Lamine Yamal and Koundé, the kings of flow

Great teams thrive and grow around a collective spirit that surpasses that of their opponents, but also thrive on small, lifelong alliances. The history of football is replete with associations that function both autonomously and in the public interest. Take Flick's right flank. Two opposing players feed off each other and improve through proximity. Jules Koundé and Lamine Yamal (the former 26; the latter 17) are having an extraordinary season both individually and as a couple. Something similar happened when Puyol and Piqué met. The former's Stakhanovism positively affected the latter's innate but somewhat lazy talent, and the same thing happened in reverse.

Koundé and Lamine Yamal replicate this unnatural fusion in their own ways. The Frenchman trains three times a day because a single session doesn't satisfy him. His body needs more. The defender belongs to the breed of players who know they're normal, so the leap and permanence in the elite is based on pushing themselves much harder than the others. Koundé is very Puyol-like in that sense. Let's remember that the man from La Pobla de Segur, in his hometown, dragged pallets strapped to his body for days before going to high school only to arrive at the La Masia tryout looking like a bull. That's how he got in, not because of his football; that would come later.

Lamine is an innate talent. It's hard to find athletes with his precocity. The teenager astonishes with the natural way he has accepted his gift and his ability to absorb all the concepts of football in one gulp. Sacrifice may not be his strong suit, but there's his winger acting as a tutor to instill it in him. Charismatic individuals with a unique personal connection, the Cup confirmed the pairing. They were decisive and exuded flow.