Daiu Opamcano (21) dedicated himself to football and turned from an insecure teenager to a brake that all of Europe is about to chase • After the purposeful display against Atletico Madrid, the French stopper hopes to stop tonight with RB Leipzig the Paris Saint-Germain attack in the Champions League semi-final • Share Ascending

• Dayo Opmecano (left). Spectacular ability against Atletico

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  IPI

Until about three weeks ago Dayo Opmecano stood on the top shelf in the transfer window. Just put the money and take. It could be the economic effects of the Corona virus, maybe the high price tag of 60 million euros, maybe the young age, but the reality is that despite some explorations, no team was willing to spend that amount on the 21-year-old French stopper.

So Opmecano stayed in Leipzig, extended his contract until, 2023 and came with the team to Lisbon for the last eight Champions League tournament. One game later, there is no big team on the continent that does not want it - whatever the price.

So how does a player's stock skyrocket in such a short time? The answer: a perfect game in the Champions League quarter-final debut against Atletico Madrid. A game so good that Gary Lineker tweeted after it: "The best in the gap, spectacular with and without the ball", Luis Figo added: "A tremendous young player", and Jermaine Janas stated: "He is so good that it looks like he is playing against his friends".

Dayo Opmecano. Remove all doubts // Photo: AP

And really, making Diego Costa your friend is an impressive thing by all accounts. With power, speed, position, head play and going forward with the ball, the Leipzig stopper paralyzed the tough Spanish-Brazilian striker, and later did the same to Alvaro Murata.

He finished his great game with 100% success in tackles, 100% success in balls, 92% accuracy in dedication, touched the ball the most (99 times) and recorded the most distances (5). The title of Man of the Match was given to him unanimously, while at the same time many mouths remained open in the face of the spectacular performance that jumped the brakes of the brakeman.

Learn to speak

His full name is Daiutchencola Oswald Opmecano - named after his great-grandfather who was the king of a village in Guinea-Bissau, his parents' homeland - and is one of a string of promising young brakemen growing up in French football. But unlike many of them, Opmecano did not do the usual route, but spread wings along with Red Bull. After working his way through hard work through local groups in his hometown of Avro, Dayo arrived at Valencia at the age of 14.

All his coaches recognized his talent immediately, but they also noticed that the young man was suffering from severe dyslexia. I am illiterate, have difficulty speaking, and everything is reminiscent of a difficult childhood. "We built him a character and helped him with his education and personal life," the speech coach attached to him told FRANCE-FOOTBALL, "It bothered him a lot, but we were able to deal with it."

Naglesman. Learn Dayo a thing or two // Photo: AP

In fact, Valensine took care of many other things. She gave Opmecano the tools, the confidence and the stage to showcase his abilities to everyone. In, 2015 at a youth game in the suburbs of Paris, everyone came. Scouts from Arsenal, Manchester United, Milan and Juventus. There were "more scouts than players' parents," according to then-coach Frank Ticano. Opmecano reportedly closed at United, but another agent pulled over for Bayern and then pushed for Marseille. In the end, the 15-year-old chose Brad Salzburg, who paid the most: 2.2 million euros.

Break the wall

In retrospect, Opmecano could not have chosen better. Salzburg sent him on loan at the Lippering subsidiary, and after rubbing shoulders he returned to Salzburg and won a double. In January 2017 it was already upgraded to RB Leipzig. "I learned everything in Salzburg," he told the Bundesliga website. "I developed, I learned to go out with the ball and be more responsible. Even as a person I feel I grew up. I gained a lot from leaving France." And it's not that Germany was simple for him. Made its debut in front of the yellow wall of Dortmund; "I have never played in front of so many people in my life," he admitted.

Dayo Opmakano in concluding training. Who will be able to move it? // Photo: AP

Later he also encountered the wall of adaptation and the terrible wall of a knee injury. Beyond the tremendous willpower, it was Ralph Hazenhotel, Ralph Rangnick and Julian Naglesman, his coaches at Leipzig, who helped the Frenchman fax his abilities on goal. Opamcano devoted himself to training in a total way, learned what was right for him to do, and became, according to his friends, a "monster." As striker Yusuf Poulsen explained to: KICKER "I am relatively physical, tall and strong, and I can not move an inch."

The rare performance against Atletico brings Opamcano to the semi-finals against PSG in a new status. Until that game he was considered a great potential, but after that he had already become the one who was marked as the next big brake of world football. If this is what made him a show in front of Atletico's anemic attack, it's scary to think what would happen if he also stopped Mauro Icardi, Angel Di Maria, Neymar, and who might be his team-mate in the coming years - Killian Mbabane.