We shouldn’t really be surprised that the English media were rattling a few cages before Saturday night’s Wembley thriller between England and Spain.
Lamine Yamal has long since needed to prove that he has what it takes to be a success in the game, and yet the column inches were filled with the usual tropes. ‘Could he do it on a wet Wednesday in Stoke?’ and ‘he couldn’t do it week in and week out in the Premier League’ …
Not only is it a boring narrative, but it completely misses the mark.
Lamine could
do it just about anywhere in any weather, and as he showed within two minutes of the kick-off, he can certainly do it against quality Premier League defenders.
It wasn’t that long ago that Lionel Messi was subjected to the same nonsense, conveniently bypassing the fact that English opponents were generally unable to stop him in a Champions League game.
Both the 2009 and 2011 finals against Manchester United come to mind, as do the games against Arsenal and Chelsea. In fact, the list is practically endless, and Lamine will soon be in the same category.
There was an elegance and purpose to his game against the Three Lions that saw him ease past his markers as and when he felt the need.
His passing accuracy was on point, and if this was supposed to be a precursor to the Ballon d’Or, then Harry Kane might want to put his tux away again, because he was completely outshone on the night.
Nothing that Lamine did will have come as a surprise to culers and watchers of La Liga more generally, but there’s a certain section of supporters and media entities that still can’t get away from the notion that the Premier League is the best in the world, and so until a player plays there, they can’t truly be considered world-class.
As a product, the EPL might well be light years beyond the competition, and Javier Tebas could certainly learn a thing or two in that regard, but there’s a reason why many of the best players in the world still want to play in the Spanish top flight.
Seeing Lamine in his element at Wembley, where he looked relaxed and confident, will have been an absolute joy for all culers.
As long as he remains injury-free in the current international break and comes back with all guns blazing as the Champions League and La Liga return, all’s well that ends well.
Perhaps the English media might then be forced into putting their poison pens away and writing about what’s staring them in the face as a result.
We can but hope!
