Lamine Yamal's competitive spirit comes from afar: "We had to tell him to stop"

Special correspondent to MadridThere is a veteran guide at Old Trafford who, upon arriving at the changing rooms of the imposing Manchester United stadium, stops in front of a mirror and likes to make this joke: "This is the mirror where Cristiano Ronaldo used to spend a lot of time looking at himself before each game," he says to the complicit smiles of the tourists participating in the tour. The Portuguese star was the first to love himself and to make it known, with more than one unfortunate statement. "They envy me because I am handsome and rich." Represented by Jorge Mendes, he became a global star at United, first, and then at Real Madrid.Cristiano, not always easy to manage in the dressing room, reached 100 professional matches at twenty years old (19 years and 348 days) and with two trophies, a Super Cup with Sporting Portugal and an FA Cup with the Manchester team. Leo Messi did it at 20 years and 248 days and with five titles, including two Leagues and one Champions League. Lamine Yamal reached this figure much earlier: 17 years and 292 days, with one League and one European Championship under his belt. Now, at just 18 years old, he is on his way to winning his third League, in addition to having won a Cup and two more Super Cups, and being the star of Spain for the World Cup.

The Champions League, a title that has eluded Barça for over a decade, is the dressing room's great aspiration. Also Lamine Yamal's, who has defined it as the competition "most important along with the World Cup". The club asked him to speak in the preview and counted on the footballer's complicity. "Coming back is not a miracle. If we don't go through, it won't be because we haven't tried until the end. We are a young team, with many Cules." After going a few months without a photo on Instagram, his favorite social network and his most personal mouthpiece, Lamine has now uploaded a photo full of meaning before visiting the Metropolitano. It is LeBron James, who in 2016 led the greatest comeback in basketball history by overturning a 3-1 deficit in the finals against the Golden State Warriors. "He is an inspiration," he said. The winger from Rocafonda does not fear pressure; on the contrary, he already showed it last season in the Champions League against Inter Milan. "Since I was little, I have been accustomed to taking on more responsibilities than I should have for my age."

Managing frustration in moments of "tension"

He feels the responsibility of leading the team and when things don't go as he would like, frustration also appears. As in the league match, precisely at the Metropolitano, where, despite ending up winning, Lamine felt he hadn't helped his team enough and went to the locker room angry. "There are moments of tension during matches, but it's in the past now," he said this Monday. "He has a very strong personality, he has an extraordinary way of conceiving football. You could see it from a young age. He always wanted to win, and we had to scold him to make him stop. We had to tell him enough. Because he wanted to score goals, give assists... If we conceded a goal, he was the first to go get the ball from the goal and go to the center of the field to restart," recalls Inocente Díez to el ARA, who signed Lamine Yamal for CF La Moreta, the first team where he started playing football before joining La Masia, at seven years old.

"Sometimes in the replay of the match you see that what he does is incredible, but he is only 18 years old and perhaps sometimes he gets angry if I substitute him or if he has gone through a situation where he has had four or five players in front of him, he has shot and missed. It can be frustrating if he doesn't score, but I support him. He is on a very good path and we are helping him develop in the right space. Not everything he does has to generate noise. I know everyone has their eyes on him because he is a fantastic player, but he is only 18 years old. I have told him that he can make mistakes, that I will protect him. He will be one of the best – or the best – players in the future," Flick defended him a week ago. "Flick has made it clear that he understands Lamine's moment. He shows firmness, without authoritarianism, and maintains the bond of mutual trust that is so difficult to generate between a coach and a footballer of his level," analyzes Marcela Herrera, professor of performance psychology at UVic and board member of the Catalan Association of Sport Psychology.

Lamine Yamal, at just 18 years old, has the aura (and salary) of a star in a highly globalized world with powerful megaphones like social media, which also directly impact the ego. Flick is one of those responsible for ensuring that the progression of his most differential footballer does not go astray. Flick pampers his players, but he is also severe when he believes he should be. For example, he privately reprimanded Cubarsí after the defeat in Anoeta in January. Publicly, he has applied the carrot and stick approach with Lamine in his press conferences. He often protects him, but when he has had to call him out in front of the press, he has also done so. “He is playing very well in the last few games. He makes good things happen for the team. In that, he is the best in the world,” said the coach before a match in which all of Barcelona dreams of a comeback in Madrid.