Often in search of beautiful stories through football, romantics would be well inspired to turn to Catalonia, a refuge where it is appropriate to satisfy their narrative appetite in recent months. In addition to the very young Marc Guiu, 17 years old and scorer 23 seconds after his debut with Barça six days ago, or Lamine Yamal, the youngest player in history to score in La Liga at only 16 years old,
Fermín López is also building a great story with his training club, where he has just extended his contract until 2027. Aged 20, the young Spanish midfielder is gaining weight and is one of the nice surprises for Xavi’s Barça at the start of the season. “I’m very happy for him, he works really well and knows how to put his qualities at the service of the collective. Personally, I love it. If he believes in himself, he can be a Barça player for many years.”praised the Catalan coach in recent days about his player.
If he distinguished himself again this week by being a decisive passer then scorer against Shakhtar in the Champions League – a performance which earned him the man of the match trophy -, the Andalusian by birth was initially not scheduled to find itself in the deep end, at least not this season. Coming from the 2003 generation like Alejandro Baldé or Xavi Simons, Fermín was never detected as a standout talent in the lower categories – he had no selection with the Spanish youth teams before October -, where players like Gavi or Aleix Garrido, born in 2004 but often outclassed, attracted the light more naturally. Carles Martinez, today coach of TFC and formerly of Barça, as well as Jordi Roura, director of football for the club’s youth teams, have greatly contributed to the emergence of the player, long left aside due to his behind others physically, as reported by Sport. Last summer, it was Barça Athletic coach Rafa Marquez who requested his departure on loan. But with patience, application, and iron-clad obstinacy, Fermin was finally able to come back and thwart the odds, even though he had recently confessed to having gone through a period of depression.
His double against Real Madrid in pre-season turned everything upside down
Loaned last season to Linares, resident of Primera RFEF, third order of the Spanish championships, the 20-year-old midfielder shined and finished top scorer for his club in the league (12 goals). If he then returned to Barça with the ambition of establishing himself as a starter with the reserve team, Fermín el pequeñin (“the little one” in Catalan, his nickname) quickly had to revise his objectives upwards. Impressive during training sessions this summer, he was taken by Xavi to participate in the American tour of the professional group. Several club players were particularly complimentary towards him, like the 2021 Golden Boy, Pedri: “I love her so much. I had never had the pleasure of playing with him and I see that he has a lot of courage and above all a lot of quality”.
He wasted no time in displaying the quality in question to the general public. Almost ambidextrous, Fermín had indeed stunned his world during a resounding victory (3-0) during a pre-season match against Real Madrid. Launched by Xavi at the end of the match, he hit the nail on the head with a powerful left-footed strike, before becoming a decisive passer for Ferran Torres five minutes later. The trigger which then conditioned a dazzling trajectory. “I see personality in him, he is twenty years old but he is hungry and that is very important. When I see that in training, I tell myself that I have to give him minutes. We trust him. That’s football”, Xavi had warned. Scorer in La Liga against Mallorca this season, then in the Champions League this week against Shakhtar, Fermin could have the opportunity to repeat against Real Madrid on Saturday. An opponent that he now knows well enough and who could act as a direct gateway to the Spanish selection, where Luis de la Fuente is watching his performances. If at the moment it still seems to be locked, Fermin has already shown that he has the recipe to break everything down.
