The data that 'portrays' De la Fuente and his management of Lamine Yamal's playing minutes

Once again, the eternal debate arises about whether the management of the national team coach, Luis de la Fuente, with the players from FC Barcelona who are at his service in the national team, is sufficiently optimal to prevent them from getting 'injured' due to an excessive load of minutes. The first events that began to support this theory were those of Pedri González and Pablo Gavi, but the one gaining more strength recently is that of Lamine Yamal. This issue is gaining attention.

The case of the 17-year-old right winger from Barça is becoming particularly striking because, after the match against the Danish national team (1-0), corresponding to matchday three of the UEFA Nations League where Lamine Yamal played the full 90 minutes, he ended visibly affected physically. A condition that was later diagnosed as a muscular overload due to fatigue, requiring the forward to return to Barcelona.

At the moment, it is uncertain whether the injury will sideline Lamine Yamal from regular competition with FC Barcelona, who will return to action on Sunday, October 20, against Sevilla in LaLiga EA Sports. However, what is clear is that this once again puts the national coach in the spotlight, especially when considering his response to criticisms regarding the excessive use of certain players who already have significant activity in their clubs as key pieces.

The study that Luis de la Fuente relies on to 'squeeze' his players

It is important to note that on more than one occasion, Luis de la Fuente has mentioned a study by the CIES Football Observatory, an organization linked to FIFA, to justify the idea of 'squeezing' certain players too much, an issue that the coach does not see as a problem: ""The national team accounts for 3.5 percent of the total calendar, as reflected in a FIFA report," defended the Spanish coach. However, in the case of Lamine Yamal, the numbers from the two seasons he has played contradict this argument supported by CIES, which focuses on the last 12 years and covers 40 competitions worldwide.

1⃣st report of the @CIES_Football Summer Series ⛱️ on Match Calendar & Player Workload available with 2012-24 analysis & projections for 2024-28 🤓 While #EURO2024 & #CopaAmerica2024 nearing the end, worth reminding that national teams only account for 3.2% of all minutes played… pic.twitter.com/6eXSKHtZVS

— CIES Football Obs (@CIES_Football) July 11, 2024

Lamine Yamal exceeds (by far) these percentages

For instance, in the 2023/24 season, his first season in elite football, Lamine Yamal played a total of 50 matches with FC Barcelona (2957 minutes), a number that would increase to 64 games, 14 more, if we add the seven Euro matches, four qualifying matches for that tournament, and three friendlies, adding a total of 893 more minutes of action, reaching a total of 3850 minutes of play. Looking at these numbers, his minutes with the national team in that season are far from representing 3.2%, rather they are more like 23.1%.

So far in the 2024/25 season, the scenario hasn't changed much, as with Barcelona, Lamine Yamal has played a total of 11 matches and 879 minutes of play. With the national team, including three UEFA Nations League matches, he has accumulated 225 minutes, resulting in a total of 14 games and 1104 minutes of play. Once again, looking at the numbers, they are far from the estimated 3.2% by CIES, reaching 20.3%, further destabilizing any research and widening the debate on whether the management of Lamine's minutes with the national team is the most optimal, is it really?