Capello holds up Yamal as mirror for Yildiz

Capello compared Juventus midfielder Yildiz to Barcelona's Yamal, praising both for bringing creative flair to modern football.

Fabio Capello drew a parallel between Juventus midfielder Kenan Yildiz and Barcelona's Lamine Yamal while presenting Yildiz with the Bulgarelli Award for best midfielder of the previous season. The 80-year-old Italian coach, who has managed Juventus, Milan and Real Madrid among others, used Yamal as a benchmark for the kind of imaginative, entertaining football he hopes Yildiz will bring to Juve.

Capello recalled how Yamal's brilliance at the 2005 Gamper Trophy, when Capello was Juventus manager, had impressed him so much he attempted to sign a young Lionel Messi to Turin. "He shows you things you wouldn't imagine: it's beautiful to see football that isn't boring," Capello said of Yildiz.

"We've taken imagination away from players, but he has it. Let's give young players back their imagination—Kenan will entertain us, he's Italy's Yamal."