My Impulse Trip to Watch Barcelona's New Young Soccer Star

By Phil Strauss

Ninety thousand people screaming the name of an 18-year-old at the same time is a sound you feel in your chest before you even understand what they are saying.

I had no idea what I was getting myself into with such an impulsive decision. My friend and I had nothing prepared for the weekend besides staying around Rome, our home base for study abroad, when it hit us that one of the biggest club teams in the world was going up against each other in Barcelona – FC Barcelona against Villarreal CF. No debate or careful budgeting, just one look that meant we had to go. A few hours later, we hopped on a plane to Barcelona. 

Seeing Camp Nou for the first time stopped me in my tracks. Pictures do not do it justice. The stadium rose out of the city, radiating a new world presence. As one of the largest stadiums in Europe, Camp Nou’s atmosphere is so powerful that it’s impossible to fully capture the noise in one place; it resonates far beyond the stadium walls, echoing throughout the entire city.

Once inside, I noticed something missing that American stadiums have. There was no giant Jumbotron dominating the experience, replaying every close call. As a fan, you had to actually watch the game. You would miss a play just by looking down at your phone. To me, it felt more intense. 

Lamine Yamal consistently remained the name on everyone’s lips, from the stands to the broadcast booth.

My friend and I repeatedly commented that we might be watching the best player we would ever see live. I was baffled knowing Yamal was only 18. I am 21-years-old sitting in the stands, but he was out there playing in front of nearly 100,000 people. 

From his first touch, it was different. Every time his foot touched the ball, the stadium leaned forward. Every time he slipped through two yellow shirts, the entire crowd gasped. You could see the fear in Villarreal every time he approached the box. Yamal’s stepovers, sharp cuts inside, and his sudden burst of speed left defenders reaching.

His first goal came after drifting inside from the wing, slipping between two defenders, and curling a shot perfectly into the top corner. From where we were sitting, you could see the ball rise and dip into the net. The stadium exploded as strangers grabbed each other while drinks flew into the air.

When Yamal completed a hat trick, the stadium lost control. Hats flew through the air, people shot to their feet, whilst my friend and I just laughed in disbelief that we were experiencing this with our own eyes. 

The referee blew the final whistle, making my heart full as I took in my surroundings. The sun started to set, casting light across the stands, as fans still chanted, Lamine Yamal. I ruined my vocal cords from yelling while my legs struggled to move after standing almost the entire match. 

I did not want to leave.

Studying abroad is meant to be about new experiences, moments you could never recreate back home. Standing in the biggest stadium in Europe, surrounded by people from all over the world, watching an 18-year-old tear apart Villarreal with each step he took will be carried within me forever.

It started as a spontaneous decision between two college students.

It ended as one of the greatest sporting experiences of my life.