“France’s goal is my favorite goal and the one that everyone will remember from 2024”

FC Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal commented that the goal in the Euro Cup semi-final against France is his “favourite” of 2024 and that winning at the Santiago Bernabéu was “an incredible feeling”, he also praised Hansi Flick and Xavi Hernández, the coach who gave him “the confidence to debut” and to whom he will “always” be grateful.

“The one against France is my favorite goal and the one that everyone will remember. Also the one at the Bernabéu, with which I fulfilled my dream of scoring in a ‘Clásico’. The truth is that I am very happy with my year because I am playing as a starter for the first team , I was able to win three individual titles. In addition, I also won the European Championship in Spain,” said the FC Barcelona youth player in an interview given to the Catalan club’s media.

Lamine Yamal who catalogs 2024 as “a very important year”, in which it has gone “from less to more”. “I have felt important both at Barça and in the national team, and I have gained a lot of experience. I have been missing the collective titles with Barça. It is what I would like most, to win the League, the Cup and the Champions League,” he noted.

The 17-year-old is clear that one of the aspects to improve in his game is “scoring more goals.” “That’s what I have left. Yes, with assists I have improved a lot, but I want to score in every game, and I think that is my challenge,” he noted.

On an individual level, Barça’s ’19’ has won the Golden Boy, the Kopa trophy and has been part of FIFA’s best eleven of the year. “I like the three awards, but being in the best eleven of ‘The Best’ is the most exciting for me because it is in an absolute category.” In addition, he noted that another of the moments of his year was winning at the Bernabéu: “It was an incredible feeling.”

Regarding his recovery process from the ankle injury, the Catalan is “sure” that he will return “better and with more desire.” “When you stop playing for a while is when you realize your work and what you are doing. There are hard things in recovery, but the good thing is that I have a lot of time for my family and some friends,” he added.

Regarding ‘Laminedependencia’, the Barcelona native explained that when the team loses they always try to look for things. “If one day I am on the field and Rafinha or Lewandowski is not there and we lose, the same thing will be said. The important thing is the team. When the team is playing well, it does not matter if a player is not there, what I try is to help the team “he added.

“I arrived at the Euro Cup as a child. When people talked about me before going to the national team, it wasn’t as if I were a very important player. After the Euro Cup, I returned here to be a very important player for Barça. At the level of global impact, you realize that everyone knows you. When I went on vacation, people stopped me in Greece, and yet, the year before, not so many people would have stopped me,” said Lamine Yamal about what the Euro Cup has changed. his life.

“FLICK GIVES ME A LOT OF CONFIDENCE, HE KNOWS HOW TO SAY EVERY THING AT THE RIGHT TIME”

“Hansi Flick gives me a lot of confidence. He is a coach who knows how to say everything at the right time. He always tells me that I am very important for the team and that I believe it. He talks to you, explains why things happen. When not “When you play, he tells you why not. He gives us advice, he wants everyone to be well, and that is very important for the players,” the young winger praised the German coach.

Lamine commented that it gives him “a lot of freedom to create.” “When I catch the ball from the wing, that’s when I’m 100% me, because I don’t have any rules, I can do whatever I want and I have a lot of freedom of movement. At the beginning of the game, I don’t think, I do whatever comes to mind, and then When I see what the defense does, that’s where I think more,” he explained.

Regarding FC Barcelona’s style this season, the Golden Boy 2024 defines it as “vertical”. “It is a direct, attractive and fun game to watch for the fans because in two passes we can reach the goal, and we try to score many goals. Defensively, perhaps, we are not as good as other years, but offensively I think it is of the best years,” he added.

A Lamine Yamal who remains “with the positive” of last season, in which there was “excitement” among the fans, who believed that “the Champions League could be won.” “There are also those moments, like the week we lost against PSG and then at the Bernabéu, they make you learn and make you want to win more. Everything adds up. If you always win, you don’t feel this sensation, and that makes us want to win more. everyone,” he reflected on the important defeats last year.

“He is the coach who gave me the confidence to make my debut, as well as minutes. He is my first coach as a professional, and I will always be grateful to him. He has always treated me very well,” said Lamine about Xavi Hernández.

Finally, the European champion with Spain explained the differences between scoring and assisting: “When you score a goal it is an incredible feeling and your adrenaline is pumping. And when you assist you are happier with your teammate, the happiness is different. “When you score, you’re more like you don’t know where to celebrate and when you make an assist, you’re happier with the team and with your teammate.”

Lastly, Lamine talked about his assists with the outside of his foot. “Since I was a child I’ve been doing that shot. It’s a better resource than hitting it with my right. It’s going quite well for me, but the movement that Raphinha makes is also important, because he’s a very fast player. When I want to make the pass into space, the curve always turns out well,” he concluded.