There are portraits that precede greatness, snapshots of youthful geniuses. The boy with bangs from an indie band celebrating Ronaldinho’s back is a bleach blonde teen with Blaugrana’s orthotics, leaving behind an interdefender trajectory in his wake.
Almost exactly 20 years separated Lionel Messi’s first goal in the sensational Champions League semi-final strike between Barcelona and Lamin Yamal, who made their 100th appearance at the Catalan Giants last Wednesday.
Yamal, a month younger than Messi, was when he lobbed the goalkeeper from Ronaldinho’s scoop assist in 2005 to become Laliga’s youngest goal scorer.
“I don’t want to compare myself to the best players in football history,” the forward said before the surprising individual performance against Inter, but speculates on whether Messi can naturally emulate.
Statistics show Yamal’s trajectory since his debut at age 15, 290 days.
Yamal reached the first century when the shy Barcelona appeared for two months, having his 18th birthday. By the same age, Messi scored once in Barca’s nine senior games, while Ronaldo scored five goals in 19 matches for the sport.
Yamal has 22 goals and 27 assists, with four more goals in 19 appearances for Spain. Neither Messi nor Ronaldo made their international debuts until they were 18 years old.
Messi, who debuted at the age of 16, scored 100 games marks in the colors of Barcelona shortly before his 21st birthday, scoring 41 goals in the process.
But they were the first of the club’s incredible 672, complementing eight Baron Dollars, the World Cup, two Copas Americas, four Champions Leagues and a wealth of household silverware.
“That’s not normal,” says Mark van Bommel, a former Barcelona midfielder of Yamal’s rise. “That’s why everyone is talking about him. [But] To reach the number of Messi, it is not easy. Even the guy playing with 17. ”
