Outlier
Ansu Fati and how his past is shaping Barcelona's future.
Ansu Fati is an outlier. An outlier, in data, is a data point which is much larger or smaller than the rest. This 18-year-old has managed to establish himself for club and country at the age of 18. This article is about how his past has shaped him, and in turn, Barcelona's future.
In his book Outliers, Malcom Gladwell talks about how it's factors unrelated to the end product which make the difference between success and medicority. He talks about how luck is a big part of most people's success, for example how Bill Gates' school was one of the first in the country to get computers, or how Oppenheimer's upbringing gave him the very sense of leadership which brought him to lead the Manhattan Project. We see this everywhere, but fail to notice it. It's when we look at the past, that we understand how small of a chance it was for things to happen the way they did, either positively or negatively.
In August 2019, Barcelona were facing major injury issues, especially in attack. Due to the lack of wingers, right-winger Carles Perez started training more regularly with the first team and along with him, a 16-year-old kid called Ansumanne Fati who had recently been playing for the U19 side was called up to training. On 25th August, winger Carles Perez was substituted when Barcelona had a comfortable lead to give Ansu his senior debut. He had 12 minutes on the field, and these 12 minutes were the start of Ansu's legacy.
Now, November 2020 and Ansu is a regular starter for FC Barcelona at the age of 18, and a key player for the Spanish national team. His path so far has been a cummulation of many circumstances combining together perfectly. He's a hard working, down-to-earth, dedicated player. His coach Garcia Pimienta, now at Barça B, described him as a player who has the talent and the work ethic to make it big. This has been one of his cornerstones.
When at Sevilla, little Ansu would save his sandwich to eat later, and when he was asked why, he replied by telling them how where he's from, you don't eat today's food before ensuring tomorrow's food is secured. Another cornerstone of his is this sense of scarcity, which very likely contributed to him making the most of any chances he got.
These cornerstones, his dedication and his mind-set of making the most of what he has, along with the injuries which got him the call-up to first-team training, his performances at that time against PSV U19, Hertha Berlin U19 and others, and to cap it off, the fact that Barcelona had a 4 goal lead for him to make his debut and the talent he showed in it, all had to occur in this order for him to be where he is.
Now, Ansu has turned 18. No longer will he be neglected of the La Liga man of the match award due to age restrictions since the sponsor is a beer company. Ansu, for whom many opportunities aligned very well, took every opportunity that he got. A talent with frightening potential. No longer is it his time to stay in the wings (whereas, that's exactly where he might be on the field). It's time for Ansu to take center stage.