Iconic manager Fabio Capello has lauded Barcelona’s latest wonderkid Lamine Yamal for his brilliant start to his career, but also claimed that he will not be as good as Lionel Messi when it ends.
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The Italian tactician has been at the helm of some of the world's biggest clubs and coached some of the game's greatest-ever players, with the likes of Paolo Maldini, Ruud Gullit, George Weah and Zlatan Ibrahimovic all having worked under the Pieris native.
While he is famous for winning Serie A and LALIGA titles, a moment he is also remembered for is being the opposition coach during what is perhaps regarded as Messi's breakout game.
During his tenure as Juventus boss, Capello was the opposition manager for the 2005 Joan Gamper Trophy before the start of the 2005/06 season, and after a brilliant performance for Barcelona, Messi was substituted off and greeted with the first of many standing ovations from the Camp Nou crowd.
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Yamal's Joan Gamper Trophy display against Tottenham Hotspur drew similarities to Messi's against the Bianconeri, but Capello believes the Spanish teenager will not emulate what the eight-time Ballon d'Or has done.
"I discovered Messi at the Gamper and 20-25 minutes into the game I approached Rijkaard and asked him to loan him to me that season. He was a genius," the 77-year-old said, as per Forbes.
"Lamine has a lot of quality and is very interesting, but he won't be a genius. Messi, Pele and [Diego] Maradona were the geniuses. [Cristiano] Ronaldo is very close there.
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"Cristiano is a great player, a great goalscorer, he won titles and the Ballon d'Or, but [Yamal] hasn't been great like Messi.
"He's a great footballer, but he's not a genius.”
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