Barcelona wonderkid Lamine Yamal was already operating on a different level from his peers long before becoming one of the most influential players in world football, according to his former youth coach Ivan Carrasco, who believes the teenager’s natural ability should never be overcoached.
Speaking to Mundo Deportivo, Carrasco reflected on his time working with Barcelona’s 2006 and 2007 generations, which produced several players now associated with the first team.
Alongside Yamal, he coached Pau Cubarsi, Marc Bernal, Hector Fort, Xavi Espart and Marc Guiu, among others.
His assessment of Yamal was particularly emphatic, describing a player whose understanding of football was exceptional even at academy level.
Lamine Yamal was already a different level
Carrasco recalled how Yamal’s ability to influence matches separated him from other young players, with his dribbling, finishing and technical precision standing out during both matches and training sessions.
“I always like to talk about natural talent, because I believe it’s what makes the difference in what we do in life.
“Everything about Lamine is geared towards playing football; he has a divine talent. He was exceptionally special.
“In matches, he’d dribble past three opponents and score. In training, he’d do whatever he wanted with his teammates. He was a player far ahead of his time,” he explained.
Ivan Carrasco explains what Lamine Yamal was like during his youth team days. (Photo by Burak Kara/Getty Images)
The former coach also highlighted Yamal’s decision-making, arguing that his greatest strength was not just his ability on the ball but how quickly he understood situations on the pitch.
“He has football in his head and understands exactly what to do at any given moment.
“No coach has ever taught Lamine how to play football. He was born that way – it’s as simple as that.”
Why Yamal should not be overcoached
For Carrasco, Barcelona’s responsibility with a talent like Yamal is to create the right environment rather than impose unnecessary restrictions on his instincts.
“When we talk about Lamine, we’re talking about a whole different level to the others.
“Lamine is a genius, and geniuses must be treated as such: leave them to their own devices and don’t bother them too much.
“Support them, provide them with favourable conditions, and little else,” he analysed.
Pau Cubarsi and Marc Bernal also impressed
Yamal was not the only Barcelona prospect to leave an impression on Carrasco. He described Cubarsi as a natural leader who displayed maturity beyond his years.
Pau Cubarsi has earned praise from his former youth coach. (Photo by Diego Souto/Getty Images)
“Top-class players, of a very high standard. Mentally, Pau Cubarsi was way ahead of his teammates. In the way he spoke, he was very communicative and a real leader.
“And Marc Bernal helped us enormously. He’d been playing as a central midfielder, but with us he started playing as a ‘6’ and developed tremendously in that position.”
Notably, Bernal’s development also required tactical adjustments.
With Xavi Espart already playing as the team’s regular defensive midfielder, Carrasco’s staff experimented with Bernal at full-back to ensure both players could feature regularly.
The experiment worked, and Bernal remained in that role during that period.
“It’s interesting what happened, because our ‘6’ was Xavi Espart, and what happened was that we thought we had to do something to ensure Marc Bernal played as a ‘6’ whilst Espart continued to play regularly.
“We thought he might suit us as a full-back; it worked very well, and that’s where he’s stayed,” he concluded.