Quite a welcoming committee was prepared on Monday for a star graduate of Barcelona’s famed academy, for the main headline-maker in Spanish football, for a serial record-breaker, as he clocked in for pre-season practice and various medical protocols.
And yes, there was some attention on Lionel Messi, too.
By claiming centre stage, thanks to his stunning display on his first start for Spain’s national team, 17-year-old Ansu Fati did Messi a bit of a favour, providing a distraction from the suffocating tension and gloom around Barcelona.
Messi has at last reported for duty at Barca after declaring his pessimism about the club and genuinely exploring plans to leave, which he has now reluctantly shelved, at least for a few months.
With Fati’s statement performance in the national jersey, Barcelona found a good news story, after two weeks of Messi melodrama. “He’ll go back home full of joy and I’m happy for him,” beamed Luis Enrique, the Spain manager, after Ansu had inspired the national team’s 4-0 victory over Ukraine in the Uefa Nations League.
Enrique, who gave Fati his Spain debut as a second-half substitute three days earlier against Germany, tends to dilute his praise with caution when speaking about the prodigy, but he lifted his foot off the brakes for a moment. “It’s not normal for someone of his age to have that sort of self-belief," said Enrique. "He still has to mature, but to dare to try everything he did on just his second cap … well!”
The moments of daring were many, and Fati started compiling them from kick-off.
He had won Spain a penalty within two minutes, after a dazzling run, and a neat feint to bamboozle his marker. He launched himself into an overhead kick, goal-bound until it was blocked. He won free-kicks in dangerous places. He combined, from his position wide on the left, intuitively with his overlapping full-back. He tried shots from ambitious distance. He scored Spain’s third goal with precision after a trademark cut inside onto his right foot.
That goal made Ansu the youngest man to ever score for Spain, a landmark he adds to the several he has achieved in a remarkable 12 months.
Just over a year ago, he became Barcelona's youngest scorer. In September 2019, he became the youngest player to start a match, and to score in a senior Liga fixture at Camp Nou. He turned 17 at the end of October. In December he set another record as the youngest scorer in the Champions League.
For most of what turned into a confusing and horribly unsuccessful 2019-20 for Barcelona, Fati was used as an impact substitute more than a starter, but, as he takes orders from his third different manager since he was first promoted to the senior side, he will hope for more responsibilities.
Ronald Koeman, who was given the coaching job shortly after the humiliating 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-final, is intent on rebuilding a side that was ageing and declining: Fati looks a marvellous antidote to those problems.
Fati has an ally in Messi, who was demonstrably appreciative and supportive of the Guinea-Bissau-born prodigy when Ansu made his club breakthrough a year ago.
Nobody understands better what it is to rapidly jump through the ranks from La Masia, Barcelona’s youth system, and to manage the hype than La Masia’s all-time greatest graduate. Messi made his first-team debut at Barca just under four months after his 17th birthday.
Not many know better than Messi the burdens of being likened, because of a rapid elevation, to Messi, either.
He witnessed the rise and plateauing of Bojan Krkic, a Barcelona debutant at 17 years and 19 days old. Bojan, now 30, went on to have a good career, though most of it would be spent away from Camp Nou.
More recently, Munir El Haddadi made a sudden, startling impact at Barcelona as an 18-year-old striker, and was accelerated into the senior Spain team within two weeks of his Liga debut in 2014. Munir never won another cap, and now plays for Sevilla, quite often coming off the bench.
Fati’s career prospects look more stellar than Bojan’s or Munir’s, but the next stage will be defined by his partnership with Messi, around whom Barca’s gameplan is designed. With the likely departure of Luis Suarez, Messi’s most productive striking partner through all his time at Barcelona, there is an opening.
As for Koeman, Ansu is both gift and challenge. Nurture him well, and the prospect of life after Messi could come to seem less alarming. Keep the wonderkid too long on the bench, and supporters may turn impatient.
RESULTS
Bantamweight:
Zia Mashwani (PAK) bt Chris Corton (PHI)
Super lightweight:
Flavio Serafin (BRA) bt Mohammad Al Khatib (JOR)
Super lightweight:
Dwight Brooks (USA) bt Alex Nacfur (BRA)
Bantamweight:
Tariq Ismail (CAN) bt Jalal Al Daaja (JOR)
Featherweight:
Abdullatip Magomedov (RUS) bt Sulaiman Al Modhyan (KUW)
Middleweight:
Mohammad Fakhreddine (LEB) bt Christofer Silva (BRA)
Middleweight:
Rustam Chsiev (RUS) bt Tarek Suleiman (SYR)
Welterweight:
Khamzat Chimaev (SWE) bt Mzwandile Hlongwa (RSA)
Lightweight:
Alex Martinez (CAN) bt Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR)
Welterweight:
Jarrah Al Selawi (JOR) bt Abdoul Abdouraguimov (FRA)
Brief scoreline:
Tottenham 1
Son 78'
Manchester City 0
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Real Madrid 1
Ronaldo (87')
Athletic Bilbao 1
Williams (14')
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
The lowdown
Badla
Rating: 2.5/5
Produced by: Red Chillies, Azure Entertainment
Director: Sujoy Ghosh
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Amrita Singh, Tony Luke
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Look north
BBC business reporters, like a new raft of government officials, are being removed from the national and international hub of London and surely the quality of their work must suffer.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
match info
Southampton 0
Arsenal 2 (Nketiah 20', Willock 87')
Red card: Jack Stephens (Southampton)
Man of the match: Rob Holding (Arsenal)
Results
Women finals: 48kg - Urantsetseg Munkhbat (MGL) bt Distria Krasniqi (KOS); 52kg - Odette Guiffrida (ITA) bt Majlinda Kelmendi (KOS); 57kg - Nora Gjakova (KOS) bt Anastasiia Konkina (Rus)
Men’s finals: 60kg - Amiran Papinashvili (GEO) bt Francisco Garrigos (ESP); 66kg - Vazha Margvelashvili (Geo) bt Yerlan Serikzhanov (KAZ)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
More from Armen Sarkissian
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
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List of alleged parties
May 12, 2020: PM and his wife Carrie attend 'work meeting' with at least 17 staff
May 20, 2020: They attend 'bring your own booze party'
Nov 27, 2020: PM gives speech at leaving party for his staff
Dec 10, 2020: Staff party held by then-education secretary Gavin Williamson
Dec 13, 2020: PM and his wife throw a party
Dec 14, 2020: London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey holds staff event at Conservative Party headquarters
Dec 15, 2020: PM takes part in a staff quiz
Dec 18, 2020: Downing Street Christmas party
Batti Gul Meter Chalu
Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5
The biog
Favourite car: Ferrari
Likes the colour: Black
Best movie: Avatar
Academic qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in media production from the Higher Colleges of Technology and diploma in production from the New York Film Academy
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group B
Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Eriksen 80')
Inter Milan 0
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