‘Off the charts’ – Eric Garcia on his link-up with Lamine Yamal at Barcelona
‘All I can do is adapt and try to help him shine’
Eric Garcia centre-back of Barcelona and Spain and Lamine Yamal right winger of Barcelona and Spain during the warm-up before the La Liga EA Sports match between Rayo Vallecano de Madrid and FC Barcelona at Estadio de Vallecas on August 31, 2025 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | NurPhoto via Getty Images Eric Garcia has been talking about what it’s like to play at right-back for Barcelona and how he links up with Lamine Yamal. The versatile Spain star has featured in a range of positions under Hansi Flick this season and has been used in central defence, right-back and in midfield.
Reports have suggested that Flick will use Eric primarily as a right-back next season , and he’s detailed how he works with Yamal when the two are in the starting XI together. “If Lamine has a one-on-one with the defender, I will hardly go up because I know he will dribble past him and do his thing. But when he is double or even triple marked, which has happened a lot this season, then I need to go there to add a new layer to the attack,” he told The Athletic.
“Since the first day we played together, we got along really well. I always try to adapt to him. If I’m the right-back, I try to have a quick chat with him before the game to know what he wants from me — if he prefers me overlapping, underlapping, if I have to wait behind him… whatever he senses is best.
“Because, besides his skill and dribbling, Lamine’s decision-making is off the charts. He has the intelligence to see what’s best in every game, so all I can do is adapt and try to help him shine. In training, he does things sometimes you really can’t believe.