With Lamine Yamal on the cusp of replicating Xavi Hernandez’s World Cup heroics with Spain, the former Barcelona coach recalls his first interaction with the young star.
Yamal has been one of the brightest talents in world football for the last few years, putting on stellar performances with both Barcelona and the Spanish National Team.
And with Yamal now on the verge of helping Spain win their second FIFA World Cup, Xavi Hernandez, his former coach at FC Barcelona, has reflected on how he got to know about him.
Xavi Hernandez reveals Lamine Yamal made waves at FC Barcelona just like Lionel Messi
In a piece for The Athletic, former FC Barcelona coach and Spanish World Cup winner Xavi Hernandez recounted the first time he heard about Lamine Yamal.
It was in 2022, when Hernandez had just become the coach of Barcelona, he heard talk about Lamine Yamal and what he was doing with the youth side.
And instantly, Hernandez was reminded of the first chatter he heard about a young Lionel Messi on the come-up in the youth ranks at La Masia.
“I heard about him around Barcelona before I saw him. People were talking about this boy — and the same thing had happened to me with Leo (Messi).
“I was told there was an Argentinian who played really well, who stood out and so on, and with Lamine practically the same thing happened to me.
“The first time I saw him was in a youth match the club had recorded for us. He was 15 and put in a brilliant performance that day, providing two assists and scoring a goal. He did everything. I thought, ‘Bloody hell, we don’t have anyone like this up front’.
“This boy was different from everyone else his age, way above them. The difference was staggering — he practically did whatever he wanted on the pitch.”
Xavi Hernandez explains what first impressed him about Lamine Yamal
Further in the article, Hernandez recalled his first time overseeing practice with Lamine Yamal, and what stood out to him instantly.
“This boy came along to train aged 15, and you could already see something different, something special. He dribbled really well. He made excellent decisions, he rarely made mistakes.
“That’s what surprised me most during the rondo drills, the positional games, and the matches we played with the first team. He didn’t make a mistake.”
Yamal made his FC Barcelona first team debut under Hernandez during the 2022-23 season. The following year, Yamal’s role in the team grew following the exit of Ousmane Dembele.
Yamal would follow up his first two seasons with a stellar campaign at the 2024 Euros, where he played a huge role in Spain winning the tournament.
And under Hansi Flick, Yamal has become one of the best players in the world. And this time next week, he could be calling himself a world champion.
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