Never in his wildest dreams did Joan Monfort — the photographer who snapped this now-famous picture of Lionel Messi bathing baby Lamine Yamal for a United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) photoshoot calendar in 2007 —imagine that the two footballers would one day face off in a Fifa World Cup final.
The shot was taken at a time that Unicef, which provides humanitarian and developmental assistance to children around the world, had a partnership with Spanish giants Barcelona.
Fast forward 19 years later, the two footballer are meeting again, in quite different circumstances. It’s come down to Spain, the European champion, to face the formidable world title holders Argentina.
King Messi and prince Yamal. Or Messi and his infantino.
Tonight, the world will witness the two superstars whose prodigious talents were nurtured in Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy, go up against each other in global football’s greatest match — the grand finale of the sport’s top-tier tournament, during which the baby that Messi bathed could stop him from back-to-back glory in the game’s holy grail.
Number 19
Megastar of the show, Messi was 19 during the photoshoot and Lamal just turned 19 on Monday; and they have a date with destiny today on July 19 under the MetLife Stadium lights in New York.
Messi’s eight goals and four assists have been central to Argentina’s charge to the final. He will captain his country and attempt to assist the South Americans join Italy (1934 on home soil and 1938 in France), and Brazil (1958 in Sweden and 1962 in Chile) as only the third country to successfully defend the World Cup.
His headline-grabbing and record-setting performances ended the GOAT debate during a North American competition that seemed a final nail in the coffin and signal a sombre sign-off of his greatest adversary, 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo, who retired after captaining his Portugal to a last-16 exit.
In the twilight of his career, the mercurial Messi has been masterful, resembling a demon driven by a desire to defy father time with match-deciding performances belying his 39 years.
Argentina relied on Messi’s individual rescue of them from sticky situations, chiefly the 11-minute goal blitz in overturning a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 last-16 defeat of Egypt.
Spain’s teenage prodigy
There was a repeat of the script in the 2-1 come-from-behind semifinal eclipsing of England, with Messi providing an assist for Enzo Martinez to equalise, and a cross from which Lautaro Martinez netted the winner during what was the latest instalment of the football version of the Falklands War.
At the gates of glory and dreams of a title defence stands the young Lamal. By his lofty standards, Spain’s teenage prodigy has not set his first World Cup on fire.
That photo is etched in my soul. It was a miracle back then and continues to be 20 years on. It was like writing history before it happened. Nobody could have imagined that things would pan out as they have
— Joan Monfort, photographer
But he will seek to gift himself the best belated birthday present: lifting the World Cup trophy like Andres Iniesta did for his country’s sole triumph in 2010.
Lamal’s pace, passing and ability to beat opponents has been sacrificed for the cause of the collective.
After opening with a goalless draw against spirited debutants Cape Verde, Spain’s path past Saudi Arabia, Uruguay, Austria, Portugal, and Belgium was paved by teamwork which has been an emblematic feature of their approach and was more pronounced when Luis de la Fuente’s men felled favourites France with their frightening Kyllian Mbappe-led foursome firepower in the last four.
“Today we faced one of the best national teams in the world, but in front of them they had the best team in the world. That is the difference. We’re feeling unbeatable,” said De la Fuente after the 2-0 elimination of the 1998 and 2018 champions.
Final fit for royalty
Of the final, he said: “If you want to win something great, you must be willing to make sacrifices. I don’t believe in the idea that finals are there to be won. They are there to be enjoyed.”
A final fit for football royalty: a world first Messi-Lamal showdown. A Spain sans a Real Madrid player are one match away from their prince potentially dethroning a king who inadvertently anointed him as his successor as the next superstar of the sport.
“It was no coincidence, it was a miracle,” asserts the man who captured the famous image for the Fifa website.
“That photo is etched in my soul. It was a miracle back then and continues to be one 20 years on. It was like writing history before it happened. Nobody could have imagined that things would pan out as they have.
“Messi has gone on to become one of the top three athletes in history, and Lamine was a standout talent at 16, won the Euro at 17 and is going to compete against Messi in a World Cup final at 19. It’s extraordinary.”
Controversial officiating
Which way will the wind blow? Conspiracy theorists are convinced controversial officiating has assisted Messi and Argentina advance.
Indeed, things could have been different had referee Szymon Marciniak and VAR not played blind to Messi’s red card-deserving studs-up tackle on Algeria defender Aïssa Mandi 30 minutes into the 3-0 victory, where Messi scored two of his eight goals.
That offence aside, the man nicknamed “La Pulga” (The Flea) has provided empirical evidence that he deserves to finish the tournament the way he started it, as a world champion.
Baby Yamal has many years ahead of him to follow in the footsteps of his bather at both Barcelona and international level.
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