Can Lamine Yamal Lead Barcelona Past Inter Milan In Semi-Final Showdown?

‎A decade has passed since Barcelona last reached the Champions League final, with Lionel Messi leading the charge.

‎Now, the Catalan giants look to another rising star, Lamine Yamal, as their key player or ‘X-factor’ when they face Inter Milan in the semi-final first leg on Wednesday.

‎At the height of his career, Messi scored two stunning goals in the 2015 semi-final first leg against Bayern Munich as part of Barcelona’s treble-winning season.

‎While Yamal, just 17 years old, is still refining his finishing, he is crucial to the team’s prospects this season.

‎The left-footed teenager, operating on the right wing with the freedom to drift into various positions much like Messi did for many years provides Hansi Flick‘s talented Barcelona squad with a distinctive advantage.

‎Yamal showed precisely that in their thrilling Clasico Copa del Rey final victory over Real Madrid on Saturday in Seville, setting up two of Barcelona’s three goals.

‎He has been showing it all season, with 14 goals and 24 assists, and countless but crucial flashes of invention, genius, and flair on the back of his superb Euro 2024 displays with champions Spain last summer.

‎Flick’s attacking Barcelona has captured the imagination and a grand part of that is due to Yamal.

‎In Barcelona’s city center, it is rare to walk more than a few minutes without seeing somebody sporting a replica Yamal shirt.

‎On match days, a sea of No. 19 shirts floods the rolling staircases and escalators as fans make their way toward the Olympic stadium perched on Montjuic Hill in the city.

‎Historically, it was Messi’s No. 10 that dominated the crowds, alongside a variety of Barcelona shirts from different seasons, as well as the sky-blue and white stripes of Argentina.

‎With Yamal, the shirts are identical, given his rise to stardom has been dizzyingly rapid and this is his first season wearing the No. 19.

‎‘We have seen a genius

‎Should Barcelona win the Champions League, Yamal is a potential Ballon d’Or winner.

‎It was hard to believe such a feat could come so quickly after former Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez gave Yamal his debut at just 15 years old in April 2023 against Real Betis in La Liga.

‎Initially, Yamal appeared somewhat overwhelmed, understandably so, as the towering Camp Nou surrounded him, with tens of thousands scrutinizing his every move.

‎Perhaps it was the only time because ever since then, he has not shown the slightest hint of being daunted.

‎”I’m surprised by how incredible the (young players’) mentality is,” said Barcelona captain Ronald Araujo last week.

‎”They are so calm… these kids from La Masia, it’s surprised me a lot.”

‎Yamal’s mother was more worried than the youngster himself.

‎”My mum is afraid for me when I start, but she supports me a lot,” he said, while still finding his footing at the club.

‎Those initial nerves disappeared so quickly and despite his tender age, Yamal began shouldering the creative weight of the team while only 16.

‎While still awaiting results for his secondary school exams, Yamal cemented his star status with Spain at the Euros in Germany, turning 17 the day before the final.

‎”We have seen a genius, the work of a genius,” gushed Spain coach Luis de la Fuente, after Yamal scored a beautiful goal against France in the semi-finals.

‎He is now essential for Barcelona, who have struggled every time he has not started this season.

‎Although Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha have scored the majority of the goals, many of those opportunities wouldn’t have materialized without Yamal’s contribution.

‎Whether directly, through his dangerous in-swinging crosses, or indirectly, by using his sharp dribbling to beat multiple defenders in the buildup, Yamal’s impact is crucial.

‎”Lamine Yamal… he’s like Messi. Does he surprise me? No. Everyone knows how good he is, he can dribble past anyone,” said former Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde earlier this season.

‎Yamal, who as a baby in 2007 was remarkably photographed being bathed by then 20-year-old Messi for a charity calendar, has always been wary of the parallels, inevitable as they seem.

‎”Messi is the best player in history, and being compared to him means I’m doing things right, but I try to be myself,” he said in February.

‎If Yamal can lead Barcelona back to the Champions League final, the comparisons to past legends will only intensify.