Lamine now looked to Europe

Lamine Yamal This week he faces a new challenge in his meteoric career. In his unprecedented 17 years, his rise to football has once again put a Barçabut as a favourite, yes on the map of credible candidates for the 2024-25 Champions League, after some very disappointing seasons. The inexhaustible wonder of youth Masia is that, in this enthusiastic group of Hansi Flick who started the season with absolute success, “the differential player in La Liga”, as the Girona coach refers to him Michelle Sánchez, his last victim. In Monaco On Thursday (9 pm) the path of a new one Champions Leaguenew for format and new for a Barça that you need to be treated as yourself again in Europe. To regain that status, mention the name of Laminate This is important now. Understanding is more than the interested opinion of the culé and that is the great merit of Laminate.

There is also objective evidence: Laminate He was such a contender in the recent Euro Cup title team of Spain that UEFA crowned him the young MVP of the tournament, after being decisive with his 4 assists and the historic goal against Kylian’s France. Mbappe in the semi-finals.

The logical consequence is the entry into the list of 30 finalists of Ballon d’Or. There is another surprising fact related to his age and an initial football production reminiscent of the most famous football legends.

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 Barça’s first team, 10 goals and 11 assists. He is not only a starter but he is the benchmark, the first name in the concern ranking that the rivals have. Luis de la Fuente’s prowess with the national team, like Xavi Hernández’s before at Barça, is having a frighteningly early return. If Pelé won his first World Cup in Sweden in 1958, when he was 17 years and 249 days old, Lamine won the European Championship that began when he was 16 and ended when he was 17 years and one day: that is , he is 248 days younger than the Brazilian. The Catalan is also the youngest scorer and finalist in the history of the continental national team tournament. In any case, what these figures and achievements reveal is that the beginning of Lamine’s biography allowed him to dream big, especially when he did not seem to suffer from altitude sickness in the face of so many expectations. Furthermore, a few days ago, at El Hormiguero, Lamine expressed his ambition: “I want to be a legend at Barça.”

His impressive start to La Liga took another spectacular turn this Sunday, with 2 fine goals at Girona. In just 5 games, Lamine is second in the scoring table with 3 goals, tops the assist ranking with 4 and second in dribbles, with 3, 2 per game. Now he is on the eve of facing a Champions League where he made his debut last season, breaking records, becoming a starter and the youngest assistant in the history of the tournament, although he could not surpass the early goalscorer, another great Masia product like Ansu Fati. Scoring at a major continental tournament is his immediate challenge and Monaco is his first opportunity to immerse himself.

With Lamine, the former culé coach with extensive experience in youth football in Germany, on Saturday he avoided falling into excessive protectionism and adulation of Lamine and, instead of focusing on what he had done, invited him to accept the challenge of being a reference: “He needs to train, improve: champions don’t rest much.”

8 recovered in Girona, 1 for 0-1

With more goals and more defense

Yes last season Lamine Yamal He stood out for being a great assistant, here the Barça youth player added more records to his impeccable record of service. The Rocafonda forward confirmed in Montilivi that he reveals himself in goal. At Girona, he shot four times on goal and scored two goals, with 50% efficiency. In those 2 points, Laminate He has 3 so far this season and is the team’s second leading scorer, along with Raphinha and Dani Olmoand was surpassed only by 9 culé Robert Lewandowskii, the Pichichi of LaLiga with 4 goals. Laminate He is tied in the championship scoring table in second place with a group of footballers made up of his Barça teammates Raphinha and Dani Olmoin addition to Ayoze Perez (Villarreal), Javi Puado (Spanish) and Kylian Mbappé (R. Madrid), the merengue with 2 penalties out of 3 scored.
But more than the goal, and his help –Laminate a total of 4 already in these first 5 days -, the Barça youth player also applies himself in defense, making good the repeated reflections of his coach, Hansi Flickdemands a Barça where everyone attacks and defends. The 8 recoveries of Laminate in Montilivi they showed that attitude as supportive as it was greedy: one of them led to the first of their 2 goals in Girona, by snatching the ball from David Lopez to then determine with great quality in front of the goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga.