New York [US], July 19:Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal meet for the first time on the football pitch in Sunday's World Cup final which serves as a reminder that the Argentina veteran and the Spain teenager share a extraordinary history dating back to 2007.
Back then, rising Barcelona star Messi was pictured bathing and cradling an infant Yamal in a photo shoot organized by Barcelona and their shirt sponsors, children's relief organization UNICEF, for a calendar.
Yamal's parents were invited via a raffle conducted by local paper Sport, the winners getting a professional photo shoot with a Barcelona first-team player.
The photos were kept under wraps until Yamal's father shared them on Instagram when Yamal had his international breakthrough at Euro 2024.
"It is a true miracle of destiny", Joan Monfort, who took the photographs, told the BBC.
"It is serendipity - when you find something extra special, so much bigger than you ever thought. If you wrote this in a film it would not seem possible."
Yamal quipped "I've grown a little since then" when he was recently reminded in an interview of the now-legendary photo shoot from December 2007.
Similar path The fact that Messi and Yamal were photographed together was sheer coincidence but they have taken similar paths en route to their meeting on the pitch.
Like his great idol, Yamal came through the famous Barcelona youth academy. Like the Argentine, he is a record breaker. And like Messi, who won the Champions League four times and the Spanish league title ten times, he wants to collect trophies with the Catalan club.
Yamal made his first-team debut for Barca at the age of 15. At 17, he became a European champion with Spain in 2024 as one of football's brightest rising stars, while also becoming the youngest player and youngest goalscorer in European Championship history.
Messi made his Barca debut at 17 and played there until 2021 before spending two years at Paris Saint-Germain and then moving on to Inter Miami.
Messi shines at World Cup For around two decades, Messi has shaped the world of football like no one else and he has impressively silenced the critics at his sixth World Cup during which he turned 39.
The eight-time FIFA World Player of the Year has scored eight goals and provided four assists to top the Golden Boot race. He can become tournament top scorer for the first time and is the the all-time top scorer at the World Cup with 21 goals.
When Argentina found themselves in trouble during the knock-out stages, Messi came to the rescue with goals or assists.
"It's crazy what we're experiencing right now," the veteran said after the dramatic semi-final comeback win against England. "Now it will happen as God wills."
"As long as he wants to, Messi will remain the best," Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said.
"Of course, there will come a time when he stops. But until then, he wants to stay the best." And until then, his teammates are more than willing to run a few extra metres for their idol. Messi is no longer the explosive dribbler he once was, at times almost strolling across the pitch. But he can still produce moments of magic with a flick of his ankle.
Yamal's big moment in the final? Sporting-wise, Yamal has not truly left his mark on his first World Cup with one goal and one assist so far.
Others have carried the European champions into the final: the outstanding defence including goalkeeper Unai Simon, five-time scorer Mikel Oyarzabal and playmaker Dani Olmo.
Yamal, who turned 19 on Monday, nonetheless carries the weight of an entire nation.
"Lamine Yamal's big day will still come at this World Cup," coach Luis de la Fuente said confidently before the semi-final victory over France.
Yamal appears unfazed by the attention and expectations and he knows that his dribbling skills can make the difference in Spain's possession- and control-based game, if only for a single moment.
Messi and mini-Messi In more ways than one, the Spaniard is a mini-Messi, and he may have saved the best for the final in their first direct duel.
Messi erased the final blemish on his career by winning the World Cup four years ago and finally shed the burden of being seen as Diego Maradona's potentially incomplete successor.
Yamal could after his meteoric rise call himself both a European and world champion while still a teenager.
One of them will miss out, but even then they still share the moment from in and around a bathtub close to 19 years ago.
Source: Qatar Tribune
