Lamine Yamal, the terror of the greats

What surprise will Lamine Yamal prepare to host Real Madrid this Sunday at Montjuïc? At the Bernabéu, he sported some innovative braces on his teeth, and in the Copa del Rey final at La Cartuja, he dyed his hair blond. Casual, youthful, and driven, the youngster from Rocafonda is capable of anything. He's not shy about his composure, but that requires substance. And the bigger the challenge, the better the youngster's performance has been. He inspires admiration, respect, and, above all, terror in opposing defenses, especially those of the big teams.

You only have to see how the Inter players crowded around him at the end of last Tuesday's match in Milan. They all wanted to swap shirts with him. A shirt that already carries a lot of weight today, but which they suspect will become even more significant with the passage of time. Bastoni kept it, calling the Barcelona player "terribly good" and a "monster."

Meanwhile, Lamine continues to do his thing, continuing to demonstrate his class. He couldn't lead Barça to the Champions League final, but he's looking to guide his teammates to a fourth win in four Clásicos this season. A victory that would put the league title on the chopping block.

There are reasons to believe Lamine Yamal will be a key player tomorrow. Among other things, he'll have Fran García up front. With Madrid's defensive problems, without Mendy, Camavinga, and Alaba, the most likely starting player on that flank will be the youth-team full-back. He already outplayed him more than once in the Copa del Rey final, and Lamine will want to take advantage of that morale boost. But if Mendy or anyone else were up front, the same thing, or something very similar, could happen.

The winger scored at the Bernabéu in the 4-0 draw in La Liga and also scored in the 5-2 Super Cup final, securing the provisional 1-1 draw that kicked off Barcelona's exhibition. He didn't score at La Cartuja, but he was instrumental in assisting Pedri for the 1-0 draw and Ferran Torres for the 2-2 draw that took the game to extra time. A significant performance was quickly overshadowed by his supersonic minutes against Inter at Montjuïc.

The boy from Rocafonda scored against Madrid in the League and the Super Cup and provided two assists in the Cup.

A splendid goal after an individual move to reduce the deficit, another Maradona-style move that ended up hitting the post, another shot hitting the post in the second half... Lamine Yamal was focused, connected, and consistent. While in some games against lesser opponents he's measured or appears more occasionally to unbalance, against the big teams he remains a constant threat.

Only Inter goalkeeper Sommer, with his interventions, prevented Barça from taking the game to a penalty shootout. He's left with a thorn in his side, which he hopes to overcome next season in Europe and tomorrow in La Liga.

Because ever since Lamine Yamal was one of the architects of Spain's Euro Cup triumph last summer, it's been clear that what suits him best are the matches marked in red on the calendar.

Since scoring against France in the semi-finals to level an early Kolo Muani goal, that has been his trademark.

It's not just Real Madrid and Inter that have suffered his mischief. He scored against Atlético Madrid in La Liga at the Metropolitano and did the same against Benfica and Borussia Dortmund at Montjuïc. More of a distributor than a finisher, on everyday days, he usually gets his eye on the opposing goal. Because when he combines the role of assistant with that of finisher, the world sees the true potential of a footballer who has played more than 100 games for Barça before turning 18 (he will be of legal age on July 13).

With modest ones it is dosed but in flight commitments it is usually connected from beginning to end.

By the time you can vote and drive, you'll have already achieved milestones other players will never achieve. It's just the beginning, but what a beginning.