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The Wonderkid Who Came Out Of NOWHERE
Fermin Lopez is not like the rest. You see, from Iniesta to Xavi, from Messi to Lamine Yamal… La Masia produces players that are “touched by god”. Players with otherworldly levels of ball control , players who can spot passes from a mile away, players where you're like “There's no way he's human”... But Fermin? He was nothing like that. He’s never played years above his age group, he’s never been called up to Spain’s youth teams… hell, he’s rarely even been a consistent starter at the youth level… Yet here he is, 20 years of age, starting matches for one of the biggest clubs on the planet. How in the world has Fermin Lopez made it at Football Club Barcelona?
As he’d put it, “My life growing up was school, football, school, and football." Born in Andalusia, his father, although an avid Real Betis fan, was never very keen on the football thing. He wanted Fermin to focus on his studies instead. It was his uncle that got him into football and Barcelona, and once he started playing, it didn’t take his father too long to realize that his boy had a talent for the game. His father also realized he could use football as a reward for young Fermin applying himself to his studies. At 8, he’d join his local club El Campillo and within half a season he’d join Recreativo de Huelva before he’d join the club his father followed: Real Betis, and from ages 9-13, Fermin would be the top scorer of the club in each age group for the Balompie, even being the top scorer of the division in one of the seasons; all from the midfield. It was there he’d meet his future teammate and best friend, Gavi. Although he was a year younger, they’d see each other frequently at Betis, before Gavi made the move to Barca in 2015, a year before Fermin. Youth Coach Carles Martinez would come to visit him in early 2016, but after seeing how small he was he would say no. Though… Only a few months later, even though he had missed the La Liga promises tournament with chickenpox, Jordi Roura, the director of youth football, clearly following Cruyff’s principles, would come and overrule that decision, offering Fermin a place in La Masia. It wasn’t quite that easy though. Catalonia was over 1000 kilometers away from Andalusia, a 10-hour car drive. 13-year-old Fermin was living at the Masia all by himself, “There was one time... he had been in Barcelona for about ten days, school in Catalan, away from home, he would call me at seven in the morning and say 'I don't want to be there, I don't know anything'". I told him: "Tomorrow I'm coming for you". And Fermín López, at that precise moment, made a decision that changed his life: "No, wait, we'll talk about it later", and he stayed at Barca. Due to a stacked Infantil midfield of Marc Casado, Xavi Simons, Jorge Alastuey, and Txus Alba, Carles Martinez would retrain him into a #10. Although he would struggle with the transition from 7v7 to 11v11 football due to his stature, his Infantil A season was a major success. He’d win the Pichichi, and he’d earn a reputation as being one of the finest young playmakers in Spain. But his next season would not be quite as easy. Fermin would not grow much, and as he suited up as a Cadete, he would be so much smaller than everyone. It was difficult to play, he’d get battered by the opposition and he just could not compete physically with the others. Although he would still score 13 goals, that season would just introduce a recurring theme that just continued to get worse and worse. At 14, Fermin stood at well under 5’ tall, and 2018/19 would be the darkest season for him. He had lost his spot as a starter on the team, as he just couldn’t compete due to his height. He didn’t like training, he didn’t like playing it was just torture battling against guys so much bigger and stronger. The staff told him to be patient, he just had to keep on improving day in and day out, and eventually, the physicals would catch up to him, and his exceptional technical ability would shine… but it’s not easy for a 14-year-old boy who’s struggling for minutes, struggling for half decent performances just to stay patient and continue training hard. “There was a period before Christmas when I reached my breaking point. I couldn't bear it any longer, and the frustration was overwhelming. I shed many tears and went through a tough time. I tried to keep it to myself, but sometimes others noticed. I was down.” According to him, that was the closest he ever was to giving up. But he didn't, he persevered continuing to work hard, trusting the process, trusting that the patience was eventually going to pay off. He’d be renewed till 2022 that summer but it wouldn’t get any easier in the next season. He stood at exactly 5 '0 tall as a 15-year-old. These pictures speak for themselves. He would tally 0 goals all season, struggling for appearances. Tears were shed during