Author of a resounding double during Real Madrid's success in Elche (2-1) on Saturday, Vinicius Junior continues to impress in the Spanish capital.
He who was so irregular in the past finally demonstrates the full extent of his talent.
At only 21 years old, the young Brazilian is in full explosion this season to the point of becoming one of the strong men of the merengue club.
If Karim Benzema remains obviously the number one asset of the Madrilenians, Vinicius Junior is undoubtedly one of his most loyal lieutenants.
To discover
Champions League fixtures and results
Champions League standings
Contrasting beginnings
Announced in his debut in Brazil as one of the biggest “
nuggets
” in the country and already compared to Neymar, Vinicius Junior wasted no time in getting noticed. In 2017, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez decided to spend nearly 45 million euros to snatch him away from Flamengo, when he was only 16 years old. However, the Brazilian starlet remained in the country until her majority (as stipulated in the regulations), before finally joining Europe and Spain during the summer transfer window of 2018.
The adaptation of Vinicus in the Spanish capital was not going to go well, however. From his first steps at the Santiago Bernabeu, the Brazilian disappointed greatly despite his undeniable talent. Under the leadership of his coach Zinédine Zidane, he knew very few tenures and quickly lost self-confidence. And then it is well known, the supporters of the White House are demanding and far, very far, from being known for their patience.
What the native of Sao Gonçalo learned the
hard way
:
“The pressure was too great. I had never seen so much pressure on such a young player. I don't know why, maybe because I cost a lot of money. The club and the coaches knew my quality and knew that over time, I would gain more experience and confidence,
”he said in an interview with
Esporte Interativo
. The march to one of the biggest clubs in the world was probably too high.
His catastrophic finish and his technical clumsiness were certainly linked to this pressure, but it is above all the excess of individualism that earned him the wrath of his teammates.
We remember the famous phrase: “He's playing against us!”, Pronounced by Karim Benzema last year.
Things have changed a lot since then.
The role of Carlo Ancelotti
This season, Vinicius Junior has erased a large part of his faults. A success that he owes in large part to a man: Carlo Ancelotti. Arrived this summer to take over from Zinédine Zidane, the Italian coach quickly made the Brazilian one of his base men. He was able to restore confidence to a player who was sorely lacking. And the least we can say is that it worked perfectly. Now indisputable holder on the left wing, the former Flamengo player has finally won in the club of his dreams.
Since the return of the "
Mister
" to Real, Vinicius has come back to life. While he had scored only 14 goals in all of his 3 seasons in Madrid, he is already at 9 goals (but also 5 assists) in 14 games in all competitions this year. These impressive statistics make him the second most prolific Merengue player at the moment behind, unsurprisingly, Karim Benzema (11 goals and 8 assists). Modest, Ancelotti refuses to take the sole merits: "
I did not do anything special.
You just have to make him play and give him the confidence he deserves because he plays so well.
I'm not a magician and just trying to give him as much confidence as the rest of the players.
Now he has confidence and everything is going well for him.
He's doing very well.
At the moment, he is a very high level player.
He is a player who has made a very good start to the season, he helps his teammates a lot, he shows his qualities.
There, he is in full confidence, he shows composure against the cages, and he must continue,
”he explained in a press conference after the match against Elche.
Carlo Ancelotti put the smile back on Vinicius Junior.
JAVIER SORIANO / AFP
More than a simple tactical diagram, it is above all an awareness, a mental click that explains the sparkling form of the Madrid left winger.
Vinicius took a long time to justify the expectations placed on him, but this is perfectly understandable given his young age.
Currently in full possession of his means, the Brazilian can now see far, very far.
And now ?
Vinicius Junior's excellent performance should quickly offer him a big reward. Linked until June 2025 with Real Madrid, the 21-year-old would be very close to signing a juicy contract extension (he would go from 3.5 to 10 million euros per year according to
Marca
), a sign of the very great confidence placed in him. For his part, the Brazilian is clear, he wants to stay with Real: “
The contract I still have is the one I had at the age of 16. Regardless of the time of renewal, the amount of my salary or my bonus, what matters is the satisfaction of being in the best team in the world,
”he revealed to TNT Sport media.
If he is now unanimous in his club, it is still far from being the case in his country. His main detractors now committed to his cause, remains a main challenge for Vinicius, that of succeeding in convincing the coach of Brazil Tite, who desperately continues to snub him, despite his sparkling form.
The man at the head of the Seleçao, justified himself at a press conference, not wishing to upset his plans at the dawn of the 2022 World Cup: "
He is a great player, with great potential, who is in competition. with other aggressive attackers, who can take the axis and evolve on the ends. It was a matter of player choice for a specific time. He is one of three players who created a very difficult situation for us when they were observed,
”he said.
Formerly booed, now adulated, such is the fabulous fate of Vinicius Junior.
The Auriverde prodigy, who has become a star of Real, will undoubtedly be one of the main attractions of this Wednesday in the Champions League.
The trip of the players from Chakhtior Donetsk to the Bernabeu promises to be perilous, they are in any case warned.
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/M52GR73B3X2YKMRHEEKK6PJ45Y.jpg)