Lamine Yamal a genius ‘like Dalí or Michelangelo’, says Spain’s De la Fuente

Luis de la Fuente urged people not to compare Lamine Yamal to Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona or “anyone”, but did compare him to Salvador Dalí and Michelangelo – “geniuses” for whom the exceptional comes naturally. On the eve of their second World Cup game, against Saudi Arabia in Atlanta, it was put to the Spain coach that Lamine Yamal is confronted by a process similar to those faced by Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona but at the age of 18. His image is everywhere in the United States, a global figure already, and the buildup to the selección ’s participation at the tournament has been dominated by his availability after an injury he suffered in April – a teenager cast as their hope and salvation. “Those are big names,” De la Fuente replied. “The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dali [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.” De la Fuente added: “We should help him as best we can on this journey: that would be good for Spanish football and the Spanish national team. …