This was Barça's celebration: the school gang goes to a party

Finals are about winning on the field, and celebrating afterward. Barcelona has a generation of players who are well-equipped in football and are no slouch when it comes to celebrating. Titles always need to be shouted out, danced to, and enjoyed in the moment. And the Copa del Rey , which could kick off a very productive end to the season, wasn't left out in the cold.

While on the pitch, Cubarsí, Pedri, Iñigo, Raphinha, Ferran Torres , and Dani Olmo, among others, are the ones who command the game, at parties, the masters of ceremonies are Balde, Araújo, Casadó, and even Ansu Fati, the most extroverted. It doesn't matter that some of them couldn't participate in the final.

"Since when do you shoot like that?" Pedri asks Koundé. "I had it in my pocket," says the scorer of the 3-2.

Lamine Yamal is so special that he belongs to that category of footballers who straddle both groups, with a festive spirit and leadership on the ball. In the headlines, the young winger becomes inseparable from a large portable speaker and is the king of fun. From there came all the music of Barcelona's early morning in Seville . The chimp-chimp-chimp of the speakers only stopped when Szczesny dared to play the piano upon arrival at the team hotel.

After providing assists for the first two goals , Lamine Yamal became the DJ of the mobile discotheque. He had already done so in Jeddah after the Super Cup, but also in Berlin after winning the Euros with Spain. But in the hours before, before arriving at the stadium, the 17-year-old had a conversation with Araújo that proved to be premonitory. “I was talking to Ronald in the hotel and I told him it didn't matter if they scored one or two goals because they can't beat us this year. And we've proven it,” he revealed on Barça One.

“I’m tired and I haven’t played, bro,” Balde tells Lamine Yamal in the middle of a mobile disco.

Lamine's self-confidence is unique, but to understand the communion that reigns in the Blaugrana team, you also have to see how Iñigo Martínez, one of the veterans, chatted with Flick and agreed to play at left back while Lewandowski, injured, kept giving instructions to the forwards who were on the field to defend their lead after Koundé's goal .

"Since when do you shoot like that?" Pedri laughed, laughing as he hugged the French defender. "I had it in my pocket," the scorer of the 3-2 explained, as if he were saving himself for a big occasion.

The celebrations have gone from having the children of footballers to having their parents and siblings come out.

At that moment, the party was on the pitch. In the midst of euphoria, Iñigo paraded around with a corner flag. Even more excited, Fermín, kneeling, hugged Dani Olmo. They both compete for positions, but they all want the best for Barça. Gavi didn't hesitate to hang from the crossbar and even carry a flag with the inscription "anti-Madridista." Marc Casadó took home a goal net as a souvenir, just like Piqué did in his day, while Coldplay's "Viva la Vida," the anthem of Guardiola's treble, was played over the PA system.

Back then, the celebrations were filled with young children, sons of the Blaugrana stars. Now, since Flick's children—who prefers to remain discreetly in the background with his wife—are so young, those who descend onto the pitch from the stands are fathers, like Cubarsí and Héctor Fort, or brothers, like little Keyne. It's a clear change of trend that sums up the era that's dawning. Delegate Carles Naval had a heartfelt remembrance for the late Dr. Carles Miñarro. But inside the dugout, youthful joy was unleashed. "Dance, dance, dance. Play some music so this doesn't stop," go the lyrics of an Ozuna song that was played. Something they hope will come true for the remainder of the season, when they're aiming for two more titles. Lamine Yamal, Balde, and Ansu Fati busted out the forbidden steps to the rhythm of Shake Body by Skales, while Gerard Martín and Casadó requested other types of songs. The youth revelry, always enlivened by urban sounds and reggaeton, was coming to an end, to the point where Balde, who couldn't play due to injury, confessed to Lamine, "I'm tired and I haven't played, bro."

Others couldn't keep up with their teammates. Araújo covered his eyes watching certain dances, while Olmo's soul was filled with a thought, "This is a school gang. What a school." It's no exaggeration. The locker room looked like a schoolyard. The gang went to party. Lewandowski, Iñigo, and Olmo, however, calmer, decided to have breakfast yesterday in the hotel garden with the Cup trophy at the top of their table. Today they're already training in preparation for Inter's visit.