The prescribed silence of Lamine Yamal

BarcelonaThe Spanish Super Cup final, a minor tournament played wherever the highest payouts are, is a key barometer of the season, a match that sets trends. Proof of this is that whoever wins it usually gains a decisive boost in the fight for La Liga. In the last four editions, the winner in Saudi Arabia went on to lift the trophy in the domestic league. And in the current edition, which will once again be decided in a Clásico between Barça and Real Madrid, it is the Blaugrana, leaders in La Liga thanks to a less brilliant (but much more solid) version of themselves, who enter the final as favorites (8 pm, Movistar). With nine consecutive victories after a A worrying setback at Chelsea's ground, Hansi Flick's team threatens to turn Xabi Alonso into another failed experiment on the Real Madrid bench, a position that in the last ten years has only been safe when occupied by Zinedine Zidane and Carlo Ancelotti. The egos in the dressing room and Florentino Pérez's power leave little room for maneuver for coaches, who, if they want to survive at the Santiago Bernabéu, must limit themselves to managing and selecting the lineup.

The story of Barcelona's successes is quite different, now in the hands of a sixty-something with a zest for life. After an excellent first season, Flick continues to combine an orthodox yet daring footballing philosophy with charisma and the flexibility to manage a mostly young squad. He keeps the hopes of Barcelona fans alive while ensuring his players stay on the right path. He's capable of improving the reliability of a team projected to reach 100 points in La Liga while simultaneously changing internal routines to prevent injuries and ensuring that players prone to chaos, like Lamine Yamal, don't forget to hit the gym. A separate chapter for the winger from Mataró, who arrives at the second Clásico of the season with his hat on and his mouth shut. This low profile is a far cry from the noise he made before the Madrid-Barça match at the end of October, in which the Real Madrid players celebrated their victory (2-1) right in his face after he provoked them with some explosive statements. Flick has also been instrumental in ensuring that the Barça number 10 can reunite with Vinícius and company under less intense scrutiny.

Lamine Yamal, who will arrive at the World Cup in June with his star status, is experiencing a less consistent season than last year. After a well-deserved summer break, he inherited the squad number of the superstars and began the season with outstanding performances in the first official matches. Coinciding with the first international break, he began to experience groin problems, which, incidentally, served to teach the player to respect training and rest guidelines. He arrived at the first Clásico of the season at half-speed, from which he emerged burned after speaking out of turn, but as the weeks went by, he recovered the playful version of last year, although only in less prestigious matches. In the top-tier clashes (PSG, Real Madrid, and Chelsea), however, Lamine Yamal has not shone with the same intensity as his displays in the four Clásicos of the 2024-25 season or in the European semifinal against Inter Milan. Who knows if his silence and discretion will help Barça regain its iron grip against its most formidable rivals?

Lamine Yamal, a bumpy and unstable start to 2026

With this unfinished business, the young Barcelona prodigy, who has deleted almost all his Instagram posts, will reclaim his starting spot this Sunday after a start to 2026 in which he hasn't been able to participate in all training sessions. As a result of this instability, he was left out of the lineup for Wednesday's semifinal against Athletic Bilbao, only getting playing time with the game already decided thanks to the relentless Raphinha, thankfully back in the fold. He arrives at the Clásico with nine goals and nine assists to his name, confirming his potential and justifying the monumental financial effort Barça made to renew his contract. However, the team, which this year has become accustomed to winning matches on points, misses his ability to create chances off the beaten track in moments of maximum pressure. Perhaps Flick's words, who in the lead-up to the final described Kylian Mbappé as "the best striker at the moment," will serve to awaken the beast within Lamine Yamal. Sometimes, silence and listening are better than speaking out and overstepping the mark. Especially when there's so much to gain on the horizon.