Carlos Eduardo Abrantes (Brazil, 1971), known as Cacau, is the director of Escolinha de Flamengo, where Vinicius (19 years old) began to form. Considered his discoverer, he talks with AS to analyze the Madridista's past and his great moment at Real Madrid.
"Did you see the Classic?"
-Yeah right! We are all very happy for Vini.
—What is attributed to him is that he has trouble dialing. As a child, he scored many goals?
"Many, many, many." He was always the pichichi of all the competitions he played, he always took the top scorer trophies.
Vinicius, with a top scorer trophy.
"Why is it harder now?"
"It's a matter of letting him play." With minutes the player gains confidence and the goals come naturally. If he has gained confidence without playing, I am sure that he will continuously score many goals.
"Do you see him getting better?"
-Insurance. If he has opportunities and can play, he will stand out, as in the last season, and thus improve in everything, including goals.
Vinicius Junior
- Real Madrid
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Real Madrid
- Spain
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- Statistics
—Vinicius started playing in his native Sao Gonçalo. How is it?
- It is a city with many people, the second municipality of Rio de Janeiro. It is very humble people, with many shortcomings, where most people reside in it but have to work outside.
"Did that happen to Vinicius' parents?"
—The mother stayed in Sao Gonçalo and the father went to work in Sao Paulo, in another state. He was an installation technician. She took the child to training and took care of those things.
"Is it a dangerous area?"
-Yes a lot. Now, more than at that time. There is a lot of poverty too. It is a city that needs a lot of public investment and has very little.
"How did Vinicius get to his school?"
"He brought his father to train."
"Vinicius was a very fast boy in the field, but very shy outside"
Carlos Eduardo Abrantes 'Cacau', discoverer of Vinicius.
"Why yours?"
"Because a friend of them advised him." It also helped that it was a Flamengo school because the family was flamenguista, it is the club of their heart.
"From there he went to Mengao."
—Yes, he was with us from 2006 to 2012. We talked continuously and from 10 to 12 years old he trained in the Flamengo quarry and in the school.
"How was the first time you saw him?"
"At our school, which he arrived at six years old." From the first training he drew a lot of people's attention, and that he trained with kids older than him. With seven years he played with those of nine very fluently.
"What kind of boy was he?"
—He was a boy totally loose and very fast in the field, but very shy outside, he spoke little… Then he began to let go. In the field already arrived very loose (laughs).
"You helped him and his family."
"We got him the backpack to train because they had financial difficulties." We saw the self-confidence he had and we helped him as much as we could. Also with some boots, although the parents always ended up getting by and then got a contract with Nike. The rest was done by his family, who turned to the issue of transport, especially when he started at the Flamengo quarry. His father and mother fixed everything, they are very important in his career.
"Who did Vinicius remind you of?"
"He was always a very fast player, with very characteristic of himself." It cannot be compared. He made very fast decisions, acted with speed. I had no comparison for that. Perhaps, as a child, because of his way of playing, his speed, Robinho, but it is not comparable. Like now: Vinicius is Vinicius.
"Vinicius was from Flamengo, but he talked about Cristiano and dreamed of being a professional in Madrid"
Cacau, discoverer of Vinicius.
"How who wanted to be?"
—I dreamed of becoming a professional player for both Real Madrid and the Brazilian National Team. They were his life goals, and one is getting it every day now and surely he will continue doing it in Brazil, after his debut.
"Was he from Madrid?"
- He was from Flamengo, but he talked about Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo. The children look closely at the Champions League and its most prominent teams.
"What did people say about him?"
-All were very impressed with his speed and how fast he decided: the parents of other players, the coaches of other teams always praised him ... He was the best playing with other bigger boys.
"Have you had details with you as a professional?"
—Whenever he played in Flamengo, from the base, he came to school with the trophies he won, he came back to talk to the children and their parents, he told them their experiences ... He has always treated us with love and we have him a lot honey too.
"Do they talk often?"
- Whenever he comes to Brazil he talks to us and, if he can, he comes to school, although now it is more difficult for his commitments. Whenever he can he helps us. And we always talk on the phone too.
With Vinicius, in Madrid.
"Have you been to Madrid?"
-Yes last year. We stayed at his house for ten days. We were there, we went to several games ... It was a great experience. He and his family have always treated us with love.