In the Rocca Funda neighborhood of the Spanish seaport town of Mataro, there is an inconspicuous bakery. The food here is not outstanding, but several murals, photos, trophies and a replica of the Hercules Cup can attract the attention of diners. Abdul, the owner of
, was very proud of the decoration of his store. He proudly said that all this was prepared for his nephew to win the Hercules Cup in the future.
html On June 16th, Abdul's bakery should be particularly busy. When he saw his nephew wearing a Spanish jersey and stepping onto the European Cup field and delivering wonderful assists, he must have had too much excitement in his heart.What is even more proud is that this young man’s appearance is not only an honor for his family and neighborhood, but also sets a record for the youngest appearance in the history of the European Cup. Yes, he is the talented new star in world football, Lamin Yamar, who is only 16 years and 338 days old.
A rising star from an immigrant family,
has only made his debut for one year and has just over 50 career games. However, in the past season, Yamal, who has set several La Liga, Champions League and national league records for being the youngest to appear or score, is already the most popular. Young talents.
In the recent data released by the "Transfer Market" website, the Spanish winger's value continues to rise, reaching 90 million euros, ranking first in Barcelona, second in Spain, and 19th in the world.
Even if the season data of 50 games and 7 goals is not top-notch, the four-fold increase in his value just after half a year is enough to confirm his talent and the huge expectations of the outside world for him.
The Spanish teenager grew up in the not-so-affluent neighborhood of Rocca Funda. Due to the superposition of social factors, it has become a place where many immigrants settle. Nearly half of the residents are at risk of poverty. Yamal’s father is from Morocco. , whose mother is from Equatorial Guinea, and the flags of these two African countries are printed on the former’s sneakers.
Even if he embarks on the road to professional football and is gradually far away from the place he was most familiar with, Yamal, who has never forgotten the past, will always return to the Roca Funda neighborhood in his free time to reminisce about his carefree childhood. time.
Yamal has a goal celebration - he will make the "304" gesture to the camera. These are the three numbers of Rocca Funda's postal code, a number that appears on neighborhood walls, buildings and trash cans.
Today, on the field where he played football when he was a child, many children are imitating this gesture. The pride and heritage of the Rocca Funda neighborhood is inspiring more young people to pursue their dreams.
Yamal, who is under 17 years old, is already a rising star in today’s football world.
Young Messi, the protagonist of "Shuangwen"
Many neighbors said that Yamal is very quiet and humble. Compared with his peers who like to show off, he seems to have understood the value of being low-key very early.
htmlWhen he was 06 years old, Yamal's name appeared in a scouting report sent to Barcelona's youth training department. The then director Jordi Lula still remembers that the conclusion of the report was simple: this kid is too special. , you must pay attention to him. After subsequent inspections of trial matches, Barcelona bet on the future of this boy from Rocca Funda.After putting on the Barcelona jersey, Yamal quickly used his super high scoring rate to get the treatment of being promoted to the echelon. Even when facing opponents two or three years older, he rarely encounters trouble and can even play with ease.
Seeing that the boy's growth exceeded expectations, Barcelona's youth training department was overjoyed. They allowed Yamal to live in the La Masia dormitory reserved for players from outside areas, and strictly monitored his diet, rest time and amount of exercise, for fear that his growth would go wrong. Detour.
In 2019, Yamal, who has become the focus of Spanish youth football, appeared in the report of "Marca". This 12-year-old child has been labeled a "mini Messi": "He has confidence and ability far beyond his age. Every time he touches the ball on the court, he will be reminded of Messi."
On the court, he Freely passing people, assisting, and scoring goals again and again, and then continue to jump, skip, and shine. This makes many people believe that he is La Masia's strongest talent after Messi. This genius script makes any "cool article" slightly inferior.
The sky is his limit
In September 2022, Yamal, who was still in the U19 echelon, was transferred to the first team by then Barcelona coach Xavi and participated in the training of the adult team. Due to the large age span and the fact that the former has never registered in the B team, this kind of roll-call training has encountered some doubts.
But then Yamal’s actual performance calmed all the disturbances. When Xavi continued to marvel at Yamal’s performance in the game, the Roca Funda boy’s professional resume has quickly filled in La Liga, the Champions League and the Spanish national team. Team information.
In the just past 2023-24 season, Yamal played 50 times for Barcelona in all competitions, scored 7 goals, and contributed 2 goals to the national team. His running on the wing, his delicate operations in the frontcourt, and his thinking during the game make it difficult to see his youthfulness and immaturity.
Perhaps, it was only the braces exposed when he smiled that made people suddenly realize that this was just a 16-year-old boy who had no experience in the world.
The European Cup stage has never been short of stories of young heroes, but Yamal’s appearance and shine are still unique. Perhaps because of his extraordinary talent, the unconventional chicken soup sentence seems no exaggeration: only the sky is his limit.
Abdul's bakery is becoming more and more popular. Since Yamal has soared in Barcelona and the Spanish team, many children will come here after playing football, buy some food and drinks, and "visit" the childhood of the talented star. The imprint of life.
Champions League, European Cup, World Cup... In the hearts of young people, there are too many lofty dreams, and the Berlin Olympic Stadium on June 16 is the new starting line for Lamine Yamal.
Source: The Paper special writer Chen Dingrui/Sit-up Football
