The main dual role on the road to winning La Liga and Champions League last season is proof that the 21-year-old striker Vicinius Junior has matured, playing a pivotal role in Real Madrid’s conquest ambitions.
Compared to Barca’s massive transfer summer, Real is strangely quiet. After Kylian Mbappe’s “turn of the car” in the early summer, the Spanish Royal team only bought midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni, took center-back Antonio Rudiger for free and made no other moves on the transfer floor. But not so that Real is underestimated when starting the journey to defend the championship in La Liga and the Champions League from today. Besides Karim Benzema – the number one candidate for the 2022 Golden Ball, the strength and prestige of the champion at Real also comes from the fact that they own Vinicius Junior – the most talented young attacking star in the world.
Vinicius was criticized for his individual play, blunt finishing, and was turned away by Benzema himself in attack. But the young Brazilian striker has continuously improved to become the main dual, with Real to make one of the best seasons in the club’s history in the 2021-2022 season.
Talent does not wait for age
When The Athletic returned to his hometown of Vinicius in Brazil, those who had followed him since he was a boy still vividly remember the young player who once made his peers go crazy. According to Carlos Abrantes – Vinicius’s coach at the time, the rival’s parents often joked that the only way to catch up to this child star was to ride a motorbike.
Vinicius grew up in Sao Goncalo in the vast Rio de Janeiro. This is not a wealthy area, but the boy still had a full and happy childhood. Vinicius started playing football at the local school at the age of six. This is one of 120 scouting branches of the top football team Flamengo. It was here that he met his first teacher, Abrantes.
“Vinicius immediately stood out from the rest thanks to his dribbling and speed. When the team played in tournaments, the opponents often tried to tutor him, but never succeeded. Vinicius was too fast, too direct. stood out and made it impossible for anyone to follow. He was unstoppable,” recalls Abrantes.
At the age of 10, Vinicius joined Flamengo’s youth system. Interestingly, in his application, he describes himself as a left-back like his idol Renato Abreu at Flamengo: an attacking midfielder but sometimes filled in on the left wing. At Flamengo, he was closely watched by the youth team leader Carlos Noval. In his eyes, Vinicius was an “unpredictable, fearless and strong-willed” player. Noval recounted: “He was one level above the rest. From the very beginning, Vini dared to charge at defenders exactly the way he is playing today. Vini was fearless. He could change direction in a flash. and the way Vini dribbles the ball at speed is really impressive.” If he had to choose one word to describe Vinicius, Noval would choose “joy”, because wherever he went, Vinicius conquered everyone with his smile and positive attitude.
Another teacher of Vinicius was Gilmar Popoca. He coached the U13 and U17 Flamengo teams, but it was not until the U20 team that the two teachers and students were really close. At that age, Vinicius was considered one of the diamonds of the Flamengo youth team, but few dare to imagine Vini’s super performance at Copinha – Brazil’s most prestigious youth tournament. The skepticism is well-founded, as Vinicius is three years younger than most of his rivals.
Popoca commented: “You need to know the right time to bring a boy into such a tournament, especially since he has just graduated from the junior level. Many of Vini’s teammates at the time were even prepared. He was promoted to the first team, so I need to take good care of him, but fortunately Vini took the opportunity.”
At Copinha 2017, Vinicius scored twice after coming on as a substitute against Central, setting up two goals against Nacional and scoring the winning goal against Cruzeiro. Despite the many impressive performances, the phrase “determining the match” is the outstanding aspect that is remembered by Vinicius’ teachers.
“He tackled a lot of difficult games,” Popoca said. “That’s the type of person who is ready to take responsibility in difficult times and wants the team to believe in him. Many people say Vinicius is not good at finishing, but I disagree. He is always the top scorer in most matches. Flamengo’s U team”.
Not long after Copinha, Vinicius left for Chile to play for Brazil’s U17 team for the South American U17 Championship. Here, Vinicius’s reputation is even more brilliant thanks to seven goals, contributing to helping Brazil win the championship. This tournament also left a great lesson for Vinicius in terms of defensive support. The person who directly criticized him was Brazil U17 head coach Carlos Amadeu. “Vinicius is the type of player who can sneak behind the opposition defense, penetrate and take advantage of space,” he said. But before the tournament started, we realized one big weakness: he was less greedy. defensive support”.
He decided to compile pictures of Vinicius in the first game and show it to him. After watching in silence, the striker assured him that he would pay more attention. What happened after that made Amadeu completely satisfied: “He played brilliantly, was the top scorer, the best player in the tournament. But the important thing was that he also completed all the tasks on the field.”
The good news about Vinicius quickly spread, so much so that the Spanish press called him “the new Neymar” and confirmed that Vinicius had a contract termination fee of up to $ 30 million. Vinicius was on the cover of Marca before even training with the Flamengo first team and when he signed to join Real Madrid at the age of 18, his total playing minutes in professional football was just 17!
Which leads to an important and legitimate question: Can this untested teenage boy survive the harsh climax? It was not until the summer of 2018 that Vinicius turned 18 and in 32 games for the Flamengo first team, he contributed four goals. However, his artist play caused a strong division in Brazilian public opinion in the last six months. Flamengo idol Dejan Petkovic thinks Vinicius is “too personal and doesn’t contribute enough to the overall game”.
However, when the time to play for Real Madrid approached, Vinicius still managed to become the most important player in Flamengo. His influence was so great that the Noval leader begged him to stay to help Flamengo win the national championship. Although very emotional, Vinicius still decided to leave on time with the Spanish Royal team.
Losing Vinicius midway through, Flamengo only finished second that year, but Noval did not hate his former student. He still chatted regularly, instructing Vinicius on how to choose a location. One of the things Noval often said to Vinicius was congratulation on his promotion, and he made no secret of his pride that he had contributed to the start of his career.
“Ever since Vinicius was a kid, I was sure that he would become one of the best players. He was probably the only one who gave me that confidence. Watching Vinicius play was a joy. , because he makes everyone happy,” Noval affirmed.
Overcome difficulties
Many European giants, including Barca, are interested in Vinicius. But Real decided not to let another Brazilian gem fall into the hands of rivals, having missed out on Santos’ Neymar in 2013. To convince Vinicius and his family, Real came up with a specific plan for the future. this player, in addition to the attractive financial aspects. Real Madrid’s player-hunting expert Juni Calafat himself went to Brazil to explain to Vinicius and his loved ones about the route to make him a main player at the Bernabeu.
After Vinicius decided to choose Real and waited another year to turn 18, he met a Real representative every week to review videotapes of himself and Real’s matches, thereby understanding the type of player. that the Royal team expected in Vinicius. He understood that he was an important part of the worldwide recruitment of rough gems that president Florentino Perez entrusted to Calafat. In addition to Vinicius, other “projects” of young bamboo shoots include Martin Odegaard, Fede Valverde, Takefusa Kubo and fellow countryman Rodrygo. The stars mentioned above all went through the process of playing for Real’s Castilla youth team led by former player Santiago Solari.
Solari recalls: “Vinicius was part of Real’s strategy to find and recruit potential players before they exploded. The transfer market had gone crazy with sky-high fees. you can see the fruits of this very brave and demanding strategy. The leadership and the academy deserve to be commended.”
The young rookie did not take long to make an impression. He scored a personal double in a 2-2 draw with Atletico Madrid’s youth team at the beginning of September 2018. Immediately after the “mini-derbi” match mentioned above, the local press called on then-first team coach Julen Lopetegui to put him straight into the main squad – which was running out of goals after the departure of the superstar in the summer. Cristiano Ronaldo.
But Vinicius also played a total of 12 minutes in two La Liga matches and spent most of his time with his peers at Castilla – Real’s youth team. According to Popoca, bringing Vinicius into the B team is a smart way to help him not be overwhelmed quickly but still feel the weight of the Real Madrid name and get used to the Spanish style of football.
Not long after the 1-5 defeat at the hands of Barca in El Clasico, Lopetegui received a dismissal. As an interim coach, Solari immediately brought up a Brazilian student to Team A, even though it was not the ideal time to bring a young player up to play for the world’s most successful team under the pressure of success. . But the Argentine coach thinks it is the right time, when the fans at the Bernabeu need a breath of fresh air after a stormy start to the season.
Vinicius’ speed, dribbling ability and positive energy quickly created excitement, relieving some of the pressure on President Perez. Solari said: “He quickly connected with the fans because of his direct style throughout the game. Vini brought so much expectation every time he had the ball, to the point of making the stands stand up. He always brings great joy – something like it is in Vini’s blood. Watching him play is also a joy.”
By January 2019, Vinicius was an official member of Solari’s squad. He scored his first La Liga goal against Alaves the following month, but the Copa del Rey was the sublime Vinicius arena. In the first five knockout rounds, he provided six assists and scored two himself, before exhausting Gerard Pique in the semi-final. However, Real still lost 3-0 to Barca at home.
The positive start quickly turned to disaster just a week later, when Real Madrid became the former king of the Champions League with a 4-1 defeat at the hands of young Ajax Amsterdam. Vinicius himself left the match against Ajax in tears with a serious ankle injury. This humiliating defeat put an end to Solari’s short reign, paving the way for the legendary Zinedine Zidane to re-appear as Real’s head coach. He was quickly supported by the leadership by recruiting Eden Hazard – the player Zidane himself proposed to buy – from Chelsea for more than 100 million euros.
In his second season at Madrid and his first under Zizou, Vinicius played just seven full 90 minutes, contributing five goals and four assists in 38 appearances in all competitions. According to a source close to Vini, his relationship with the French legend is not really good. He often focused on the things he needed to improve instead of praising what he was doing well. This strict approach was deemed unsuitable for Vinicius.
Meanwhile, the signing Zidane is looking forward to is Hazard constantly disappointing with lackluster performances and persistent injuries. Even so, he was still trusted by Zidane, and made Vinicius play in the left position or sit on the bench. The confidence of this young player has dropped even further with the incident that took place in the Champions League match against Monchengladbach.
At half-time, when the score was 1-0 to the German team, the cameras caught striker Karim Benzema instructing compatriot Ferland Mendy about Vinicius: “Don’t pass the ball to him, It’s working against us!”. Benzema himself made no further passes to Vinicius for the next 25 minutes, before the Brazilian was replaced by Hazard. Ironically, Real immediately scored two goals to have a precious draw.
It was an extremely difficult time for a young man who had just been to Europe for more than a year. But those who have known Vinicius like his old teacher Amadeu know that behind that cheerful, sociable person is a strong personality. He explained how the student overcame difficulties: “He can easily overcome difficult obstacles, is ready to take on challenges and can withstand the demands and expectations of himself at a high level. tallest”.
Rise to the top
The 2020-21 season ends with Real Madrid empty-handed in the most important arenas, accompanied by Zidane’s second resignation. But that disappointment laid the groundwork for the next glorious season, beginning with the return of coach Carlo Ancelotti. In the first two games of the season, the Italian coach used Hazard and Gareth Bale in attack with striker Benzema. But everything changed dramatically when Vinicius came on from the bench and impressed 25 minutes later with a goal against Alaves. A week later, he scored two beautiful goals to help Real draw 3-3 against Levante.
The above performance made even the legendary Jorge Valdano amused in the post-match televised commentary: “Vinicius learned to shoot in a week”. In just five La Liga games at the start of the 2021-22 season, he has scored five goals – equal to the performance of 35 appearances the previous season.
Ancelotti contributed to this change with the requirements on the training ground: asking the student to finish earlier and handle less touches in the opponent’s penalty area. These admonitions also brought confidence back to Vinicius, helping him feel important to himself.
After scoring in surfing Celta Vigo on September 12, Vinicius mingled with the audience to celebrate the first time the Bernabeu stadium welcomed the audience back after 18 months of closure due to the pandemic. In the dressing room, the seniors gradually respected Vinicius when they saw how he continuously worked hard and focused through difficult times.
The more the season goes by, the more Vinicius proves himself. His super strike against Sevilla was made after a series of technical moves and a cannon shot into the right corner from outside the penalty area. Only a player who is really confident and possesses natural talent can make such a beautiful goal.
Realizing the great progress of Vinicius, Ancelotti actively adjusted for Real to retreat deep to entice the opponent to rise, thereby creating space for Vinicius in counter-attacks. A familiar scenario of Real in the 2021-22 season is Vinicius assisting Benzema to score, as in PSG and Chelsea matches in the Champions League. Vinicius himself is also capable of deciding the match, like how to turn senior Fernandinho into an extra in a super solo phase against Man City or the only goal to beat Liverpool in the final.
From Valverde’s cross, Vinicius ran smartly, making right-back Alexander Arnold completely surprised and made a one-touch finish to finish the opponent. Not only shining brightly with senior Benzema in the journey to win the Champions League, Vinicius also scored 17 goals and assisted 10 times to help Real Madrid win La Liga. Almost every sports news site included his name in the team of the season.
Fortunately for Real, Vinicius is only 21 years old and is still full of potential to shine even more in the future. He himself shows seriousness in lifestyle with a fitness coach and personal chef, always follows the recovery process after the game and goes through a long season without injury. With Real unable to buy Mbappe in the summer of 2022, Vinicius automatically becomes the focus of Real’s near future plans. When Modric, Benzema, Toni Kroos gradually entered the late afternoon of their careers, Real needed young stars like Vinicius, Valverde or Rodrygo to continue to develop in order for the team to maintain its top position.
When asked about Vinicius’ potential, Solari could not hide his optimism: “He needs to continue to rise. At Real, the demand is always maximum for everyone: from players, coaches to the board. leader. Vinicius is currently one of the best young players in the world, but developing further with Real depends on working hard every day and not resting on victory.”
“And I have full faith in him that he will firmly continue on the path of glory,” emphasized Vinicius’ old teacher.
