As the Blaugrana prepare to host the annual Joan Gamper Trophy, it is now 12 months since their teenage superstar showed he was set for big things
The Joan Gamper Trophy is not something that resonates much outside of Spain. Named after one of Barcelona's founding members and former presidents, it is awarded to the winner of an exhibition match that is hosted by the Blaugrana ahead of every season. Once a four-team competition, it is now just a single match, with Monaco the visitors for Monday's 2025 edition.
Twelve months ago, Tottenham were Barcelona's opponents. The Catalans included 16-year-old winger Lamine Yamal on their bench; a player very few outside of Spain knew of. There was probably some information out there the casual football fan might have picked up on about the La Masia kid who had made his Barcelona debut at 15, but so what? Barca were too broke to fill a hole on the wing, so Xavi probably had no choice but to play him.
That whole narrative changed on August 8, 2023. Yamal had been on the fringes of Barca's team on their pre-season tour of the United States, shielded well away from the spotlight. But then, in the Gamper Trophy, he was unleashed. What ensued was perhaps the most important 15-minute cameo in recent Barca history, as Yamal tore Tottenham apart, thus proving he was ready to become a regular in the first team and, perhaps, take Spain and Europe by storm..
Suddenly, there was hope. Barca, short of cash and lacking in any real reason for optimism, had a singular, central figure to piece everything around. It would prove to be a risky strategy – it still is – but since then, Yamal has become the European star that those around Catalunya always felt he could be.
APWhispers of a superstar
There had been a sense within La Masia for some time that Yamal would be a star. Xavi called him into training as a 14-year-old, having the winger – then basically still a child – work with the first team in September 2022. And even then, there was a sense that a senior debut wasn't too far off, as Yamal spent most of the 2022-23 season proving that he was already too good for first Barca's youth sides, and then their reserve team, Barca Athletic.
There was a certain romanticism to all of this. Yamal, for better or worse, had spent his life intrinsically connected with Lionel Messi. There were the easy comparisons in terms of position and playing style – both were languid left-footers who liked to operate off the right. But there were also freakish coincidences that seemed to point to something larger.
A baby Yamal had been photographed in the arms of Messi as a child, while another photo later emerged of a 12-year-old Yamal – ironically wearing Spurs sweatpants – standing next to Barca's best ever. This all seemed too good to be true.
AdvertisementGettyRecord-breaker
Barca Atletic coach Rafa Marquez believed in the narrative and reportedly urged Xavi to hand Yamal a first-team debut in the early months of 2023 until his moment arrived in April. Barca wrapped up the league title early, allowing Xavi to introduce some new faces into the fold, and Yamal was among the first.
Then 15, he became Barcelona's youngest-ever player when he made his maiden appearance against Real Betis in a comprehensive 4-1 victory. He played just seven minutes of that contest, and lined up on his less-preferred left-wing, but he still made an impact, and had the painfully erratic Ousmane Dembele not squandered a good opportunity, Yamal might have marked his debut with a memorable assist. A good save from the Betis goalkeeper denied him of what seemed certain to be a debut goal, too. Still, Xavi heaped praise on the teenager after.
"I told him to try things and he did. At 15 years old, just imagine it… He is special and he could have even scored tonight… He played with confidence and he showed what he is about. He has no fear and bags of talent. Some of his passes in the final third were really good," the manager said.
Although Yamal didn't see the pitch for the rest of the season, everything was set up nicely for what was to come.
Getty ImagesTearing Tottenham apart
The Gamper Trophy appeared to be the perfect game for Yamal to start. It was pre-season, and with some of Barca's biggest names still not quite fully-fit, there was ample room for a teenager to test himself for at least 45 minutes against Premier League opposition. Instead, Yamal was held back.
To their credit, Ange Postecoglu's Spurs pieced together an excellent first 45 minutes. They were coasting at the Olympic Stadium, and good value for their 2-1 lead at the break after Oliver Skipp netted twice in reply to Robert Lewandowski's early opener. The scoreline stayed the same through the first 30 minutes of the second half, and Yamal's introduction with 15 minutes to go seemed to come too late to make much of a difference to the result.
Yeah, right. Yamal needed less than two minutes to dart down the right wing, outrun half of the Spurs defence, and assist Ferran Torres to equalise. He then spent the rest of the contest toying with the north London club, running rings around Sergio Reguilon while drawing fouls out of Gio Lo Celso and harrying the Spurs backline whenever they had the ball.
He was involved in every good Barca thing from the game, playing key roles in the third and fourth goals, scored by Ansu Fati and Abde Ezzalzouli, respectively. Yamal, it's fair to say, had arrived.
Messi-esque
The reaction was as measured as you'd expect from a media landscape surrounding one of the biggest clubs in the world that was thirsting for a superstar. Spanish tabloids claimed that Yamal's performance – despite coming over just 15 minutes of football – was the best since Messi's breakout in the same fixture against Juventus 20 years previously.
Comparisons to the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner were soon being thrown around on an almost daily basis, as the media, as well as former and current pros around Spanish football, all had their say. It is perhaps for that reason that Xavi waved off calls for the winger to start in the early weeks of the season, as he instead opted to start the oft-maligned Raphinha in his team's opening La Liga game of the campaign.