Lopez: 18-year-old Yamal is easily lost and her talent cannot be just glorious for two or three years

A few days ago, former Barcelona Lamacia coach Oscar Lopez accepted an exclusive interview with Tutto Mercato Web. He talked about his coaching experience in Barcelona's youth training and focused on Yamal's growth.

■About Lamacia Youth Training Philosophy

"I think the secret lies mainly in our educational philosophy. We want to cultivate people, not only players, but we want to teach children the principles of being human beings and become their life examples. We have known for a long time, including themselves, most of them have the skills and talents to enter the top stage, but this is often not enough."

■How do you think these talents should be cultivated?

"I think every player's talent is innate, and our goal is to inspire this talent through training. Of course, it is clear that not everyone has the talent of Yamal, but through hard work, others can also embark on a career path like him."

■Barcelona (even more than Barcelona) has been led by you. Can you talk to us?

"Especially two years ago, I brought a lot of young players who later entered the first team. One of the ones that impressed me was Mark Casardo. He was the kind of person who worked hard year after year. His mentality was his biggest weapon because he improved every year and finally achieved his goal. Mark was one of the most professional players I have ever led. And Lamin is different. He showed amazing growth rate at the age of 13 or 14, far exceeding the rest of the world."

■Yamar was already discussing the Golden Globes at the age of 18...

"Maybe this year is not enough, but it will definitely be achieved in the future because he is different. The most important thing now is to protect him and guide him, because the world may be very difficult to control for an 18-year-old on a psychological level."

■ Some off-court problems have indeed surfaced recently, and maybe this is the biggest potential risk.

"Yamar is only 18 years old now and can reach all kinds of people from all over the world, so he is easily disoriented. In this case, education from his family, agency team and coach Frick is crucial. A player with such a huge talent cannot be glorious for only 2 to 3 years."

■Are he ready to take over the Barcelona No. 10 jersey?

"I'm sure the 10th will not be a burden to him, and to him, it's just a normal number. I think this may mean more to the fans, but it won't be for Yamal."

Oscar Lopez worked in La Macia from 2017 to 2024. The Spanish coach has coached the U19 echelon, including Yamal, Kubasi, Fermin Lopez and others for the past three years.