By Alex Roberts
Lamine Yamal isn’t the one 18-year-old sensation they’ve on their books; Vicky López truly scored another league purpose than her males’s group counterpart, ending 2024/25 with 11 targets and two assists kind her 37 video games throughout all competitions.
López has been surrounded by hype all through her brief profession. At simply 15-years-old she was handed her debut within the Spanish topflight for former membership Madrid CFF (not that Madrid), changing into Liga F’s youngest ever participant, after racking up 60 targets in 17 video games within the 2020/21 youth league.
Madrid CFF are well-known for bringing by means of a few of the finest younger expertise the Spanish ladies’s sport have. In contrast to many, they aren’t hooked up to a males’s group, however their youth sides have competed with loads of boys, nonetheless successful every thing on supply.
Within the Segunda Infantil, a contest for 12 and 13-year-olds, they received the championship one yr, scoring a large 269 targets, probably the most of any group within the Madrid Comunidad, together with Actual Madrid, Atlético Madrid or Getafe.
She was the undisputed star of Spain’s U17’s as they reached the ultimate of the Euros after which went on to win the World Cup in 2022, regardless of being the youngest member of the squad, scoring two targets and offering one help in her six appearances, choosing up the Golden Ball alongside the way in which.
By the point her 16th birthday got here round, Barcelona got here knocking and he or she made the transfer. López turned one of many first women to stay and practice at their well-known La Masia academy after it opened its doorways to ladies again in 2021, the place she’s understood to have grow to be shut mates with Yamal.
They knew that they had secured an actual gem. Even at such a younger age, it was straightforward to inform she had elite degree qualities. López is fast and the ball sticks to her right-foot, making her considerably of a serial dribbler.
Taking part in primarily as a right-winger, her potential to learn the sport permits her to drop somewhat additional again into central midfield, the place she will fill in and study from Putellas and Bonmatí. It’s the kind of state of affairs any younger star would dream of being in.
Barcelona’s plan was to ease her in, retaining her within the B group, who play within the second division, however López had different concepts. She broke one other document, changing into the youngest participant to attain for Barca in Liga F on the ripe previous age of 16 years, 5 months and 27 days.
She’s every thing Barcelona followers love from a winger, the enjoyment on her face when she performs is clear, once more, she’s very like Yamal in that regard. López has handled the huge weight of expectation on her shoulders by doing what she does finest, having enjoyable.
Breaking into this Barcelona beginning eleven is arguably one of many hardest issues to do in soccer, and López nonetheless has some strategy to go. The lady in her means is Caroline Graham Hansen, among the finest gamers of her technology.
Graham Hansen is taller, extra combative than López, she is Norwegian in any case. López provides coach Pere Romeu a completely totally different possibility together with her tips and shut management, however when the time comes, contemplating the 12-year age hole between the 2 gamers, he has a ready-made substitute.
López’s effective kind final season earned her a call-up to Montse Tomé’s squad for this summer time’s Euros. Unsurprisingly she’s the youngest member of the group, and the one teenager, with fellow Barca ace Salma Paralluelo somewhat forward of her at 21.
Coming into the event following a disappointing Euros marketing campaign again in 2022, Spain is undoubtedly one among, if not the, favorite to win it outright. Present holders England and France are their shut competitors, though neither have began fairly in addition to the Spanish.
Their first sport of Group B was towards Portugal in Bern, the geographical and political centre of host nation Switzerland. López was handed her first begin of the competitors, coming in for Barcelona teammate Bonmatí, who was rested, as one of many two quantity tens.
She didn’t take lengthy to make an impression. Veteran striker and NWSL high purpose scorer Esther González opened the scoring after simply two minutes earlier than López doubled their lead within the seventh with a faucet in.
The end was straightforward, but it surely was her motion that made it. López took the ball down expertly after a dismal headed clearance from the Portugal defender, laying it off to Ona Batlle, who then handed it to Arsenal’s Mariona Caldentey.
López discovered herself precisely the place she wanted to be with a intelligent run, latching on to Caldentey’s low cross to make it 2-0 from close-range. Her sport ended within the 81st minute, changed by first-choice Bonmatí having accomplished 100% of her dribbles (5/5), created three probabilities, and 46/52 (88%) of her passes.
Tomé trusted López sufficient to offer her a second begin towards Belgium, and once more, she grasped it with each arms. She drifted off into acres of area, utterly catching the Belgium defender out earlier than gently passing the ball to Putellas who thundered it dwelling.
She now has two purpose contributions from her three video games. Bonmatí was again into the primary group as Spain took on Italy of their ultimate group sport, and it’s prone to keep that means for the remainder of the event because it enters its latter levels.
López will nonetheless have loads of probabilities to play over the subsequent couple of weeks. As an possibility off the bench, together with her abilty to attract defenders out of place and slip a teammate in with a single contact, there aren’t many higher, regardless of her younger age.
No matter occurs this summer time, López will stay arguably the most effective younger expertise ladies’s soccer has. First Europe, then the world.
(Cowl picture from IMAGO)
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