European Football Championships on channels 14.6.–14.7. Go to the competition website from this link. The broadcast of the semi-final between Spain and France starts at 21:15 on TV2 and Areena.
This summer, a photo of a 20-year-old soccer player bathing a six-month-old baby boy has become one of the most talked about football pictures in Spain and the world.
The images of the charity calendar prepared by FC Barcelona’s community organization and the Catalan newspaper Diario Sport in December 2007 have become the focus of Spain’s competitive summer, which has already led to the European Championship semi-finals.
Barcelona and Diario Sport released the 2008 calendar to raise funds for UNICEF and other charities. The players of the Catalan football pride were photographed with their families and especially these children.
Coincidentally 20 years old Lionel Messi ended up portraying the son of a Moroccan father and an Equatorial Guinean mother Lamine Yamalin with.
Now, 16 years later, the heroes in the picture are playing in the semi-finals of the championship tournaments of their continents. Messi, 37, will play in the semi-finals of the Copa America against Canada on Wednesday morning Finnish time.
Lamal, who turns 17 on Sunday, will face France in the semifinals of the European Championships on Tuesday.
Yamal’s father Mounir Nasraoui shared one of the pictures on social media. As you might expect, the pictures quickly became a viral phenomenon.
“One in a Million”
The photos of Messi and little Yamali were taken by a photographer Joan Monfortwho describes the situation of taking pictures as “difficult” in an interview with The Athletic.
– I could say that I sweated blood to take it, he says.
Monfort especially emphasizes that, even today, the shy and introverted Messi was even more shy and withdrawn in his 20s. Then he comes across a situation where he should take photos with a baby splashing in a plastic tub and the baby’s mother.
– At first, that situation was quite difficult for each of them, and they didn’t really interact with each other at all. In the end, the situation cleared up and the pictures turned out pretty good, says Monfort.
It’s easy to call the coincidence incredible. Monfort states that in 2007, no one could fully predict what Messi would achieve, let alone what the six-month-old Yamal would become.
– This hit is one in a million, a real lucky coincidence.
The lucky coincidence is one part of the growth of interest that young Lamine Yamal has achieved this summer in Spain and elsewhere.
The pride of the home village, teased by the national team mates
The biggest favorite is Yamal, of course, in his hometown. The young man who grew up in Mataro and its neighborhood Rocafonda, located 40 kilometers from Barcelona, is known by everyone. The entire village has stopped during the summer to admire the highlights of their upbringing in La Roja’s red and yellow game uniform.
Homeland pride can be seen on both sides. Several graffiti depicting the 16-year-old can be seen in Rocafonda. They are also often decorated with the number combination 304, which comes from the area’s zip code 80304. Yamal acknowledges Rocafonda when he scores, forming the last three numbers with his two-handed hand sign.
Lamal, who worked his way up from poor conditions to become FC Barcelona’s record-breaking youth star, has not only garnered the attention of those who follow the European Championship, but also the admiration of his teammates.
– What he does at the age of 16 should be illegal, playing with Yamal in both the club and national team Ferran Torres described earlier with a twinkle in the corner of his eye In an interview with The Guardian.
Amusing in itself was the German youth work law, which the German Bild previously highlighted during the European Championship, according to which Yamal’s playing in the evenings as the games progressed to the follow-on matches would be a violation of the country’s law. Germany then faced Spain in the quarter-finals and fell out of the title race, with Lamal as one of their chastisers.
– I’m not going to report him to the police until after July 14 (final day). I’ll let him help us win this tournament first, Torres continued to joke.
Winning Argentina, goalless Messi
So what is going on on the other side of the Atlantic on the other side of the picture that has emerged?
Argentina, led by Messi, has made it to the semifinals against Canada in the South American championship tournament. The reigning world champion and Copa America winner is a very strong candidate to renew his championship again.
Messi, on the other hand, has not managed to score once in the tournament played in the United States. According to the Argentinian media, the Inter Miami player is suffering from a groin injury on top of the deal and has looked human in many ways during his four matches.
Messi also failed in the quarter-final penalty shootout against Ecuador, after hitting the crossbar with a Panenka-style cross.
Familiar comparisons of the eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo with the EC competition performance have been understandable.
Teammates have offered, like Lamal in Spain, still praise for their captain.
– I see how late he stays after training to take care of himself so that he can continue playing with us here. Leo is like a big brother to us and he gives us so much emotional security, Rodrigo De Paul described the Ecuador match at the press conference.
When the picture from 2007 is viewed in the present moment, it gives a summary of the current situation as well. The youngsters have a long way to go to match their heroics, but with what they’ve shown at the European Championships and Copa America, it looks like they’re coming hard behind.
However, both, Messi and Yamal, have an equal chance for the championship.