Lamine Yamal faces a new challenge this week in his meteoric career. At the age of 17, his footballing breakthrough has put Barça back on the map of credible candidates for the 2024-25 Champions League, if not as a favourite, after several very disastrous seasons. The youth prodigy from the inexhaustible Masia is already, in this enthusiastic team of Hansi Flick that has started the season with a full house of triumphs, “the difference-maker in La Liga”, as Girona coach Michel Sánchez, his latest victim, defined him. In Monaco, the path to a new Champions League will begin on Thursday (9pm), new in format and new for a Barça that needs to be addressed as “you” again in Europe. To recover that status, mentioning Lamine’s name is already essential. Perception goes far beyond the interested opinion of the culés and that is Lamine’s great merit.
There is also objective evidence: Lamine was such a protagonist in the recent European Championship in the title of the Spanish national team that UEFA crowned him as the young MVP of the tournament, after being decisive with his 4 assists and the historic goal against Kylian Mbappé’s France in the semi-final.
The logical consequence has been that he has made it onto the list of 30 finalists for the Ballon d’Or. There is another striking fact that has to do with his age and an initial footballing performance that is reminiscent of that of the greatest known legends of football.
248 days younger as European champion than Pelé at the 1958 World Cup
Lamine is 17 years and 66 days old. At that young age, he has already played 56 games with the Barça first team, with 10 goals and 11 assists. Not only is he a starter, but he is already the reference, the first name in the ranking of concerns for rivals. The bravery of Luis de la Fuente in the national team, like that of Xavi Hernández previously at Barça, is having a frightening early return. If Pelé won his first World Cup in Sweden in 1958, when he was 17 years and 249 days old, Lamine won a European Championship that began when he was 16 and ended when he was 17 years and one day old: that is, he was 248 days younger than the Brazilian. The Catalan was also the youngest goalscorer and finalist in the history of the continental tournament for national teams. In any case, what these figures and achievements show is that the beginning of Lamine’s biography allows us to dream big, even more so when he does not seem to suffer from altitude sickness in the face of so much expectation. In fact, a few days ago, on El Hormiguero, Lamine proclaimed his ambition: “I want to be a legend at Barça.”
His impressive start to La Liga had another spectacular episode this Sunday, with 2 goals in Girona. In just 5 games, Lamine is second in the scoring charts with 3 goals, leads the assists ranking with 4 and is second in dribbles, with 3, 2 per game. Now he is on the eve of facing a Champions League in which he debuted last season breaking records, becoming the youngest starter and assist-giver in the history of the tournament, although he could not surpass the youngest scorer, another great Masia product like Ansu Fati. Scoring in the main continental tournament is his immediate challenge and Monaco will be his first opportunity to baptize himself.
With Lamine, former Barça coach Xavi Hernández dared to give him his debut in the First Division at 15 and made him a regular starter at 16. But this academy graduate with unprecedented progress is climbing the ladder two at a time. Barça’s new coach, Flick, with extensive experience in youth football in Germany, avoided falling into excessive protectionism and flattery with Lamine on Saturday and, instead of focusing on what he has done, invited him to accept the challenge of being a role model: “He has to train, improve: champions don’t rest much.”
8 recoveries in Girona, 1 for the 0-1
With more goals and more defense
If last season Lamine Yamal He stood out for being a great assistant, and in this season the Barcelona youth player has added more records to his impeccable service record. The forward from Rocafonda confirmed in Montilivi that he is uncovering himself with the goal. In Girona he shot four times on goal and managed to score two goals, with a 50% effectiveness. With those 2 goals, Laminate He has already scored 3 goals so far this season and is now the team’s second top scorer, along with Raphinha and Dani Olmoand only surpassed by the 9 culé Robert Lewandowskii, the top scorer in LaLiga with 4 goals. Laminate He is tied for second place in the championship’s scoring table alongside a group of players trained by his teammates at Barça. Raphinha and Dani Olmoin addition to Ayoze Perez (Villarreal), Javi Puado (Spanish) and Kylian Mbappé (R. Madrid), the merengue with 2 penalties out of the 3 scored.
But beyond the goal, and his assists –Laminate – has already scored 4 in these first 5 games – the Barcelona youth player is also applying himself in defence, making good on his coach’s repeated reflections, Hansi Flickasking for a Barça in which everyone attacks and defends. The 8 recoveries of Laminate In Montilivi they showed this attitude as supportive as it was voracious: one of them led to the first of their 2 goals in Girona, by snatching the ball from David Lopez to then define with great quality in front of the goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga.
