“Messi can win The Best award this year” – 365Scores Exclusive interview with Jordi Roura, the man who discovered Lamine Yamal
Barcelona is currently going through a shifting phase in the club’s history, during which a “changing of the guard” is taking place, whether in terms of the coach, the players, or the style of play, which is something that catches everyone’s attention.
Barcelona also attracts the attention of the entire world due to the talents that have emerged from the club’s academy “La Masia” during the past period, such as Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsi, Gavi, Pedri and others, and the success of the team’s coach Hansi Flick in employing them.
Therefore 365Scores conducted a special and extended interview with the Spaniard Jordi Roura, the former director of Barcelona’s academy, and the man who discovered Lamine Yamal, Gavi and many of the club’s talents, in addition to his work as an assistant to the late coach Tito Vilanova, and his temporary assumption of coaching Barcelona in 2013.
In his interview, Roura spoke about Barcelona’s current level, Hansi Flick’s era, the competition with Real Madrid, and of course the details of his signing with Lamine Yamal when he was only seven years old, his choices for the top 5 youth players and the best coaches in the club’s history, Lionel Messi‘s nomination for the 2024 “The Best” award, and some other things.
-What do you think of Barcelona’s current level?
At the moment the level of the team is incredible, performing at a very high level, and as always, we will have to see if they can maintain it throughout the season.
Do you think Hansi Flick was the best choice to coach Barcelona this season?
I think he surprised a lot of people, he adapts very well and, most importantly, in a very short time, he has managed to get the players to accept his ideas, which is always difficult, moreover, although he was not a local figure he had the courage to continue relying on players from La Masia.
-Who is stronger or more integrated between Barcelona and Real Madrid this season so far?
Based on what we have seen so far, Barcelona are superior to Real Madrid , they are able to act as a team and, as I mentioned before, their very young players absorb their concepts quickly, while Madrid are currently struggling to integrate all these exceptional players they have, so, as of today and based on what we have seen, Barça seem to be the better side. However, when you talk about these two great teams, everything can change in a short time.
-Who is the best coach who came to Barcelona over the past years or who you have been a contemporary of?
It is very difficult to choose just one, I have been fortunate to work and coincide with very important coaches, all of whom have left their mark on the club, from Johan Cruyff who was decisive in the transformation of the club, to Pep Guardiola and Tito Vilanova who marked a great era, or Tata Martino who took over the team in very difficult circumstances, or Luis Enrique who achieved another treble for the club, Ernesto Valverde as well, I think Barcelona have had great coaches, all of whom have contributed greatly to the development of football at the club.
-What caught your attention in Lamine Yamal that prompted you to sign him despite his young age and the similarity of almost all children in characteristics at that time?
When I signed Lamine Yamal he was 7 years old and at that age, it is very difficult to see the characteristics that these kids may have, but you can see things that make you think that they can become great players, and with him, in particular, there were situations, movements and some technical actions that he made that made me think that he was different from the rest, and fortunately, once we signed him his development was very good and confirmed my predictions that he could become an exceptional player.
-Can you rank the top 5 youngsters to come out of Barcelona throughout history?
This is very difficult because, fortunately, many exceptional players have emerged from La Masia after working on its methodology. However, the list is likely to include: Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol, Lamine Yamal and Gavi.
-Is there a young player who has recently been promoted to the first team who can become the new Messi as the fans hope?
I always say that no player should be compared to the best of all time, which is Messi, but it seems without a doubt that the one who can come close or resemble him is Lamine Yamal, but I insist that we should not compare anyone to Leo.
-What do you think of Messi and Lamine Yamal being nominated for The Best award this year?
Well, regarding Messi, there is nothing new to say. As long as Leo is active and playing, he can be nominated or win any award because, as I said, he is the best of all time. As for Lamine, what he’s showing is the great potential he has, the excellent season he is having, and that with time he can become a player who defines his era.
-What do you think about the news of Barcelona signing Liverpool star Mohamed Salah? Do you support this deal?
Barcelona is a team that always aspires to have the best players and Mohamed Salah is undoubtedly one of them, but I don’t know how true these news are, but he is undoubtedly a great player and useful to any team.
-Why didn’t you use your experience to work with another club since leaving Barcelona and what are your future plans?
It is difficult to go and join a new club, to start a project elsewhere after so many years in a club like Barcelona, after almost 25 years in the club, and having done different roles, I am currently on a break, and excited to start a new project related to football, especially in the field of talent development, where I am launching a project that interests me a lot, which is “BESTVERSION1”, and this is an online platform where we aim to share all the knowledge and experiences I have had throughout my career, and our goal is to bring the concepts and secrets applied in La Masia over the years to all players, male and female, these methods have been used before with exceptional players we mentioned such as Messi, Xavi, and current talents such as Lamine, Pau Cubarsi, Gavi, Balde, and my team will be in Abu Dhabi on December 8 to hold meetings and get to know the ecosystem of the football league/clubs.
