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W ith an average age of 25.5 years , Barça finished the season with the fourth-youngest squad in the league and with the youngest player of the season ( Lamine Yamal ), who played more than 2,700 minutes and missed only one of the 38 matches of the season . Beyond their immense talent , for Lamine , Cubarsí , Fermín and company , the moments of entry and consolidation in which Xavi Hernández worked with them were key . LAMINE YAMAL In the most extraordinary case , that of Lamine Yamal , he was given the ideal length of time to consolidate his place in the first team . After a meteoric rise that left the international football scene in awe , he was protected both physically and mentally . He made his debut against Getafe and went on to appear in the starting line-up in
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the next four matches . An outstanding performance led him to the Spanish senior national team , jumping two categories in one fell swoop . Normally , in cases like this the player ends up being unsettled . But that didn ’ t happen because , just after that , Xavi shielded him by lowering his prominence but at the same time showing confidence in him . He did not return to the starting line-up until five matches after his international debut ( 8 September 2023 ), but he did appear in all the games ( 119 minutes out of a possible 360 ). The protection of the young footballer from Mataró by the coach from Terrassa has not only been mental but also one of a physical and footballing nature . This is exemplified by Lamine Yamal ’ s positional well-being always being prioritised over that of any other attacker . In the Barça-Betis on matchday 5 , when Raphinha , Ferran and João Félix were fit , Xavi Hernández tried to switch him to the left wing and the experiment lasted only 30 minutes . All in all , he had just 18 |
In the two and a half years that he coached FC Barcelona , Xavi Hernández gave 16 of the squad ’ s players their debuts in official matches . |
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