Adolescence is an age of profound physical and psychological transformation. The world of childhood is abandoned to glimpse the adult universe, an oceanic leap that equally invites exploration, rebellion and fear of the unknown. The adolescent is anxious and predisposed to vertigo, which is a state as exciting as it is fearful. In this kind of delicate management is Lamine Yamal, a note of a great player subjected at the age of 16 to the bestial forces that operate in football and particularly in Barça.
Lamine Yamal is not a cosmetic whim in a team where the highest demands are demanded. She is only 16 years old, but she has fulfilled the basic premise to play for Barça: she has plenty of talent and does not lack character. Nothing in her performance points to doubt, although it is evident that she is in a phase of transformation. He is still a teenager, even though he plays in packed stadiums, is examined under a microscope in every game and faces tough competition.
Ferran, Raphinha and João Félix, three proven players on the international scene, with several seasons behind them and protagonists of numerous transfers, fight with Lamine for the title in a team that waits for no one. A progression that will also be affected by physiological and psychological factors, not to mention the influence of chance on injuries, will depend on Lamine Yamal’s ability to understand the extreme nature of professional competition and internal competition.
A mantra has been repeated since Lamine Yamal burst into the Gamper with a couple of geniuses. “We have to take care of him,” she repeats to herself ever since. But how do you take care of a teenager in an environment that can terrify established, famous footballers, dwarfed by the pressure and demands that Barça generates? It is enough to remember André Gomes, Coutinho or Griezmann himself, exuberant at Atlético de Madrid, melancholic at Barça.
One of the most accepted ideas is the regulation of matches and minutes at such a young age. It makes all the sense in the world because we are looking at a building under construction, in danger of collapsing. Xavi, who debuted for Barça at the age of 18, usually refers to this risk when he talks about Lamine. However, there is an equal or perhaps more important risk: boredom, the feeling of loss of importance, of dissipated freshness, which is the worst scenario for any teenager, soccer player or not.
Adolescence is an effervescent time that pushes for adventure and hates tedium. In recent weeks, .
If Lamine Yamaal is a footballer project, there is no greater threat for him and for Barça than turning him into any player, one more of the rotation. If we add to this risk the lack of attention that Lamine Yamal has suffered in several games, with no supply or little interest in supplying him, the problem worsens. The scenes of a disappointed Lamine are repeated, with his arms raised, demanding a pass that does not arrive, it is not known for what reasons, although it is difficult to understand them.
As difficult as balancing care may be, nothing is more important than preserving the effervescence, ambition and self-esteem of this 16-year-old player. If you stop feeling important, or are invited to boredom, there will be no value in care. And if the veteran Lewandowski, the team’s great star, publicly humiliates him with an infamous gesture, it is most likely that care will turn into lack of protection.
