Starlet Yamal offers Barca a sliver of hope

BARCELONA — Teenage star Lamine Yamal is carrying the weight of expectation on his young shoulders, as Hansi Flick's Barcelona faces the unenviable challenge of dethroning a fearsome Real Madrid side as Spanish champion.

The German coach replaced club legend Xavi Hernandez at the helm and welcomed new arrival Dani Olmo last week, but last season's La Liga winner Madrid signed superstar French striker Kylian Mbappe earlier this summer.

The forward joins Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham and other star names to ensure Barcelona begins the season as a firm underdog to Los Blancos.

The Catalan giant won nothing last season and surrendered its Spanish crown in a deeply disappointing campaign, but 17-year-old Yamal's emergence shows there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Along with Olympic gold medal-winning centerback Pau Cubarsi, financially-hampered Barcelona will rely on its young stars to try and compete with the might of Carlo Ancelotti's Champions League winner.

Many believe Barcelona needs a left-winger and a deep-lying midfielder to put itself in a position to fight for silverware, but the club's economic struggles make those dreams unlikely after Olmo's arrival.

Flick's side beat Madrid in a preseason friendly during a tour of the United States, but was brought crashing down to earth on Monday by Monaco, which enjoyed a 3-0 win in the traditional Joan Gamper Trophy curtain-raiser at Barcelona's Olympic Stadium in their final friendly.

"We didn't play with our normal speed or normal combinations, we lost a lot of ball," said Flick after the chastening defeat.

"But, in the end, it is preseason. I know the team can play much better than it did today.

"We have five days now, and we will prepare them well for the next match against Valencia (Barca's La Liga opener)."

The German coach is hoping to transform the club's pressing game, but with pivotal striker Robert Lewandowski soon turning 36, there are doubts over whether he can achieve it.

Flick is further hampered by injuries to midfielders Pedri, Gavi and Frenkie de Jong, as well as centerback Ronald Araujo, which means he starts the season with an already depleted squad.

Return home

Barcelona is planning to return to its renovated Camp Nou stadium midway through the season, if building works stay on track, which will be a welcome boost for demoralized fans.

Although a club of Barcelona's size is always aiming to compete for silverware, expectations seem lower than usual in Catalonia.

Gone are the days when stellar names like Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar gave Barcelona the most fearsome attacking line in world soccer.

Instead, it was youngster Yamal who fans cheered for against Monaco, with Barcelona supporters' biggest roar of the night reserved for the moment the winger jogged down the touchline to warm up.

Yamal, who made his Barca debut at 15, was a vital figure in Spain's Euro 2024 triumph this summer, and has taken to elite soccer like a duck to water.

No challenge has appeared too daunting thus far for Barcelona academy starlet Yamal, leading to inevitable comparisons with Messi.

With Sergi Roberto departing after 14 years in the first-team squad, Marc-Andre ter Stegen takes the armband as Barcelona captain.

"I hope the fans are with us all year, because many good things are ahead of us," said the goalkeeper after the Monaco defeat.

"Let's hope (that) was an accident. It's a good warning, and let's hope that in a few days we'll be better."

If Barcelona is to be able to compete with Madrid this season, that needs to be the case.

AFP