Ansu Fati X-ray: the keys to the phenomenon

Still a minor, a condition that does not reduce his irreverent and abundant football flow one bit, Ansu Fati has been meant as one of the most amazing appearances of this last decade. His formidable start to the season, both in Barcelona and in the National Team despite his less notable performances in recent games, exceeds any expectations and gives him the title after a first campaign in which he already accepted an important responsibility. Under extraordinary pressure, with a record from the first team and a termination clause of 400 million euros, Ansu Fati handles himself with an almost unknown naturalness on the field. From the dribble (40 good ones) to the goal (11 for Barça in just 20 shots on goal) you can see in him the kind of talent that differentiates the phenomena from the rest. The scope of the media predictions that surround his figure regarding his young age does not affect the performance of a footballer that can be analyzed from the numbers as from his impact on the game. His records of precocity, statistics and successes guide an explosion that leaves an amalgam of figures and sounded performances in a strangely short period of time.

The competition just started this season, the projection of Ansu Fati aims to be irrepressible. He has just been designated as the best player of last September in the League. He also shares, along with Morales (Levante), Aspas (Celta), Maxi Gómez (Valencia), Gerard Moreno and Alcácer (Villarreal), the lead in the table of top scorers with three goals. But it is not about recognition or a purely numerical question, although now it has at least two games (Getafe and Real Madrid) to take a bite out of a record that dates back to the domestic tournament since the 1933-34 season (the 11 Pablo Pombo's goals for Racing Santander before he turned 18). The challenge that is presented to him requires his consolidation both in Barcelona and in the National Team. It is not expected to discover if Ansu is going to be a great footballer, a fact that sends few doubts right now, or a true star for years. The essential question centers on how to manage the rotundity of your game in an ever-sensitive ecosystem for young prodigies. The tutelage of its route is essential, even more so in a Barcelona and a National Team that needs new football references that also help to promote the previous ones.

Koeman and Luis Enrique follow the same mode of action. Advice and justified criticism are combined with logical praise. “He is only 17 years old and he will have a great future, but he must improve things. Sometimes he lacks a little concentration,” Koeman said after Ansu Fati's recreational recital against Villarreal. “You have to understand that he will play bad games at the time. That self-confidence is not normal at that age. We will manage it so that it helps the team, “said Luis Enrique after his dazzling match against Ukraine. In the previous friendly match against Portugal, he delivered a similar message:” We would do him a disservice if we think that he will solve all the games for us. He needs calm around him. “The words of Koeman and Luis Enrique are on the same line and pursue the correct administration of the Ansu Fati phenomenon, as unforeseen a year ago as it seems unstoppable now.