A lot is being made of Lamine Yamal being a prodigious 16-year-old at the Euros but by the time the final against England kicks off on Sunday, he will be an old hand after celebrating his 17th birthday on Saturday. He has already come of age by mixing playground football with decision-making beyond his years. Like Lamine Yamal, I made my first-team debut while still at school – I was 14 when I was fast-tracked by Birmingham City. Some might see it as a daunting prospect to be brought into an adult environment while most people of the same age are worrying about exams but, and I know it sounds weird, I believe it is the best time to move up to elite football.
I played in a European Championship when I was 17, scoring an injury-time winner against Finland in front of a huge crowd, and it was pure excitement to be part of the national team at such a young age. Becoming an international footballer as a teenager means you have been on an upward trajectory your whole life, so it is important to keep doing what has helped you succeed and not change because circumstances have.
Teammates are not critical of mistakes – not that Lamine Yamal is making any –when they know a teenager is on a learning curve and everything is a new experience. I said throughout my career that it’s the easiest time because when you start out there are no expectations and that allows a player to be themselves, to play with freedom and have fun. Lamine Yamal is enjoying himself and that attitude has allowed him to flourish. The longer you play, the fewer risks you are willing to take because you are more aware of what is at stake. Later in my career I was given the advice to play like I was 11 years old again. Lamine Yamal is still doing that, unflustered that he is at the pinnacle of the game.
However naturally talented a 17-year-old might be, it is often the case that their decision-making lets them down. It is understandable that you need time to adapt when the speed of the game is so fast but Lamine Yamal seems to be mature beyond his years. As you get older you generally make better decisions about when to pass rather than try to take two or three on. As a young winger, my understanding of when to dribble and when to pass and move wasn’t developed and I did too much, but Lamine Yamal seems to get those split-second choices correct all the time. The majority reach maturity when they are 27 or 28 but he is a decade ahead of that.
I am sure Lamine Yamal does not need any more praise after such a stunning tournament but I will heap a bit more upon him. What impresses me is that everyone knows he’s left-footed, but no one seems able to stop him. Full-backs keep showing him on to his right foot thinking it will negate his qualities but it does not work – he always has something up his sleeve that a defender is unable to anticipate. There are parallels. Everyone knew David Beckham wanted to cross the ball and defenders would try to stop him but they rarely could. Coaches would pore over hours of footage of Lionel Messi, who once gave baby Lamine Yamal a bath, to come up with a plan to keep him quiet but he always had too much in his armoury.
Playing on the biggest stage comes with a lot more scrutiny and interest from the outside world. It is good to have some distractions from football to keep you grounded. I remember being at Euro 2005 where Eni Aluko and I were studying for our A-levels. It was a good distraction, ensuring we were not always thinking about football (we passed, do not worry). I saw that Lamine Yamal learned during the Euros that he had passed the Spanish equivalent of GCSEs and is doing homework in Germany because he will continue his education. What a great example to the younger generation.
This tournament has seen a changing of the guard with a number of young players making their mark. It is not just Lamine Yamal establishing himself as one of the continent’s finest; Nico Williams, Jamal Musiala, Kobbie Mainoo and Bukayo Saka have enhanced their reputations. This is a new fearless generation unbothered by reputation or the magnitude of the situation.
England have their own superstar who began, like me, as a teenager at Birmingham. Jude Bellingham is four years older than Lamine Yamal and is already on to his third club. Where Lamine Yamal consistently makes perfect decisions on the pitch, Bellingham shows the art of doing the same off it as a young player. Moving from Birmingham to Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid has allowed him to keep progressing by ensuring that wherever he goes he knows he will play and the enjoyment will continue. There is nothing worse as a young player than being on the bench where you cannot develop. Bellingham’s parents are heavily involved and he’s obviously got a tight team around him, which is great for any player.
The key to any young player who achieves success is motivation. When we won the quadruple at Arsenal, we could not stand still, we kept trying to do and be better each year.
This is just the start for the new crop of prodigies and I am sure they will take themselves and football to new heights. Lamine Yamal’s career will not be defined by what happens in Berlin because he will go on to win plenty of medals and individual awards if he keeps being who he is.
