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Short version
- Soccer star Lamine Yamal grew up in poverty outside of Barcelona.
- Yamal’s parents were very young when they gave birth to him and separated when he was three years old.
- The 17-year-old was found in the parking lot outside the fast food chain where his mother worked.
- Yamal was brought to Barcelona when he was seven. Moving there from home was challenging both practically and financially.
- The Norwegian G16 met Yamal and the Spanish G16 in a friendly match in 2021, when Yamal was 14 years old.
- The boy’s parents are from Equatorial Guinea and Morocco. According to Spanish newspaper AS, Morocco will do everything in its power to secure Yamal’s services.
On September 8, 2023, in Spain’s European Championship qualifier against Georgia, with the score 4-0 before halftime, Lamine Yamal replaced the injured Dani Olmo in his national team debut.
Thirty minutes later, the then 16-year-old dribbler scored his first A national team goal.
– Guillem Balague told VG that for supporters it might not seem like it, but for him it was a turning point.
Renowned Spanish football journalist and author.
– From that point on, all the teammates started to get to know Lamine better. Everyone became closer and a family feeling was created, Balaguer continued.
Since then, twelve more games have been played and two more goals have been scored.This red» The 2007 model turns 17 on Saturday.
On Sunday night, he will star on one of football’s biggest stages: the Europa League final against England.
Follow the EC Finals VG Live!
But it is by no means a foregone conclusion that Yamal could eventually become the world’s greatest soccer talent.
His mother was an immigrant from Equatorial Guinea and his father was an immigrant from Morocco – neither of them had a football background. When Yamal was born, his mother was only 16 years old and his father was 21 years old.
Yamal grew up in the small town of Esplugues de Llobregat in Catalonia. His parents separated when he was three years old.
During his childhood, he lived with his mother in Granollers and with his father in Mataró – both northeast of Barcelona.
– Those of us who are not from there think that Mataró is a difficult area. There are a lot of immigrants and the problem is that half of them live in poverty. This is also true of Ramin’s family, says Balaguer.
Yamal himself loves his old neighbor. Every time he scores a goal, he celebrates like this:
In Granollers, my mother got a job at a fast food chain, while my father worked “100 different jobs,” according to Balague.I spent a lot of time playing with my legs in the parking lot outside my mother’s workplace.
This was observed by a few regular customers who invited him to join their club, CF La Torreta, and train together.
La Torreta was Yamal’s first club. He played there from the age of four to seven, according to a report with his father broadcast by the Associated Press.
The club saw Yamal’s potential early on, but also knew the family’s financial difficulties. They then chose to reduce his training fees. They provided a shuttle service so that the boy could play football.
At the age of seven, he was taken to Barcelona. However, in order to get there, the family had to pay for it themselves.
– His father takes him there. Sometimes the owner of the “El Cordobes” bar his father frequents pays for the trip. Sometimes he has to leave three or four hours before training starts to get there. Balaguer said that although it is close, it is not convenient to go there by train.
– He comes from a family that clearly has no idea what it takes to be an elite player. Barcelona, he continues, gave him a chance and have been taking care of him ever since.
– When my son was born, I knew he would be a star, says the father Spanish media The situation under EM.
At the age of 11, Yamal became farmhouseit has been like this for many years The star that emerged On the conveyor belt.
– Balague added that they discovered early on that he had a good understanding of the ball and the right mentality.
Eventually, money began to flow into the account as well—a new situation for the family.
– The money from Barcelona was shared by the parents, but it didn’t work out well.
Then a super agent shows up.
Football agent from Portugal. His client list includes some of the world’s most famous football figures, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho.
— is now being handled by Jorge Mendes’ company, which has a better structure around him, Balaguer said.
Balaguer believes that Yamal’s tough upbringing has better prepared him to cope with the expectations that have been placed on him over the past year and a half.
– Still a little surprising, since he’s already played several games 7-player team game More games than the XI – which is incredible given the impact he has already made for club and country.
Comparisons with Lionel Messi himself start at every opportunity Debut for Barcelona.
– What do you think of the Messi comparison?
– Well, in a way it’s inevitable – So in a way it’s understandable. But it’s absolutely clear that as a 16-year-old, Messi wasn’t that impressive, but Yamal was. At 17, 18, 19 and 20, he (Messi) was like that, Balague said.
– We don’t know what it would have been like if Messi had been selected a year earlier. He might have had the same impact, but that’s he does not. It was more cautious to allow players of that age to join the first team at that time.
Balaguer set out to set several of these records:
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Scroll on for more detailed stats from last season. -
Graphics: sofascore.com
…before he summarizes his reasoning:
– Yes, at this stage of his career you can compare him to Messi and you won’t be wrong. Yamal will become the best young player of his generation and in a few years he will win every individual trophy as well.
In the EC, Yamal wreaked havoc against Croatia, Italy, Germany and France. Spain faced Norway in the qualifiers on the way to Germany’s title win. But Yamal was not involved in Spain’s wins in March (3-0) and October (1-0) last year.
However, he was present when Norway and Spain’s G16 teams played a friendly in November 2021. Valerenga player Jones Abdulawi, Wolfsburg player Anders Bossert and Bryan player William Kval played for the Norwegian team at the time.
Yamal was 14 years old at the time.
– We heard in advance that he was a very good player from Barcelona. We noticed immediately that he was a player who liked a challenge, liked to play his way, “give a little F”. He did most of the work, El-Abdellaoui told VG.
18 years old, playing for Valerenga. 19 international matches for Norway and one for Morocco.
Anders Bossert played at left back in that game.
– Yes, there were some duels. I remember they had a couple of Barcelona players on the right. Børset told VG that he came on in the second half when they were 2-0 down and that he should have come on and set some tempo.
The match also ended with a 2-0 win for Norway. The Stock Exchange said Yamal did not stand out significantly this Contest.
“They had a couple of really high levels but we controlled it well,” he added.
Wiliam Kvale plays on the opposite back. He said Yamal has a 10er-rolleand moved quite freely in the Spanish attack.
– He was 14 years old and small, but even then he was still a tough player to play against. He was short, agile, and had a great shot. The Bryan player told VG that there was no doubt he could dribble.
Aged 18, playing for Bryan. Norway 29 international matches against age group.
Yamal’s father is Moroccan and his mother is from Equatorial Guinea, so he has his pick of several national teams.
Behind the scenes, there was allegedly a tug-of-war to secure the star’s services.
Spanish newspaper AS reported in October that the Moroccan Football Association tried to lure Yamal by offering him money. Yamal will be 23 years old by the time of the 2030 World Cup, which will be held in Spain, Morocco and Portugal. AS claimed this was an important factor in Morocco’s offer.
However, the Moroccan Football Federation has categorically denied the allegations.
– The union wrote in a statement that the content in the article is incorrect and there is no evidence.
Football journalist Balague firmly stated that Morocco was never an option.
– Of course, Morocco “spies” on everyone, but he had a very clear idea from the beginning that he wanted to become a player for the Spanish national team, said the Spaniard.
– It’s tough for Morocco to lose such a great talent. But he has to do what’s right for him. Jones El-Abdellaoui, a Norwegian-Moroccan from Valerenga, assures that no one in Morocco will be angry with him for this.
postscript! You can watch Rosenborg vs Manchester United on Monday VG+ Sports From 17:00.
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