One is 16 years old, the other is 17, and together they are amazing in the Champions League. FC Barcelona is proud of its youngsters, but worries about the downsides of their rise.
At the age of 16 and 17, they are already Spanish national players: Lamine Yamal (right) and Pau Cubarsí (center) from Barça.
Albert Gea / Reuters
FC Barcelona recently presented its new streaming platform. The first team players were also invited to the presentation in the basement of the Torre Glòries; In groups they paraded through the spotlights to the photo call, some with particularly dazzling hairstyles, others in the natural habitus of years of prominence.
Only a few seemed a little lost amidst all the glamour, like the boy in the black sweatshirt, with the childlike face and the amazed smile. Pau Cubarsí is only 17 years old.
2 – Barcelona are the first team in Champions League history to start two players aged 17 or under in a Champions League knockout stage game: Lamine Yamal (16 years and 243 days) and Pau Cubarsí (17 years and 50 days). Courage. pic.twitter.com/Fibw9gbEjp
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) March 12, 2024
Compare with the very greatest
On the pitch, of course, the central defender from the 195-inhabitant village of Estanyol sometimes looks like a full-grown Franz Beckenbauer – this was a comparison made by his teammate João Cancelo after his first appearances in the winter.
Cubarsí played at the U-17 World Cup in the fall. He made his debut in Barça’s first team at the end of January. After the first Champions League game against Napoli in March, he was named “Man of the Match” by UEFA. And in last week’s 3-2 win in the quarter-final first leg at Paris Saint-Germain, he once again amazed the football world – with his passes, his positional play and his overview.
“We are dealing with a footballer who will mark an era,” said his coach Xavi Hernández before the second leg on Tuesday, who is familiar with in-house talent – he was once in La Masia himself, the club’s junior team. But Xavi hasn’t seen anyone like Cubarsí either. Especially since his position is not exactly a playground for precocity: a pass error, a lost duel, a missed feint from the striker – the central defender greets you sadly from all the newspaper photos.
Carles Puyol and Gerard Piqué, for example, the central defenders of Xavi’s legendary Barça team, were well over 20 years old when they firmly established themselves. Cubarsí, however, already looks like a mixture of his two role models; he radiates the elegance of Piqué and has the presence of Puyol. An experienced position colleague, like Cádiz professional Fali, raves about the last opponent in the league (0-1 for Barcelona on Saturday): “I’m a central defender myself and I’m dying for something like that: It’s wonderful to see such a central defender.”
Everyone talks about Cubarsí – when they aren’t talking about Lamine Yamal. He’s another year younger, wears braces and is also a regular at Barça. He plays as a winger in a position where youngsters are more likely to be successful early on. But so early?
The son of a Moroccan father and an Equatorial Guinean mother, who grew up in nearby Mataró, is, among other things, the youngest goalscorer in the history of La Liga and the Spanish national team. With his dribbling, his imagination and his improvisational skills, he can decide games single-handedly. Some of his actions are reminiscent of the young Lionel Messi, who, like Yamal, is a left-footed player, even if Xavi fends off the occasional comparisons: “Every player has lost that.”
To enjoy: Lamine Yamal’s goal in the 1-0 win against Mallorca (from 2:25 minutes).
Youtube
In the first leg in Paris last Wednesday, Yamal assisted Raphinha’s opening goal; he had previously been assisted by Robert Lewandowski, who was more than twice his age and whom Cubarsí had played. Lewandowski also recently issued a warning: “The pressure they are being put under is enormous,” he said on Polish television: “Let’s see whether these players can mentally withstand ten, twelve or more years.”
Yamal learned about the dark side of celebrity last week when Argentine expert Germán Burgos used his origins from a humble district of Mataró as an opportunity for discrimination on Spanish TV. The former professional said: “Be careful, if your career doesn’t go well, you’ll end up at a traffic light.” Barça reacted promptly and – like PSG – refused the broadcaster the usual interviews after the game.
At FC Barcelona, Yamal’s protection is the top priority. Club officials know all too well that for every Messi there is a Bojan Krkic – the striker who was once hailed as the next prodigy was never able to fully develop his potential due to depression. Or an Ansu Fati – the attacker who became the youngest goalscorer in the Champions League in 2019 at 17 years and 40 days and soon inherited Messi’s number 10, has since been plagued by one injury after another. He is currently on loan at English club Brighton and is moderately successful.
The association’s desires are causing concern for the club
And so, on the one hand, Barça could be bursting with pride in its unique youth work. With Yamal, Cubarsí and Gavi, the three youngest Spanish national players in history come from La Masia. On the other hand, the association’s desires are causing the club great concern. The driver Gavi, 19, tore his cruciate ligament in the fall during a meaningless European Championship qualifier. The memories of the Pedri case are also all too present. The midfield artist had to play through both the European Championships and the Olympic Games in 2021 as an 18-year-old after a long season. Since then he has been going from injury to injury.
Under the threat of professional bans, Spain imposes a legal obligation for sports selections, which also applies to the Olympic Games – although the world football association Fifa expressly exempts the games from this obligation. At Barça they are now fervently hoping that the selection coaches will be sensible and have a sense of responsibility.
Yamal’s ligaments and tendons in particular are still developing; His playing times are therefore meticulously measured in the club. In Cádiz he only played a few minutes. At 16 years old, his stage is already matches like the one on Tuesday against PSG.
The youngest debutants in the history of the @sefutbol:
🥇 Lamine Yamal: 16 years and 57 days
🥈 Pau Cubarsí: 17 years and 60 days
🥉 Gavi: 17 years and 62 days💎 #MadeInLaMasia pic.twitter.com/nJL13EigXF
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) March 23, 2024