He dominates the scene. At 5:50 PM, local time, Lamine Yamal appeared in the crowded press room of the AT&T Stadium, an impressive American football field, now dedicated to the World Cup and where today (9:00 PM) probably the biggest match of the tournament will be played. None of this seems to impress the young man, who entered, took off his tracksuit jacket, placed it on the back of the chair, and smiled as he knew the flashes were already snapping photos of his necklace at full speed, a very striking piece, seemingly made of gold and precious stones, but who knows. "It's not a gift because I paid for it," he explained.
The boy has such 'aura' that on his 19th birthday, his opinions are of interest. And he, beyond the facade, has an opinion on (almost) everything, so it was necessary to ask him about the controversy generated after the now famous article by Mariano Rajoy, a topic of conversation this Monday in Dallas before the match. "We are going to play one of the most beautiful matches of the World Cup, I don't think there is space for that," he said, but he did make space for it: "But football, if it serves for anything, is to integrate society, and France and Spain are the best example of integration, of teams that promote integration. That is what matters, not talking about what one person may have said," he concluded with striking confidence for someone so young, who already at the time, after the racist chants in Cornellà in March, sent a strong message against racism on his social media.
Furthermore, the 19-year-old Spaniard feels under the spotlight. He appeared calm, relaxed, and left one of those phrases that liven up the match. "You are the ones who say I am not at my best level, so you can't expect much from me. But I am sure tomorrow will be a special day," predicted someone who said he doesn't feel pressure "because I play as I am, I always do it that way."
He is so calm that in the afternoon he found time to spend with his brother and have the boy get a haircut, as he called his older brother to send the team's hairdresser, who has been around since the beginning of the tournament.
He reflected on what football has given him ("it has given me the opportunity to travel to Chattanooga, a town in the United States, and be loved and known by people," he said) and acknowledged that the World Cup semifinal against France "is the most important match I have played in my career." However, he urged everyone not to lose their nerves because "this is football, there are much more important things in life, and whatever happens, the next day people will continue with their lives."
Before him, the coach, Luis de la Fuente, appeared, who had some funny moments. "I am very romantic, I like Julio Iglesias," he replied to a Latin American journalist who asked if he was romantic in the way Del Bosque described his players in 2010. Regarding the match, he anticipated, of course, that the team would suffer, but they were prepared for it. "As Julio César said, there is no great achievement without suffering. If you want to achieve something important in life, you have to suffer," he concluded.