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- Writer, Guillem Balague
- Function, BBC Sport
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3 hours in the past
Think about taking part in on your nation in a serious event on the age of 16. Lamine Yamal has achieved that – and extra.
The Barcelona star, who’s already the youngest participant to function in a European Championship, is now the youngest to attain after netting a elegant equaliser in opposition to France in Tuesday’s semi-final.
Spain reached the ultimate on Sunday after Dani Olmo’s first-half aim sealed victory, with Yamal having turned 17 the day earlier than the Berlin closing.
The fearsome winger – full title Lamine Yamal Nasraoui Ebana – has already performed 51 occasions for Barcelona, scoring seven targets, so maybe we should not be shocked to see Yamal mixing it up with the easiest.
Those that know him greatest actually aren’t.
“He’ll do issues we can’t but think about”
An outrageously precocious expertise, Yamal will flip 17 on July 13, the day earlier than the ultimate.
The earlier youngest participant to function on the Euros was Poland’s Kacper Kozlowski – 17 years and 246 days – in a 1-1 group stage draw in opposition to Spain in Seville in June 2021, however there’s a feeling Yamal might break just a few extra information within the coming days.
“He’ll do issues that we can’t but think about,” says Ivan Carrasco, who coached him on the junior degree.
“I keep in mind him as a boy who was very conscious of his expertise. In sports activities, proficient individuals are typically very egocentric, however not Yamal.
“I noticed a beneficiant child who wasn’t in search of recognition. As a coach, you generally questioned, ‘What can I educate him if he is doing issues I am unable to even think about from the bench?’
“The nearer you get to Lamine, the extra you realise that the label ‘decisive’ is lower than par. He’s a really, very particular footballer.”
Jaume Marcet, former FC Barcelona reporter and present journalist at Sport TV, remembers the day he knew he was watching a prodigy.
Marcet, who’s an knowledgeable on Barcelona’s grassroots soccer, mentioned: “Probably the most brutal show I’ve seen in grassroots soccer was that of Lamine within the closing of the Catalan cadet event.
“I had seen Messi play in a brutal means earlier than, however by no means one thing like what Lamine did that recreation, with youngsters older than him. That day, he did all the things.”
” A glimmer of hope “
Yamal’s trademark 304 celebration is fashioned by tilting three fingers of his proper hand, forming a “0” along with his thumb and index finger, and tilting 4 fingers of his left hand.
It’s a tribute to the neighborhood the place he grew up, Rocafonda 304, an space of Barcelona hardly ever seen by the tens of millions of vacationers who flock to the capital of Catalonia and some of the disadvantaged areas, not solely in Catalonia however in all of Spain.
The son of an Equatorial Guinean mom and a Moroccan father, after being noticed by Barcelona on the age of seven whereas taking part in within the concrete parks of Rocafonda, his father took him by the hand to Barcelona, the place he requested him: “Would you like my son to play for Barcelona?”
Once they mentioned “sure,” he replied, “Properly, educate him first.”
Yamal moved to La Masia academy in Barcelona, regardless of the proximity to his place of residence.
In an interview with Sport, Xavi Martin, former director of La Masia, recollects the assembly with the participant, his mother and father and the agent on the time, Ivan de la Pena, in order that the boy might stay at La Masia.
“We met on a Tuesday and by Saturday he was already packing his baggage,” he mentioned.
Yamal’s success just isn’t solely his personal, however that of a whole area that has till now been ignored, decried, and belittled.
He’s an emblem of hope for individuals who see in his success that goals can come true, that something is feasible.
Yamal fell in love with soccer whereas watching his father and older cousin play within the park throughout the road from his home, the place he was typically noticed.
“I spent extra time within the park than at dwelling. Each time I stepped out on the road, it was to play soccer. These experiences stay etched in my reminiscence,” he mentioned.
The information maintain falling. He’s the youngest participant to play for Barcelona – at 15 years and 290 days – since 15-year-old Armando Sagi in 1922.
On the age of 16 years and 57 days, he turned Spain’s youngest participant and goalscorer.
Picture caption, Lamine Yamal poses along with his little brother and his mom
A future Ballon d’Or?
Yamal’s expertise has additionally not gone unnoticed by the very particular person many individuals dare to check him to: Lionel Messi.
In a WhatsApp message to certainly one of his shut associates, the Argentine maestro commented: “How simple does Lamine make it look?”
Messi has already talked about Yamal when requested which gamers shall be preventing for the Ballon d’Or within the coming years.
The participant himself is real looking. “There’ll by no means be one other participant like Messi,” Yamal responded to the numerous comparisons between him and the FC Barcelona legend.
He could also be proper, however these days you may see an enormous banner at FC Barcelona dwelling video games with an image of Yamal making the 304 signal and a brand that reads “El futuro no espera” (The longer term is not going to wait).
The remainder of this summer season will inform us if the long run has already arrived.
