Lamine Yamal’s breakthrough on the worldwide stage at such a younger age has sparked comparisons with a few of soccer’s all-time greats. However at solely 18 years previous, the ahead nonetheless has an extended highway forward. Now, his former coach at FC Barcelona and legend Xavi Hernandez has revealed what Yamal must do to “develop into one in all soccer’s nice geniuses.”
Already a standout in Barca’s youth ranks, Xavi Hernández gave the teenager his first-team debut. When Yamal got here on within the April 2023 La Liga recreation towards Actual Betis, he grew to become the youngest participant ever to debut for Barcelona at simply 15 years and 290 days previous.
In an interview with Cronache di Spogliatoio, Xavi shared his expectations for Barcelona’s rising star. “He’s a ‘chosen one.’ He may develop into one of many geniuses in soccer historical past, and it is dependent upon him — on his ambition and his ardour,” the Spanish legend mentioned.
The previous Barcelona supervisor additionally recalled how distinctive Yamal was at the same time as an adolescent: “At 15 or 16 years previous, was dribbling previous professionals, and even throughout coaching classes, the teaching employees would typically ask ourselves who the most effective participant was — and virtually day by day, or nearly day by day, it was him.”
FC Barcelona Head Coach Xavi Hernandez interacts with Lamine Yamal of FC Barcelona.
He then drew daring comparisons between Yamal and a few of Barcelona’s most iconic gamers. “He did particular issues — stuff you’d solely see from Neymar or Messi, gamers of that caliber. I noticed that he was prepared, and I wasn’t afraid. He wasn’t afraid both; he had no worry, no complexes. He could make the distinction. What he’s doing at his age is unbelievable,” Xavi emphasised.
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Xavi’s excessive expectations for Yamal and Barça’s new era
Throughout his time as Barcelona coach between 2021 and 2024, Xavi Hernández managed a number of established stars. However as a result of membership’s monetary struggles, he additionally turned to its youth academy — giving alternatives to a brand new wave of expertise. Past Yamal, Xavi additionally handed first-team debuts to gamers like Pau Cubarsí, who are actually key elements of the squad.
Talking about each younger stars, Xavi highlighted their potential and mindset in a press convention in Could 2024: “Lamine and Pau should tackle the problem of staying on the elite stage for a few years — they’ve all of the instruments to do it. Many people have made it there, however the laborious half is staying. They’ve the whole lot for it: the mentality, the power, and the footballing qualities. We’re two gamers who can outline an period for the membership and for world soccer.”
