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There is something hidden in plain sight about Lamin Yamal that his coaches – the Barcelona academy – understood long before the rest of the world caught on.
Listed as a winger. Threatens defenders from the left side. His dribble numbers are tops. And yet, when CBS asked him how he played as a kid, his answer came as a revelation.
“When I was younger, I didn’t dribble much or pass many opponents. I scored a lot of goals, I ran a lot, but most of all I had a really good view of the game,” he said. “I focused on what Messi did because he made different passes – passes that lead to goals. And I watched Modric, who passed with his feet. That seemed more interesting than dribbling, because it’s about the mind.”
Modric is neither Arjen Robben nor Franck Ribery, neither of the great wide forwards he could have mentioned. The deep central average was the artistic position. A player Yamal was watching and thinking as a child.
Albert Puig, one of his coaches in Barcelona’s academy, took over this job years ago.
“Lamin expresses himself better when he has passing lines and some references,” Puig said. “I think he can change the way Messi does, coming closer to the game, connecting with the ball and being more involved.”
The information is starting to confirm. Over the past two seasons, Lamin Yamal has been moving more and more into the interior zones, working as a winger as a secondary player.
Julen Guerrero, who worked with him in Spain’s youth system, was not surprised by the direction of his departure.
“I can definitely think of him as a false nine,” Guerrero said. “But because the teams block the center more, there are few places, you have to be more patient. But he is very intelligent, he knows how to move.”
The winger role rewards speed and isolation. The central role, Lamin Yamal, rewards everything he was drawn to as a child: vision, timing, a pass destined to be a goal before it gets off your feet.
Messi has done exactly this journey. From the right wing to the false nine, from the fans to the center of the greatest club in history.
It took him until his mid-20s to complete. Lamin yamal may not need that much time.
The World Cup is coming. Lamin will be 18 when he arrives in Yamal and will not turn 19 on July 14, the day after the first semi-final.
Spain will go there as one of the favorites built around it.
