The Lamine Yamal Shift | Xavi’s Plan for La Masia’s Latest Gem | OneFootball

It is as if the giraffe just started sprinting from the go. There was no stumbling. No training wheels on the bike. Just the standard La Masia inoculation. Once he entered the match there was a shift.

The new star of Barcelona is here. Just 16. Lamine Yamal. He’s full of deception and feints, along with the engrained Barcelona methodology of keeping the game simple.

It almost seems like Lamine Yamal still hasn’t quite grown into his long legs, though that hasn’t stopped him. Once he’s grown into his body, look out. He may play like another former Barcelona footballer, Thierry Henry, in many ways once he hits his stride. That’s not a comparison in terms of talent, Henry is one of the all-time greats, but is there something similar to the way that he glides on the wing with or without the ball. Lamine Yamal has that same floating and airy style of running with the ball where you don’t know which direction he’s going to go.

However, it is really up to Xavi if Lamine Yamal will start to get more minutes for Barcelona’s first team or hold him off until he is a bit older. But the display by the teenager against Tottenham then again against Getafe may force Xavi to put him on the pitch even more. He injected an energy into the game once he came on in the 80th minute that can’t be unseen or felt.

It makes sense that the Barcelona social media team would pull this highlight video specifically of Lamine Yamal and title it, “A Star Is Born”.

Besides all the contributions by the youngster that led to goals in his brief ten minutes of playing time, what jumps out is his shifting body feint. Lamine Yamal takes two steps like he’s going inside and spins back outside with the ball. The move comes at the 2:25 minute in the video below. It is genius.

The move is absurd really. To do it near the halfway line and ghost away from the Tottenham defender is brilliant. It is not something you see very often from a 16-year-old or any other professional footballer.

Before he went on, Xavi told him to be fearless and that is just what he was.

Moreover, once Lamine Yamal gets past the defender and turns out wide he gets his head up right away and splits the two recovering defenders with a pass to Ferran Torres, who then finds Ansu Fati for the goal.

If it’s one thing defenders don’t like, it’s getting beat on the dribble. What’s far worse though and scares them the next time they face a player, is if they get embarrassed. Which is what Lamine Yamal has the tendency to do to opposing players.

With Dembele gone for PSG, Xavi might have to slot in the kid to create things on the wing. He certainly has the potential to be a star for Barcelona for years to come.

Xavi could have been shy about planning him against the hard-hitting Getafe, but the manager trusted that the boy could take care of himself. Just like in the preseason, his confidence and skill never wavered and he looked right at home. Everybody can see that the sky is the limit, but the real test now how Xavi manages to help him get there.

Potentially joining him someday in the first team is a number of players who are currently working their up through the academy – highlighted in the latest edition of the La Masia update:

Guest Post by John C.