Eduardo Camavinga: the teenager who dismantled Verratti, Kante, Rodri...

"They didn't always burden me with stories about daily problems. But as I grew up, I realized what they were struggling with. I didn't always have to see it. I look positively at everything that has happened to me in my life. Because I know what we went through. And that's why I will always be grateful to my parents. Always. Thanks to them, I am what I am today. "

This is precisely what Eduardo Camavinga said exactly two months ago in an interview with OneFootball, remembering his difficult childhood. And before anyone says the usual "it wasn't easy for me either", stop for a moment and listen. Camavinga, the child of Congolese parents, was born in a refugee camp in Angola. Then his family, which has five brothers and sisters, moved to France, but the house where they lived was burned down. Eduardo was 11 years old. He lost everything.

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Eight years later - the world is under his feet. All those stories that he was pushed into the Rennes' first team as a 16-year-old just to make a lot of money from some of the super managers - everyone chased him, from late Mino Raiola to George Mendes, only to be caught by Jonathan Barnett - they have fallen into the water after the current season in Madrid.

Today, everyone admires Florentino Perez for how he managed to bring Camavinga for only 31,000,000 euros. And if it weren't for the crown, there would be over 50,000,000, because Eduardo was chased by Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United, above all, but also Bayern, Tottenham, Arsenal ...

And everyone admires, even more, the way in which Camavinga carried all the weight of the Royals' jersey. In the midfield comprised of Casemiro, Luka Modric and Tony Kroos - the best midfield trio in the last five years for sure - Camavinga not only fought for his time ahead of Dani Ceballos and Isco but also seems to have accelerated the retirement of at least one of the three starters.

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In the return leg of the Round of 16 against Paris Saint-Germain, he replaced Kroos in the 57th minute with the Saints leading 1-0. An incredible hat-trick by Karim Benzema followed, but it should be said that Camavinga's appearance in the second half changed the rhythm of the match and brought some previously non-existent energy into Real's game. And all that while he was fighting with Verratti and Pereira, not to mention he neutralized those heavyweights in the Saints forward...

In the return leg against Chelsea, the Blues had a 2-0 lead, but with Camavinga comming in for Kroos, the things on the pitch changed thoroughly again, and Los Blancos' game got the tone and colour. Even N'Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic and Mason Mount could not keep up with that pace.

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And then the mighty Manchester City, capable of hiding the ball from Houdini himself. The visitors had complete domination and the complete inability of Real to make up for the minus of two goals. This time, Camavinga replaced Modric in the 75th minute, when the already more offensive Rodrygo and Marco Acensio failed to shift the focus of the game to City's half of the field. Suddenly, the magic disappears from Ilkay Gundogan's feet, Rodri doesn't look calculated anymore, and Bernardo Silva's ball becomes slippery ...

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Let's put it in order...

Minute 90: Perfect cross to Benzema, who assists Rodrygo for 1-1

Minute 91: Seizes the ball in the middle to start the action for 2-1

Minute 95: Launches counter-attack, runs 30 meters and passes it to Fede Valverde, who returns the ball to Karim Benzema before the penalty for Real Madrid

And all that - and much more - from a guy who is only 19 years old! And who had his difficult moments in Madrid. Only a few days after the heroic display against Chelsea, Ancelotti took him out at the halftime of the La Liga derby against Sevilla, and only after the referee booked him instead of sending him off due to a ferocious tackle on Antonio Martial. For the same reason, Ancelotti used to take him out four times this season at halftime. Carletto did not dare to trust the youngster he won't be shown a red card in the second half.

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Here we return to the beginning of the text. Camavinga is used to life problems and does not give up. Camavinga learns from them.

"The first lesson you learn as a footballer is that this game does not forgive mistakes. You can be at the top and very quickly at the bottom. You have no right to make mistakes. I am very strict with myself. Even if I played a good game, but I made any mistake, I will keep it in my head. And then I'll talk about it, or I'll watch a video of the game myself. Today, some applications allow you to see it all, but I prefer to watch the video myself and then talk about everything with the manager. But I watch the game alone. "

And he's obviously looking at the right things. Mistakes, not good moves. It can serve as a lesson to all young football players. Life is not always Instagram. Sometimes you need to break your back.