Not all of the Euro 2024 revelations that emerged from Barcelona’s academy and coincidentally seem to be enjoying birthdays this month are Lamine Yamal.

Indeed, Yamal’s performances have not surprised many in his home country of Spain.

Given the caliber and maturity of his first La Liga season, it was widely anticipated that the 16-year-old winger would handle this most recent challenge with grace.And he has, smashing records and leaving a memorable goal to adorn Tuesday’s semi-final against France.

But not many predicted Marc Cucurella to be the tournament’s best left back.

tаckling tenаciоusly, remоving dаnger, аnd eliminаting the different threаts thаt skilled wingers like Jаmаl Musiаlа аnd оusmаne Dembele pоse. chаrging Nicо Williаms’ left flаnk frоm tоp tо bоttоm.

Still bitter after getting away with a handball when Spain eliminated the hosts in the quarterfinals, his hair was bouncing all over the place in defiance of the Germans who booed him brutally for every touch he made against the French in Munich.

receiving recognition from supervisor Luis de la Fuente, who steadfastly maintained faith when it would have been simple to do so.

Cucurella has had a difficult few years, but in the last four weeks, he has begun to resemble the player Manchester City and Chelsea fought for his signature in 2022.

When Brighton requested that City begin the bidding at £50 million, City withdrew, and when Chelsea’s new American owners agreed to pay £62 million, everyone laughed heartily.To help balance the books, they already had Lewis Hall, a talented left-sided academy graduate who was eventually sold to Newcastle, and Ben Chilwell at Stamford Bridge.

After that, Cucurella battled injuries and was forced into various roles within various systems as Stamford Bridge’s managers came and went, causing them to fall in the Premier League.

аs а result, he wаs singleԀ оut by irаte fаns whо were wаtching their herо Ԁie in frоnt оf them.In his two seasons at Chelsea, he only started 41 games. His 21 outings during the previous season were most noteworthy due to the 10 yellow cards he received.

All of which did not prevent De La Fuente from selecting him ahead of Alex Grimaldo, who was maybe anticipated to start following a strong season at Bayer Leverkusen, when injuries sidelined Alejandro Balde and Jose Gaya.

Cucurella made an impressive debut against Croatia at the beginning of the tournament and has maintained his position ever since as Spain defeated Italy, the hosts Germany, and the pre-tournament favorites France.

The youthful, explosive wingers Yamal and Williams, who are allowed to flash offensively and are not subjected to excessive defensive pressure, are counterbalanced by the fullbacks’ defensive prowess.

Although Fabian Ruiz and Rodri provide midfield cover, the full backs are supposed to focus on the defensive facets of their roles. Cucurella is a better fit for this role than Grimaldo is, and possibly even better than those absent due to injuries.

When De La Fuente speaks in public, he almost always brings up his extensive knowledge of the players he coached through Spain’s young divisions, from the Under-17s to the U21s, as well as the team he guided to the Olympics in Tokyo.

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Cucurella is one of seven members of De La Fuente’s Spanish Olympic team who won silver in 2021. Having played just once for the main team at Barcelona, he had spent the first of his two prosperous years at Getafe on loan.