Recently, Manchester City‘s manager Pep Guardiola said in an interview that he said something that could be misconstrued about Barcelona’s young player Yamal and apologized for it.
Guardiola said, “I said before that no player is as good as Messi.I know that this may have made some people think that I was belittling Yamal’s performance, which is not the case.What I’m trying to say is that Yamal is really talented, he’s only 17 years old and he’s already showing world-class potential.”
However, he also mentioned, “We can’t compare Yamal with Messi too early.Messi is unique and his achievements are hard to replicate.”Guardiola also used an example of playing basketball to illustrate his point: “It’s like playing basketball, you can’t shoot a three-pointer every time you get the ball and still score every time.There is a rhythm to the game, sometimes you have to pass, sometimes you have to control the ball, sometimes you have to rest.Yamal has to learn to master that rhythm.”
He added: “What Yamal needs to do now is to slowly gain experience and not always think about making a great performance every time.He has the ability to do that, but he also needs to learn to distribute his physical strength and concentration wisely.”
Guardiola coached Messi at Barcelona, so he knows Messi’s ability very well.He said, “I don’t want people to think that Yamal can reach Messi’s level immediately.Messi is special, he won eight Ballon d’Or awards, which is something very few people can do.I hope the media and fans don’t put too much pressure on Yamal and let him grow naturally.”
Indeed, Yamal has shone.He has made over 100 Barcelona first-team appearances, contributing 25 goals and 34 assists.Such numbers are impressive for a player who is only 17 years old.
But Yamal still has a long way to go to maintain a high level of performance for a long time like Messi.Professional soccer is not just about short-term performance, it’s more about how to stay in form and keep improving over the years.
Overall, Guardiola is not trying to negate Yamal’s strength, but hopes that we can look at the young player’s growth process more rationally.Yamal does have the potential to become a top player, but he still needs time and space to develop, rather than being compared to Messi early on.
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