The battle for Vinicius's head in the year in which he is fouled the most

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The last classic at the Bernabéu marked last season the point of greatest agitation for Vini Jr. with almost anything on the field that was not the ball.

That night of the 0-4 he lamented a lot to the referee, he argued with Ter Stegen after falling in the area, he hooked up with Piqué a couple of times, and he had Eric García always waiting to leave him the last message.

The center-back did not participate in the play of the fall, but when Vini got up he received a push from behind.

And when Adama and Araujo stole the ball from him and the Brazilian ended up on the ground again, García shouted the phrase of the night: "You, next year, Ballon d'Or."

That classic pointed out two fundamental aspects of Vini Jr.'s environmental entanglements that remain valid.

On the one hand, the Brazilian has become a formidable threat, which in the eyes of rivals makes him a target, physically and mentally.

On the other hand, in his hookups he does not usually drag company.

They are explosions that he undertakes alone, without the cover of teammates, as when in the last classic Piqué held him to lecture him.

In the locker room and in the coaching staff they work so that the Brazilian does not get lost in those alleys, so that his movements go more in the direction of placating than fueling fires.

After Madrid-Barça 0-4, there was a break in the national teams and the pause cooled the volcano, but the magma still boils in the depths, and this season it has re-emerged.

It was shot on September 11 during Mallorca's visit to the Bernabéu.

The Brazilian ended up desperate due to fouls, and due to what he heard rival coach Javier Aguirre saying to his players: “Hit him, hit him”.

Vin was desperate.

He was looking for the referee, he complained to his teammates, he complained to Ancelotti.

And the Majorcan defender Jaume Costa told him: "Yeah, but we can only do that...".

That the rivals' plan to deactivate Vinicius's threat involves pressing buttons of all kinds, the footballer, his coach and also the people on the Brazilian's work team know.

Sources from his circle explain that they have talked a lot about the maneuvers of the rivals to get into Vinicius' head and unplug him from the games.

He has to be calmer, they say, and understand that the extreme vigilance has to do with his current star status.

But they also lament the toughness of some defenders: the Brazilian is the fifth footballer in the League who receives the most fouls according to the Statsbomb count, three per game, if you look at those who have played at least 600 minutes.

The figure has jumped this season: they hit 15% more than the previous four courses.

Ancelotti is also unsettled by Vinicius' agitation over opponents' mind games.

The Italian has already had several conversations with him in which he tries to make him understand that his status attracts uncomfortable attention.

He tells him that he has to enter the field knowing that they will look for him, but that he must be smarter.

According to sources close to the coaching staff, the Italian undertakes this mission of appeasement with caution: he knows that a large part of Vinicius's success has to do with his impudence, his daring and daring character, and he understands that he should not tamper with that spontaneous side with too much control.

Both he and the team that works with the Brazilian consider that he should not wrinkle or lose his essence, but also that he should let some puddles pass.

Let him dance, but don't mess around.

And above all, sources from his circle insist that he should avoid gestures such as the ironic farewell to Osasunist David García when he was expelled at the Bernabéu.

Despite the turbulence, Vinicius remains this year, as it was in the past, as one of the greatest threats in the League.

For example, he is the third top scorer, the fourth that registers the most actions that lead to a shot for his team and the one that has tried to pass the ball the most times in the entire championship.

This afternoon he has another test of temperance against Barça at the Bernabéu, a few hours before the Ballon d'Or is awarded tomorrow for Eric García's pranks.

It will not be for him, but he aims for a very high position.

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