18/05/2025

SPORTS 13 ON SUNDAY MAY 18, 2025

Jewel in Barca’s crown Teen sensation Yamal chief architect of Catalan’s successful season

GERMAN MANAGER Hansi Flick’s tactical acumen was crucial to guide Barcelona to their 28th Spanish league title that they claimed on Friday when they beat city rivals Espanyol 1-0, securing an unassailable seven point lead over second-placed Real Madrid with two games left to play. The remarkable LaLiga and Copa del Rey double marks a surprising turnaround for Barcelona, considering the turbulence on and off the pitch when Flick replaced Xavi Hernandez as manager a year ago. The German tactician, who was sacked as German national team coach in September 2023 following a string of defeats, has orches trated a renaissance that transcends mere results. In a season where Barcelona have scored an astonishing 95 goals in 35 league matches – 23 more than Real – Flick has reintroduced attacking verve to a club that treats entertain ing football as religion. Flick was tasked with reviving Barcelona’s fortunes after the Catalan side failed to win any trophies in Xavi’s last season, with their on-field struggles exacerbated by turmoil off the pitch, including deepening financial prob lems and a refereeing scandal that could drag on for years in Spanish justice. Flick inherited a squad of highly talented players who were eager to prove their value amid the club’s off pitch struggles. He was instrumental in blocking the outside noise, shielding the changing room with a “stick to football” mentality. The players embraced the relentless work ethic and intensity Flick brought to the club, turning negative vibe around the club into motivation. “We’ve always thought positively and we could feel it looking at training sessions. At Barça you have to win titles and three titles (La Liga, Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup) is just great,” Flick told Movistar Plus on Friday. “It’s always important to be mentally strong. That is what we looked for throughout the year. “Winning the Super Cup in January gave us confidence. It was greart to see how the play ers have reached their highest level and oth ers have improved.” Flick controlled what he could, implement ing an extra shift daily in training with the play ers’ approval, and became obsessed with building a team that would be highly aggres sive in attack no matter what, when, where or who they were against. He managed to get the best out of veter ans such as Frenkie De Jong, Jules Kounde and Raphinha, who under Flick’s command have enjoyed a stellar season. Following his remarkable breakout cam paign as an 18-year-old in 2020-21, young midfield maestro Pedri finally proved his worth as a world class midfielder after over coming over three years of struggle with lin gering injury problems. Perhaps Flick’s greatest contribution was nurturing Lamine Yamal as the talented teen ager has become an unstoppable force – run ning up and down the right channel and cre ating all kinds of trouble for opposing defences. His tactical nous was instrumental in fixing Barca’s problems up front as he built a real attacking juggernaut, playing some of the most entertaining style football fans have seen this season. However, despite being on the brink of their first European final in a decade, their hopes of a treble were dashed by Inter Milan in one of the greatest Champions League semifinals ever contested. Flick engineers attacking renaissance

with since birth. Yamal joined Barca’s feted La Masia youth academy aged seven, but as a baby remarkably was photographed being bathed by Messi for a charity calendar project. The teenager eschews comparisons to Barca’s best ever player and the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, yet they just keep coming. With Barcelona out of the Champions League, Yamal’s hopes of winning the coveted individual award are dented but he might not have to wait long.

AT just 17 years old Lamine Yamal now has two La Liga titles to his name – the same as Cristiano Ronaldo managed in nine years at Real Madrid. While his participation in the first was limited to a single brief cameo as a record-breaking 15-year-old debutant, the winger has been a chief architect of Barcelona’s success this season. It was fitting he should make the breakthrough against Espanyol on Friday with a sensational curling effort as Barca clinched the title. Yamal’s breathtaking displays have brought a vibrancy and life back to Barcelona that had been lacking since the club’s biggest icon, Lionel Messi, departed in 2021. Former Barca coach Xavi Hernandez brought Yamal on for the final seven minutes of a win over Real Betis in April 2023 at the Nau Camp, as the Catalans went on to win the league for the first time since 2019. It was a false dawn for a dutiful but dull Barca side, which ended the next season trophyless, precipitating Xavi’s exit. Real Madrid’s La Liga and Champions League double left Barcelona soul searching, with Yamal’s growth the only bright spot. By early 2024 the fast dribbling, immensely skillful winger had emerged as the team’s key attacker – talent, saying Yamal was “touched by the magic wand of God”, and he excelled in their Euro 2024 triumph. A good omen then for incoming Barca coach Hansi Flick, whose free flowing attacking style clicked with Yamal, as well as veteran striker Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha on the left flank. Yamal won the right-wing position, which was the Brazilian dynamo’s preferred role, but Raphinha was happy to shift to accommodate him. “Seeing him come on in this stadium, with all these people, is incredible,” said Raphinha after Yamal’s debut, in front of 90,000 fans. “He will be very important for the club.” Raphinha was right, and it happened far quicker than he or Yamal could have reasonably expected. “I left my fear in the park in (my hometown) Mataro,” said Yamal, before playing in the recent Champions League semifinal against Inter Milan, where he produced two sensational displays as Barca came up fractionally short. Inter scraped through 7-6 on aggregate but their coach Simone Inzaghi labelled Yamal a “phenomenon”, who only comes along “every 50 years”. With 13 assists Yamal has the most in La Liga, and is the top dribbler, with nearly double the amount of his closest contender, Sevilla’s Dodi Lukebakio. albeit one still lacking i n consistency. S p a i n coach Luis de la Fuente placed his faith in the teenager’s

“The mentality of my team is unbelievable,” said Flick after Barcelona beat Madrid 4-3 last Sunday to virtually seal their Liga triumph. Yamal’s irrepressible teen spirit is a big factor, with the youngster undaunted when Barcelona fall behind. He thrived in all four Clasicos this season, as Barca triumphed each time. They won the Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup by beating Real in finals earlier in 2025, before completing a domestic treble with La Liga. “He’s not a kid,” said Flick, after Barca returned from two goals down against Madrid, inspired by Yamal, who gestured for calm when his team were up against the wall. “He has the self-confidence, the belief in what he can do.”

“ I ’ m r e a l l y h a pp y

t h a t t h i s ta l ent wh i ch come s a l o n g every 50 y e a r s plays for Ba r c a , ” said Flick. – AFP

The winger remembers his roots and celebrates goals by signalling the 304 postcode of his neighbourhood Rocafonda.

Lamine Yamal

“ T h r e e

trophies Barca, no trophies for Real Madrid, four Clasicos won by Barca,” joked Barca great Hristo Stoichkov. Yamal is not afraid of a pithy jibe at rivals himself, making him a hit on social media and cementing his fan favourite status – his No. 19 shirt is the top seller. The winger will soon put pen to paper on a new Barcelona contract when he turns 18 in July. He marked his 17th birthday by winning Euro 2024 the next day, and this year he will celebrate by for

committing his future to the club he has been linked