd won the Euros the way they celebrated at the end. It was unbelievable.When they dont try to play and just defend, defend, defend, this in my opinion shows a small mentality and they are not going to do anything in the competition.Iceland's population of 330,000 is approximately the same number of times Ronaldo likes his own Facebook page daily.An intrusive reporter's microphone was then thrown into a lake. It's a crime every footballer on the planet has probably dreamed about committing, and as an act of petulance had certain panache to it, but these are not the actions of a man entirely happy with his own performances, or his team-mates'.That Portugal have reached the business end of the competition without yet having won a single game over 90 minutes, gives an indication of how an interesting, if ultimately underwhelming, European Championship has panned out.At times he has looked at a misplaced pass in his direction like an opulent Victorian landowner might one of his proletarian workers, upon catching them eating a grass sandwich. Sheer disgust. While Ronaldo has often worn the look of a man worried about stooping to the level of his team-mates, Bale has done everything in his power to pull Wales' players up to his own.Portugal's players seem to need Ronaldo more than Wales need Bale, though.Bale's performances have been consistently good, always selfless, but not yet spellbinding. He provided the devilish delivery that Northern Ireland's Gareth McAuley could only put through his own goal to book Wales' passage to the quarter-finals, which followed goals in victories against Slovakia and Russia in the group stage, along with the opener in defeat to England.Against Belgium he persistently found himself double-marked. Rather than become frustrated, he revelled in pulling their back line into areas they didn't want to occupy, to make space for the rambunctious forward forays of Joe Allen and Aaron Ramsey. Both have been nothing less than outstanding all tournament, with the latter dreaming of one (literal) final hurrah in France after picking up a booking against Belgium to rule himself out of the semi-final.For Hal Robson-Kanu's goalsince donated by theFootball Association of Wales to the National Museum Walesit was Bale's sublime pass from his own half to Ramsey that started the move. It is fair to say he's not a No. 10 only willing to operate in the peripheral space between midfield and attack.Of the "superstars," Bale has outperformed Ronaldo, Paul Pogba, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He has certainly been better than any of England's players, Spain's too with perhaps the exception of Andres Iniesta.Some five years older than Bale at 31, Ronaldo will be acutely aware in the goldfish bowl that is Real Madrid he is no longer the sole piranha. Talkis the club's executive board is readying an improved contract for the Welshman, impressed as they have been by the leadership qualities he has shown in France. Over the course of conducting Wales' four wins from five games at Euro 2016, he has cemented his role as the charismatic leader of the group. He's certainly found his voice, speaking with prescience as it turned out when discussing England (he politely said they were crap), while telling the world with a smile on his face Wales had trained their sights on Paris. Even when things haven't quite come off on the pitch, he has still carried the air of a man who knows he is one of the best players in the world.While not wishing to propagate a caricature of Bale as a simple Welsh boy made good, he does appear to be a simple Welsh boy made good. Since making his debut for Wales against Slovakia as a bandy-legged 16-year-old in 2006, playing for his country has always seemed a privilege rather than chore.Per the Daily Mirror, Wales captain Ashley Williamsmade an interesting point after the Belgium tie, when he intimated playing for his country gave Bale a sanctuary where he felt able to be himself. As opposed to a projection of Gareth Bale, as presented by an omnipresent media glare in Madrid:Gareth is unbelievable. What you guys see on the pitch is good enough, but what I see as captain makes him very special.To have him in the group and the way he conducts himself around the camp and helps everybody, hes a humble guy, one of the lads.I think he enjoys it because he comes away and can just be one of us. Hes not really Gareth Bale, hes just one of the lads and he has to do the same things everyone else has to do.Ronaldo's goals against Hungary to get Portugal out of the group stage may have taken his tally to 53 for the campaign, but there is reportedly a feeling among Madrids kingmakers that the trajectory of their most totemic figure is heading in only one direction (Oh, to be in such decline). His two goals in France have come at a cost of a whopping 42 shots. Expect another 42 on Wednesday, as he chases Michel Platini's career record ofnine European Championship goals. Ronaldo is currently on eight.If Bale can outshine Ronaldo on Wednesday to the extent he did in the UEFA Champions League final against Atletico Madrid, his stock in the Spanish capital will be at an all-time high. Ronaldo's less so. Acareer record of 482 goals in 641 games would buy him time to wrestle back his crown, but even the biggest egotists, with the fattest of wallets, can't stop the clock from the ticking.As Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz once lamented: "Just remember, when youre over the hill, you begin to pick up speed."Speed in this instance is unlikely to help Ronaldo as it has in the past.All statistics provided by WhoScored.com unless otherwise stated
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